If you’re at ease around jokes riddled with words like “asshole” and believe comedy is an art best expressed when oozing nastiness in its most honest human form, the Lakeshore Theater is something you should try. After a few rounds of good drinks, of course.

This weekend, my friends and I headed down to the theater on Broadway. The Lakeshore Theater is in a vibrant cutesy neighborhood, but there’s not an overwhelming selection of restaurants (unless you think Chipotle is fine dining.) Before the Brian Posehn stand-up show, we stopped for vodka sodas and handcrafted beers at Wilde’s Bar and Restaurant.  We wanted to arrive fashionably late and buzzed. Plus, it’s just right across the street.

Wilde’s is sort of an upscale Irish bar, with leather booths, dark wood and the kind of decorations that makes Americans feel like they are in an authentic Irish bar. I am one of these people, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I am easily amused and impressed by such fake flavor.

Wilde’s was full of people eating meaty Angus beef hamburgers, topped with whiskey glazed bacon that smelled like heaven (sorry PETA). But we weren’t there for the food. So we just watched longingly, our mouths watering, our taste buds envious.

We squeezed in at the bigger of the restaurant’s two bars. Because we’re a sucker for drink specials, (so we can save more money on going out shirts from Forever 21 even though we’re past that landmark) most of us ordered $4 Smirnoff drinks. This is a pretty decent deal considering it was a Saturday night. The bartender was attentive and didn’t even flinch when we asked to split our bill, as not one of us makes enough money to treat their best friends to a single drink <insert tear here.>

We headed to the theater to make sure we had good seats, and grab a few more drinks. One of my friends was asked to dispose of her flask at the door. The rest of us were let in with not so much as a shocked look. This must be typical. One of the great things about the Lakeshore is there’s no drink minimum (not that this really mattered to us as our orders probably would have surpassed any imposed minimum). There was a fruity drink on special for five bucks and we all ordered two drinks, double fisting them into the theater.

Part of the reason my friends and I have been going to comedy shows is that we can be human beings at shows, drinking what maybe an average person does. But we might have overdone it; we were overly giggly and kept telling each other we we’re peeing during the peak of the show. Luckily, no one followed through with this.

After Brian Posehn’s nerdy, self-deprecating stand-up, we headed to the bar next door, at the Theater’s urging. I have no idea what it’s called. It was that kind of night. We had a drink, I talked to the theater ticket rippers about how funny I was, which is neither funny nor impressive, and then we headed home. Stopping at McDonald’s first of course.