Atlantic City Weekly

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Leary during the 2009 Rescue Me tour.

It’s no coincidence that Denis Leary is returning to Atlantic City this weekend to kick off the second go-around of his limited-date comedy tour.

The 52-year-old comedian and star of the FX Network drama-comedy series Rescue Me is hoping for lightening to strike twice when he takes the stage of Borgata’s Event Center on Saturday, May 22.

“The [casino] audiences are really sort of fanatical,” Leary explains. “They’re not judgmental at all. They just come alive.”

Leary, who’ll be joined on his 11-city tour by comedians and fellow Rescue Me cast members Lenny Clarke and Adam Ferrara, says he was tipped off to the advantages of launching the tour in a casino by several comedian friends who had preceded him and pronounced the Borgata as the perfect venue to debut the live show, which will also feature musical guests The Enablers with the Rehab Horns.

The first show of any tour can often be rough, as the performers shake off any rust and get familiar with new material. But of the 15 shows on the 2009 Rescue Me tour, Leary says the Borgata gig remains one of his favorites.

In addition to the enthusiastic audience, Leary says he was impressed with the 2,200-seat Event Center as a comedy venue, which made launching the tour an artistic breeze.

“I’ve got to tell you in terms of the sound and lighting, and backstage set-up, and the set-up for the audience as well, it’s terrific,” he says.

Leary’s fans that follow him on Twitter have been getting previews of the material he’ll be performing on the tour. He says he signed up for social networking service partly to remain “competitive” with fellow comedians who use Twitter to keep in touch with their fans.

“I started to see comedians that I know ... doing it. I thought, ‘I think of funny stuff every day,’” he explains. “Steven Colbert’s not the only guy. Then I saw Conan [O’Brien] go on, and I have to admit when I see Conan doing stuff, I’m always like, ‘you know, I can do that.’ I thought his stuff was really funny.”

Twitter has proven to be an effective outlet for Leary’s comedy, since he can’t work comedy clubs and theaters when he’s filming Rescue Me, which will come to an end next year after seven seasons.

Leary, who began his comedy career while he was a student at Emerson College in Boston, says his comedy sets usually evolve out of a series of bullet points he works with on stage.

“I run off at the mouth from these bullet points that I’ve written down, and I kind of improvise my way through it,” he says. “Then, after a few weeks, it starts to form itself into a typical set.”

His tweets on Twitter “offer a glimpse” into what’s on his mind on any given day and have emerged as his electronic notes page. A topical comedian, Leary has been musing about everything from the Vatican’s troubles with pedophile priests to the allegations of sexual misconduct surrounding Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

“Those things are probably things that are going to show up in the show when we get started,” he predicts.

Now that the FX Network has announced that Rescue Me will end within days of the 10th anniversary of 9-11, Leary says he’s focusing on the finale of the series, which centers on the professional and personal lives of a group of New York City firefighters.