Absolute Comedy!

I just finished up a great weekend at Absolute Comedy here in Toronto. The shows, with the exception of the Sunday show were all great. Sundays show was the lightest one of the weekend, which is not surprising given that it was going head to head with the Superbowl. But still, even though the crowd was small, they still had a good time.

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to work with Denis Grignon and Ali Hassan. With the three of us, it was a pretty good mix. Denis tends to be smart and clean, Ali is energetic, and I'm just me. But between the three of us, there was a little bit of everything. That's what makes the Absolute Comedy shows so good is that the owner, Jason, tends to actually pay attention to the comics he puts on a show. He does this to make sure that there is a good mix, so even if you don't like one comic, there is a good chance you'll like one of the others on the show.

Weekends like that are always great. But now I'm sitting and trying to pick a highlight, and I don't know that I can. All of the shows were pretty good. I guess if I had to pick my favourites, it would be a toss up between the two sell outs; the Friday show and the Saturday early show. Fun crowds in both and the energy in the room was phenomenal.

After a weekend like that, I am torn. On one hand, I can't wait to get back on stage again, but on the other side, I know that there is a good chance that no matter where I perform, it likely won't be as good as working at the club. Lucky for me, my next gig is up near Sudbury at the Walden Winter Carnival and from what I hear, it's a hell of a good time as well. I'm really looking forward to that on Friday, and I get to work with Dave Tsonos and Winston Spear.

FlamboroughReview.com: News: Story: Lions roar – with laughter

FlamboroughReview.com: News: Story: Lions roar – with laughter

Pro / Am Night

Last night, I was at Absolute Comedy in Toronto hosting their Pro/Am night. About 120 brave souls dug themselves out from the 8 cm of snow we had received and made it out for the show. If you've never been to a Pro/Am night, I have to tell you, you should check it out. The Pro/Am is essentially the club's amateur night, but unlike other amateur nights, the night is closed off by the weekend's headliner who usually does a 20-25 minute spot. Also, you will typically have 5 or 6 comics in addition to the headliner. This format is great in that the audience gets decent variety of some of the city's amateur comics doing their best stuff in hopes of being offered weekend opening spots, and you get a professional giving you a taste of the weekend show. Not to mention, the admission price is only $6. The other thing which makes these shows fun is that you really never know what you are going to get. You could see some of the best comedy you've seen. You could also see a train wreck. Last night was a very fun show from start to finish. All of the comics did well and the crowd was really into it.

I haven't hosted at the club in a while. The last few times I've been there, I've middled. In a typical show you'll have a host, a middle and a headliner. The middle usually does 20 to 25 minutes. I really like middling. It's a great way to build up and tighten my "act". But I've middled the last couple of times so I wanted to host this time around. Hosting is also a lot of fun, but it's a more challenging role. You have to be more in the moment, and have to set the tone for the show. You have to play to the crowd and really control the room. Arguably, hosting is the most challenging spot on a show. Headlining can be tough because you need so much material to do it well, but hosting is a much different beast. Hosting forces you to exercise different comedy muscles.

Not having hosted a "proper" comedy show in a few months I was worried that I'd be rusty. Well, luckily for me, and for the audience, it was like riding a bike, except I wasn't wearing spandex shorts and I didn't run out of breath. Okay I did, but that was after my dance dance bit which is to be expected. I really need to work on that. The crowd wasn't overly chatty, but I was able to bring a couple of people into it and it led me into a couple of my bits about relationships. So while I didn't get as much of a chance to spritz as much as I would have liked, it was still a lot of fun. I am looking forward to hosting at the club for the rest of the weekend with Denis Grignon and Ali Hassan. Throughout the week there will also be a few very funny comics dropping by for spots including the hilarious Deb DiGiovanni, who is scheduled to drop in on Sunday night.

Baycrest Pro / Am

I am once again playing in the Baycrest Pro/Am Hockey Tournament for Alzheimer's research. I'm not really one for begging, but if you'd be so kind as to consider sponsoring me in this great event for a great cause, please visit my personal site at http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1059545

As mentioned earlier, I'm also looking at setting up a couple of fundraisers to help raise some money. More details to follow.

Thanks

This is it??

So this is it? This is "Snowmageddon 2011"? Really? Yesterday the weather people on the TV couldn't tell us fast enough how bad it was going to be. First, it was going to be 15 to 20 cm of snow. Then, it was going to be 20 to 30 cm, and then early in the afternoon, I was hearing that it was going to be 30 to 40 cm in Toronto. Right outside my door. I'd be snowed in for weeks, or hours. It was going to be like nothing we've seen in years. We were told to make sure we had our winter tires on our car. We were told to have an emergency kit ready. We were told that there could be power outages. It was going to get ugly. Then, I woke up and there was 8 cm of snow on the ground. Oh my, call the army! 8 cm. What the hell? How can we survive? Oh the humanity!!!

