(Photo courtesy of James Guiry) “Casey Woods hosts the “Bomb Shelter!” open mic night.

James Guiry
Connector Contributor

“The Bomb Squad” (@bombsquadpresents on Instagram) is a group of local Lowell comedians that run shows around the city. The group consists of Fredo Cruz (@fredoacruz), Sean Delson (@soyboychik), Ren Marquez (@rrenmarquez), and Casey Woods (@caseywootchudoin). I got a chance to speak with Ren and Casey after one of their Bomb Shelter open mic shows. The Bomb Shelter is a biweekly open mic hosted by Ren and Casey every other Sunday where, most weeks, you can find a flood of great comics trying out new material or fixing their older jokes. It is on a few weeks’ hiatus, but it is coming back to its biweekly format on Sunday, October 20th, 2024, it’s at a bar on Middle Street in Lowell called The Smokehouse Tavern, and it’s just a 15-minute walk from East Campus.

The mic used to be at another bar called The Safe, on Merrimack Street. The show has struggled since moving from The Safe to The Smokehouse. Casey said, “We’ve had a bit of a drop-off because some people were under the impression the mic was just over, instead of a location switch”. He also contributes the drop-off to the aesthetic of the locations. According to Casey the safe had this “cool, dingy vibe” that was more conducive for a comedy show. This decline includes comics and audience members. The mic is slowly growing back to where it was again, though there are some weeks when the room can be bare, nevertheless the comedians put on a great show no matter who is in the audience.

Along with their biweekly open mic, the Bomb Squad also puts on a monthly show titled “Thirsty for Laughs”. September’s show will take place on the 29th at Thirsty First, a bar on Market Street in Lowell. This show will be headlined by Katie Arroyo (@katiegarroyo), Casey referred to her as a “great Boston comic”. The show is also featuring great newer comics such as Josh Goldstein (@joshgoldsteinallegedly), Kaile Krenzer (@kailekrenzer) and Derek Zeiba (@derekzebra). Tickets will be $15 online and you can purchase them at the link on the @bombsquadpresents Instagram page.

Ren Marquez started hosting the open mic in July of 2022 at The Safe by himself for about a year until Casey joined him. Ren said he was doing comedy “wherever I could post COVID” which included places in Boston, Worcester and Manchester, NH among other places. Ren, a Lowell resident, noticed how none of the open mics in the Lowell area catered to stand-up comedy. They are more for musicians, poets and other artists. Ren wanted to make a place in Lowell where comedians in and around the area can come and have a “home scene”.

I discussed the process of securing a venue for a show with Casey. He says that you need to reach out to management “ideally the owner” and then from there you can discuss what weekends work well because “you’re going to want a weekend for a show”. These shows can benefit both the comedians and the business owners. If the shows go well and more people come, the business and the comics make money. A lot of bar and restaurant owners are trying to think of cheap ways to bring in customers.

Both Ren and Casey describe the Lowell comedy scene as “burgeoning”. While it may not have the established comedy scene that cities like Boston and Worcester have, it has been rapidly growing over the past two years. Casey says that he is still trying to get people to come out to either try comedy or come to the shows. He urges Lowell natives and college students alike to come out and see what they have to offer. Before I left the show, Ren told me “We’re trying to break out into something bigger, but we have work to put in. I feel like we can do it if we just give it our all”.