Review: Nick Swardson celebrates his Minnesota roots with help from a Vikings starter and a local rock star

Nick Swardson sported a Beastie Boys t-shirt on stage Friday instead of Vikings gear, his usual choice for local shows. But he found other ways to remind the packed State Theatre audience that he was a die-hard Minnesotan.

He opened by razzing the Packers and showing off a new Vikings tattoo. He shut down a couple loud fans by suggesting that they must hail from Edina or Richfield. He sung praises of the Corner Bar, Leeann Chin restaurants and St. Paul Central High School, where he graduated. And in the closing minutes of his one-hour set, he brought out Vikings defensive tackle Harrison Phillips and Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner who were both watching from the wings.

“This is Minnesota!” Swardson said after the giggling rocker darted off stage. “We stick together!”

But Swardson shows his greatest commitment to his native state by leaving behind his Los Angeles home and spending most of his winters in the Twin Cities. For the past month, he’s been popping up at open mics across Minneapolis and frequenting restaurants in the North Loop. A few days before Christmas, he taped a special at First Avenue that he expects to release this summer.

Swardson’s passion for Minnesota was temporarily overshadowed this past March when he was pulled off a stage in Colorado after struggling through his act. The incident triggered headlines across the country. He later told the Star Tribune that he was the victim of a bad combination of edibles and alcohol.

On Friday, the 48-year-old comedian was nothing but professional — or as professional as someone who calls his tour “Toilet Head” could be.

“I’m drinking water,” he said following a solid opening set by fellow Minnesotan Dan Mogol. ”I don’t want to end up on TMZ again."

Swardson, who helped write sophomoric movies like 2003’s “Malibu’s Most Wanted,” and 2006’s “Grandma’s Boy” continues to rely on silly bits about diarrhea, drinking too much and showing off his private parts at parties. He’s still the Peter Pan of comedy.

But there were also signs that he was pushing himself. He exhibited more physical humor than he has in the past, sometimes stalking across the stage like Mick Jagger during “Sympathy For the Devil.” In perhaps his most hilarious bit, he contorted his body to re-create how bundled-up Minnesotans act like “Seinfeld‘s” Kramer when they venture out into the cold.

For the first time in his career he’s doing impressions. His takes on Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Statham and Adam Sandler may not get points for accuracy, but they scored big on originality.

He captured the late Norm Macdonald in a series of sentimental stories about their adventures together. During one of them, Swardson choked up. He also took a moment to salute his friends in Los Angeles who are dealing with those devastating fires.

But Swardson mostly kept in light and nostalgic, providing Minnesotans a peek into his Hollywood life. There were tales about how he came up with the costume for sex worker Terry on the “Reno 911!″ TV series and how he convinced Sandler to bring his 2017 all-star tour to the Twin Cities. He boasted about how “Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star,” the 2011 film in which he played an unlikely porn actor, was thrashed by critics.

Swardson may get a better response to his appearance in “Happy Gilmore 2,” which comes out this summer. But it’s unlikely he cares all that much. All this Twin Cities native wants is to keep being silly — and see the Vikings finally win that Super Bowl.