I know that other parts of the province got the snow that we were supposed to get. And I know that it was a pretty shitty drive for my fiancé Sam who had to drive out to Oshawa (about 40 minutes on a good day) at 4 in the morning for her job as the newslady on CKDO radio (1580AM and 107.7FM). But even with the brief periods of shit, this did not live up even close to the hype. They were only half right from their first snowfall projection and only 20% right for their highest forecast. A 20% accuracy rate – that's something to be proud of! And it seems that every time there is a storm a brewing, the TV stations have to fall all over each other trying to tell us how bad it's going to be. I guess they need to do something to justify the money they spend on weather jeeps and fancy graphics. But really, it's gotten to the point where I don't believe a word they say anymore. Remember H1N1? That was supposed to kill us all, yet I think more people died from the common cold than died from H1N1. Sound the alarms!

And it's not just the media where I see this overblown hype. I see it all the time. Everything is the "most dramatic yet", "worst you've ever seen", or "best show ever". I think we all need to take a step back and manage expectations a bit better. A good example is a comedy show that I got an invite to. It is billed as the "Superstars of Comedy". Now I don't know about you, but if I heard that the Superstars of Comedy were coming, I'd be looking for names like Chris Rock, Louis C.K., Jerry Seinfeld. Real superstars. Instead, we see a bunch of funny guys putting on a show. They are funny, and it'll be a decent show, but they aren't exactly superstars. I'm not picking on those guys, but that's just the latest example I have seen. It happens all the time. In this case, it'll be a good show, but in a lot of other instances, it will be a giant steaming piece of shit show and if some poor unsuspecting person walks into that show and sees the train wreck, and thinks that's what comedy is like, they'll be reluctant to go see a real comedy show at a place like Absolute Comedy, Yuk Yuks, Second City or the Comedy Bar, just to name a few.

Why don't we all try to do a bit better job of under promising and over delivering? Why don't we try to do a better job of telling it like it really is? Maybe that will lead to less disappointment and more realistic expectations from all of us. Maybe I'm just bitter and disillusioned. Okay, no maybe about it.

So, with that in mind, you absolutely have to get your sweet ass (I'm assuming it's sweet. I'm just trying to be hip and cool like the kids.) down to Absolute Comedy tonight at 8:30 for what will undoubtedly be the most amazing comedy show you will see tonight on Yonge Street. There will be laughs. There will be tears. It will change you in ways that only yesterday were unfathomable. I will host, Denis Grignon will close the show and in between will be 5 or 6 of the most amazing mix of professional and amateur comics performing at Absolute Comedy tonight. Drop by if you can get out of your house. It'll be fun. That's the truth.

I'm Old

I had to get a haircut today and as I was waiting I was reminded of a funny thing that happened when I got my hair cut in the summer.

As you may or may not know, I am engaged to an amazing woman. Another thing you may or may not know is that there is a pretty big age difference between Sam and I. Its big enough that guys on my hockey team routinely give me high 5's like I'm some kind of a "playa". It may look that way on paper, but if you see Sam and I together, the difference isn't that noticeable. She's very mature, and I am, well how do I put this nicely, am nowhere near being mature. Its like I'm stuck in my early 20's. Sam also looks a bit older than she is and I look a bit younger than I am, so we kind of "Benjamin Button" it and kind of meet in the middle.

Anyway, one day in the summer, I'm waiting with Sam at the local "salon" (aka First Choice). I'm talking to the lady cutting my hair looks over at Sam and asks, loud enough for everybody in the place to hear, if Sam was "my daughter". Now I don't get embarrassed too easily, but for some reason that did it. Sam was beaming from ear to ear because she was starting to feel like she was looking real old. Who would have thought a trip to First Choice could fix that up? How often does somebody walk into First Choice and feel better about themselves when they leave? Not often.

But I will say this, the haircut must have done some good because that weekend at the Jays game I got asked for I'd by a beer vendor. Either they thought I looked like I was under 30 or they were seeing if I qualified for the seniors discount.

I hate haircuts.

Snowmageddon - We'll See

So I wake up this morning and all the weather forecasters are now calling for between 30 and 35 cm of snow by tomorrow night. Haven't we heard this before? Every time there is more than 3 cm heading our way, the world is coming to an end, according to these weather clowns. Halt any and all necessary travel and stock up on canned goods, we're all doomed. As a group weather forecasters are almost as bad as the WHO with their semi annual flu pandemic warnings.

How much snow will we get? I have no idea. I just hope we can all get through this. Enjoy your shoveling.