The Vancomedy Blog
[Canadian comedy legend Mike Macdonald in 2009 at the Just for Laughs Gala in Montreal. Photo by: John Mahoney]
It’s a phenomenon to see something go ‘viral,’ like a video of children being enslaved in Uganda, to a song video of an amateur writing a song called ‘Wut Wut, in the Butt.’
However, in the comedy community, as small as it is, this is as viral as it gets.
Mike Macdonald is a Canadian based comedy with a very accomplished background. Since 1978, Mike Macdonald has been one of the father figures of Canadian comedy with career full of writing and producing many movies and television shows, and stage appearances all across North America including appearances on Letterman and Arsenio Hall.
There is a reason whenever you tune into ‘Just for Laughs,’ that there is a very good chance you will see Mike Macdonald’s quirky demeanor.
A few months ago, Macdonald was diagnosed with a liver disease, commonly known as HepC. From there, the floodgates opened where a community that makes people laugh and smile….help one person and his family to keep them laughing and smiling too.
To read Mike Macdonald’s full story:
http://www.gofundme.com/mikemacdonald
#helpmikemacdonald
Paul Emm is the winner of the latest chapter of ‘Stage Freight.’ See why…he wakes up in the morning happy!
[Rookie comic Paul Emm @circlejokes takes the first place trophy in Stage Freight 15]
Through my experience, ‘Stage Freight’ is the Olympic 100m Dash of Comedy.
On Friday, I had a chance to take a shot at a challenging comedy competition. On a seasonal basis, Johnny Scoop puts together a competition that challenges comics in time and performance. This chapter of Stage Freight was held at Goldie’s Pizza Silver Lounge in Downtown Vancouver
Stage Freight has been a very popular event whenever it pops up. Stage Freight is a mini series of comedy thats very fast paced. In a span of 3 minutes, you see comics giving it their best shot to make the audience laugh. After every 3 comedians, all the comics are brought to the stage to see who proceeds to the next round of the competition. After 3-4 heats of fast paced comedy, a final four is presented to take home the crown. These finalists, on the same night, will be given another five minutes to determine who will be crowned this event’s winners.
The event is loud, intense, and most importantly…a lot of fun.
Friday May 18th was the 15th installment of Stage Freight. Beating out the rest of the comics was Paul Emm.
Here is a video of Carter Horite at the Comedy Mix talking about ‘video games and laziness. Make sure to catch Carter at the Waldorf where he will be alongside Jane Stanton doing a DVD filming at the Waldorf Hotel.
[Carter Hortie has many pictures on the internet. This one is the sexiest.]
On May 15, a live filming of their first DVD special will be held featuring of two of Vancouver’s favorite comics.
Carter Hortie is a North Vancouver native whose comedy resume exceeds more than 15 years. His witty writing styles and crazy surprises has entertained audiences across North America, where he has toured alongside notable names in comedy.
Jane Stanton (@notjanestanton) is also another local favorite. Her unique take on stage presence has recognized her as one of the top female comics in Canada. She has been recognized by appearances on the Global TV ComedyFest as well as Just for Laughs.
“This is going to be great!!! Get tixs in advance!
Tues, May 15, 2012
Door Times: Doors: 7PM Start: 8PM (sharp)
Details: Live stand-up comedy from Vancouver’s top comedians (DVD-taping)
Cover: $10
Relevant online links: tickets available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/242560”
Here is Ivan Decker (@IvanDecker), local funny man. More event info to come soon, but make sure to catch him recording a locally made DVD special featuring himself and Patrick Maliha (@PattyFatty)
Darren Elmore (@DarrenElmore) has put a production together as he describes as ‘a comedy night with a slightly gay twist. Held at the Juntion Pub in Downtown Davie street, the first weekly show will be held on May 1st with headliner Simon King (@unfamous).
I’ll be sure to check this comedy night out soon enough….Pictures to come!
[Comedian Dan Willows is now the organizer of an interesting night of comedy with stand up and improv at the Great Bear Pub]
Here are some recent jib-jabs thats been going on in the comedy Scene in Vancouver.
Patrick Maliha had the Fray Variety Show popular to a point where he had two variety shows going weekly: the Fray on Tuesdays and Joe’s Apartment on Sundays which is more focussed on the more adult crowd (The Fray is a Family Restaurant). For the time being, the Sunday show at Joe’s is not going, but make sure to check it out in its return this summer!
Who to follow: @PattyFatty
Brendan Bourque’s ‘Vainglorious’ is now a weekend hit at the Sin Bin sports bar. Tucked away in the VIP room, it seats approximately 50 rowdy fans of comedy. A lot of nights, it gets uncensored and the crowd gets loud!
Who to follow: @BrendanBourque2
Brett Martin revived ‘New School Comedy’ in the Kitsilano area. Formerly at the Cove, ‘New School’ was moved over to D’Arby’s Neighborhood Pub which used to have a small history of comedy going on Tuesday nights. ‘New School’ is currently scheduled every Tuesday.
