Comedian’s book recalls Chicago’s heyday as an incubator for stand-up stars

Kumail Nanjiani (left) and his future wife, Emily Gordon, hang out in 2006 at the former Gunther Murphy’s on Belmont Avenue with comedian Mike Bridenstine, who went on to write the new book “The Perfect Amount of Wrong.” (Courtesy Mike Bridenstine)

In the new book “The Perfect Amount of Wrong,” stand-up comic and producer Mike Bridenstine chronicles how he watched a handful of comedian-run Chicago shows in the late ’90s and early ’00s, mostly in the back rooms of bars or unused annex spaces at restaurants, produce a wave of alternative talent still working at the top of their game.

The list of talent from that time is astounding: Kumail Nanjiani (“Eternals,” “The Big Sick”), Pete Holmes (“Crashing,” “You Made It Weird”), Hannibal Buress (“The Eric Andre Show,” “Broad City”), Cameron Esposito (“A Million Little Things”), Dwayne Kennedy (“United Shades of America”), TJ Miller (“Silicon Valley”), Kyle Kinane (“Paradise PD”), Matt Braunger (“Upload”), Brooke van Poppelen (“Girl Code”) and countless others.