Jim Breuer aims to be ‘inspiringly funny’ in his comedy show, coming to the Bing

Audience members may recognize comedian Jim Breuer from his time on “Saturday Night Live,” appearances on “The Howard Stern Show,” or his role in 1998’s “Half Baked.”

For local folks, Breuer might be familiar from just a couple months ago, when his “Light It Up” pre-show opened the the Metallica Worldwired Tour at the Spokane Arena on Dec. 2.

While still on tour with Metallica, Breuer spends his off days traveling along the tour route and performing his family-centric stand-up shows.

“This is the most I’ve traveled ever, but it’s all good,” Breuer said.

A self-proclaimed diehard, Breuer won’t hesitate to throw a few metal references into his set if he notices his fellow fans in the audience.

“Once I discovered Metallica, it was lights out,” Breuer said. “It became a way of life, it became thought-provoking for me, it helped in so many levels of life. It taught me – as crazy as it sounds – faith. It clarified a lot of things in my life, listening to them and the words that James (Hetfield) would write.”

If your musical taste falls outside the thrash metal arena, however, fear not. Breuer’s regular set draws from a much broader content pool.

“What you see at Metallica is nothing like what you’re going to see on my tour,” Breuer said.

Breuer’s passion for metal and the emotional and psychological intensity the genre entails has heavily informed his devotion to the healing qualities he finds in comedy.

“I get pretty heavy, talking about people that we’ve lost in life and how I perceive that,” Breuer said. “I take some harsh subjects that people are dealing with, and I find the healing (humor). I would call this set inspiringly funny.”

Breuer thrives on sharing and unpacking the everyday dramas of marriage, raising teenage daughters and caring for elderly relatives in a manner that is both “belly-laugh funny and inspiring.”

“For me, it’s about healing and inspiring,” Breuer said. “I know that sounds corny, but if I can get you out of whatever you’re in for an hour and a half of your time, there’s nothing I enjoy doing more in life. Seeing someone invisible, seeing someone in pain – my mission is to crush that and to get you laughing an smiling before the day’s over. I’m very passionate about it.”