Tens of thousands of people came out this past weekend for the Colossal Clusterfest, a three-day comedy festival held in San Francisco that featured Sarah Silverman, Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld and dozens of other comedians. Seinfeld, one of the headliners, closed the festival on Sunday night with a set that took acerbic aim at marriage, Swanson TV dinners, conversational pet peeves and our tech-obsessed culture.
Comedy Central produced the event with the help of music festival organizers Superfly and Another Planet Entertainment. Although comedy took top billing, the festival also showcased musical acts such as Ice-T, Les Claypool and the Canadian indie pop duo Tegan and Sara.
Fans braved long lines to take selfies inside an exact replica of the apartment immortalized in Seinfeld and queue next door for a $9 cup of soup and the stone-faced stare from the Soup Nazi himself, Larry Thomas, who gamely posed for photos.
Another big draw for the mostly millennial crowd was a massive outdoor installation of key moments from South Park and a fully functioning replica of Paddy's Bar from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, karaoke stage and thematic menu included ('rum ham', anyone?).
A day before doors opened to the public, Comedy Central President Kent Alterman sat down with us to talk about the festival, why San Francisco was chosen over other cities to host it, and why the Soup Nazi will forever hold a special place in his heart.