Busy Joel McHale, coming to Cobb Energy Centre Oct. 9, can barely inhale

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And he still does stand-up shows like the one at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Saturday night.

"I'm going to Ryan Seacrest's hometown!" he said in a phone interview last week from the set of "Community," while getting his make up done. "I'm going to wear one of his suits. It'll look real good, especially if there's a flood on stage. My pants will be dry."

Okay, he started with a height joke. He can't help himself. There's an 11-inch height difference between 6 foot 4 McHale and 5 foot 5 Seacrest.

How is McHale juggling his schedule? "A healthy dose of methamphetamines," he said. "A lot of people take too much. I take the prescribed recommended dose. I'm part of the publicity stop all the negative publicity."

McHale, the jokester, won't stop. When asked about his stage show, he said, "I'd like to wheel out a TV and VCR. I usually put on 'Sixteen Candles.' Great movie!"

In reality, he will start with snarky pop culture jokes that expand upon what he does on "The Soup." Then he'll do more personal family stories. "It ends up being a nice, seven hour evening," he said.

Seven hours? "Sometimes, I play the entire Duran Duran album 'Seven and the Ragged Tiger!' It's like 'Stop Making Sense' where David Byrne comes out with a tape player."

McHale, not a dancer, did enjoy his brief time on stage during the "Glee"-style opener on the Emmy Awards in August with the likes of Tina Fey and Jon Hamm. "We were just getting on stage and I was nervous. I was thinking, 'Boy, my career has taken a turn! I never expected this!' "

Speaking of dancing, he would make great comedy relief on "Dancing With the Stars." "Like I'd have time for that!" he scoffed. "I would rather do 'Top Gear.' Or 'Dirty Jobs.' "

Does he ever feel guilty about his "Soup" commentary, which often involves mocking Hollywood figures? "I'm sure I would be except I just don't remember. People will walk up to me and say, 'Hey, what's going on with you? Don't you remember me?' 'Totally,' I'd say. They'd say, 'We're cousins!' "Yeah... we are. How's your mom?' 'She's dead.' 'Oh, no!' "

(He also promised not to remember me or this conversation if we meet at Cobb Energy Centre.)

But he won't forget Betty White, who played an anthropology professor on a recent episode of "Community" and is riding a huge wave of pop culture popularity. In a fit of unlikely violence, White's character choked McHale's character into unconsciousness.

"She is like the queen," McHale said. "She is so cool, so professional, so gracious. She has so many wonderful stories. She doesn't dominate. She should write a book."

No joke there!

Joel McHale

7 p.m. Oct. 9, $43 to $73. Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, 2800 Cobb Galleria Parkway, Atlanta. 770-916-2800, www.cobbenergycentre.com . Ticketmaster link.