Joe Pera bringing his PERAs tour to the Englert Theatre in Iowa City

Joe Pera stands out in the comedy world, since the Buffalo, N.Y., native has a regular, everyday manner about him, reminiscent of an early Jerry Seinfeld.

“I hope I’m not like Jerry Seinfeld,” Pera said while calling from Boston. “Seinfeld is a cranky billionaire.”

However, like the legendary lead of one of the greatest sitcoms ever, Pera delivers relatable comedy. When he makes his Iowa City debut performing Friday, July 14, 2024, at the Englert Theatre, he will riff about the eating habits of senior citizens; a recent experience in Phoenix involving the airport shuttle bus; the desert. And his family.

“My sense of humor comes from my parents and grandparents,” Pera said. “Teasing each other was a big part of our family life. My grandparents were such characters.”

Part of what stands out is Pera’s delivery. Unlike many of his peers, who are slick, glib and fast-talking humorists, Pera has a very different approach. He speaks in a measured manner and makes observations, a la early Seinfeld, about what most standups don’t explore, like eating habits. Pera is adept at providing necessary detail and paints vivid pictures with his original comedy.

The late comedy legend Andy Kaufman and the quirky and underrated Maria Bamford are some of his influences.

“I’m so impressed with Andy Kaufman’s commitment to jokes,” Pera said. “Kaufman’s shows were unpredictable. That’s so important. Comedy can be very predictable, and that’s not a good thing. What I love about Kaufman was that you never knew how things were going to play out.”

Pera has established himself as an observational comic. The Ithaca College alum made a name for himself courtesy of “Joe Pera Talks With You,” on the Adult Swim channel.

The show, which ran from 2018 to 2021, is a fictionalized version of Pera, who portrayed a laid-back choir teacher in Michigan. He made the mundane entertaining.

“I based the character on music teachers I knew,” he said. “I was very fortunate with the opportunity with Adult Swim. I’m trying to build off of that.”

Pera has added voice acting to his resume, providing the voice of Fern in the Pixar film “Elemental” and Christopher in the hit series “Bob’s Burgers.”

“It’s been great doing voice work,” he said. “I like doing different things.”

Pera’s entertaining podcast, “Drifting Off with Joe Pera,” is on hiatus. Pera is his amusing self while talking about his passions. Perhaps none is bigger than his favorite show, “The Sopranos.”

“ ‘The Sopranos’ just gets better with every re-watch,” he said. “It holds up so well and it chronicles what the first decade of this century was like. It’s also one of the funniest shows. ‘The Sopranos’ has everything.”

The Pera podcast is on ice until Pera concludes his tour.

“I’m taking a break from it, since I want to focus on the podcast as opposed to just doing anything on the podcast,” he said. “I’ll get back to the podcast.”

Pera scored some ink for his resemblance to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

“I heard about that a lot when that Netflix show (“Dahmer: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”) was at its zeitgeist,” Pera said. “Fortunately, I didn’t hear about it much. I’m trying to put it behind me.”

When Pera isn’t delivering comedy, his life is as simple as his persona.

“I like to ride my bike and read,” he said. “I haven’t had as much time to go on the road and ride, but I’ve been busy with this tour.”