Who to Follow: @Brettmartinlive
Abraham Sualim has set up a new open mic night in the Vancouver Main Street Area at a restaurant called ‘Simply Delicious.’ It is held upstairs in a small lounge. Currently, Abraham is putting the production on hold until the best possible day is found. It will most likely be found on Tuesday.
Johnny Scoop’s regular open mic at the Kingston was recently shut down because of a temporary closure of the restaurant. Johnny is currently hosting his open mic side by side (Wednesday and Thursday) with Marlo Franson’s open mic at Goldie’s Pizza’s downstairs area ‘the Silver Lounge.’ Expect to see Johnny’s Open Mic up and running again in the mid summer or early fall back at the Kingston on Monday nights.
Who to Follow: @JohnnyScoop
With the new schedules set in place at the new Yuk Yuk’s on Cambie, its a great brand new room to check out with pro-am comedy happening on Wednesday nights, and showcase nights on the weekends.
Who to follow: @YukYuksVan and @chrismolineux
Dan Willows, comedian and improv actor, has set up a brand new monthly event in the Burnaby area. ‘The Laughing Bear Comedy Show’ will be making its debut on April 25 with a combination of improv and stand up comedy at the Great Bear Pub. More details coming soon.
Who to Follow: @danwillows
[Comedian Anthony Jeselnik gets a high talking about topics other comedians won’t touch, but not without thought and creativity.]
When you hear the names Louis CK, Daniel Tosh, and Anthony Jeselnik, these names are synonymous to the term ‘edgy.’
For those who don’t know where the term ‘edgy’ comes from term ‘over the edge’ but still acceptable to say. I am assuming going a little bit further would justifiy as a hate crime? Maybe in some crowds. At other times, you will also hear the edgy term associated with comedy that is ‘blue’ or ‘dark.’
In a recent competition, I was alongside fellow comic Nic Roy who is not afraid to banter on any topic that coees to mind. A few months ago, I thought it would be interesting to do a video blog about being an edgy comic and the challenges that come with it. Unfortunately, we never were able to make the time for that, however, I am sure that this is a project I want to do with him some day.
Having Anthony Jeselnik as one of my favorite comics, it’s not easy being an aspiring comic with Jeselnik’s material sticking out like a sore thumb. Monkey see, monkey do….right? Of course, Jeselnik has established a name for himself as an edgy comic.
“I’ve got a long history of suicide in my family. The good news is it skips a generation. So, if I’m lucky, my kids will kill themselves.”
So, how is this acceptable on national television, but questionably acceptable at a local comedy club?
Which brings me to the first challenge of doing edgy comedy. Popularity.
I remember reading a blogpost by my friend, Dennis Litonjua (http://flipnfunny.blogspot.ca/). Looking back at his blog, I can’t seem to find that peice of advice so I can quote it. It goes along the lines of this: don’t think that you are the next undiscvoered talent in comedy. Bottom line is, where you’re standing on stage, people can see that you are not Louis CK, Daniel Tosh or Anthony Jeselnik. You’re a nobody.
Secondly, the next challenge is the audience.
One thing I learned in comedy is that different crowds gather in different areas. Having said that, different styles of comedy works better in different areas. When Marlo Franson dared me to do a ‘dirty’ set of comedy at a Kitsilano comedy night, he was able to assure me that I wouldn’t get the same response as I would at his Goldie’s comedy show/open mic. Now, I never had the chance to do comedy at D’Arby’s, which is located in Kitsalano. However, after talking to other friends who does bits that are dirty and edgy and have done comedy at D’Arby’s, will tell you Marlo was absolutely right. While there are some crowds that will respond well to such buzz words such as ‘abortion’ or ‘holocaust,’ realistically some crowds are just awaiting an intelligent, well written set of comedy.
The Comedy Mix has a giant disclosure saying that beyond the doors, you will be subject to uncensored comedy. Does this mean that saying the unexpected will be acceptable to the crowd? Absolutely not.
We all know that laughter is contagious. Unfortunately, so are boo’s, groans and ohhh’s. This is the reason why I have two sets of material ready. Just in case the crowd reacts one way to my initial joke, I know which direction to take, the edgy and ‘ballz out’ route, or the ‘family friendly’ route.
Which brings me to my final challenge, the material.
On a personal level, I hear a lot of ‘ohh’s’ during my set. I’m fine with that, because thats a lot better than no reaction at all. When I hear ‘Ohh’s,’ I feel that it is important to look at the reaction of people’s faces. From there, you can see the faces of “that just caught me off guard” or “I can’t beleive he just said that.” Of course, the best ‘ohh’s you can receive are the ones that are followed with an applause break. But most importantly, what was said right before the audience broke into ‘oohs?’
I watched a recent interview with Anthony Jeselnik. When talking about topics that a lot of comics will not touch on like rape and abortion, every joke has to be attached to a mean twist, something smart that people can’t see coming.
Which is precisely true. With comedy being recognized as a ‘performing art,’ even edgy comedy has its place to win the audience with laughter. Whitney Houston just died. There’s a joke somewhere there that someone can take advantage of and turn it into entertainment. Too soon? Hell no! Is it the right crowd with a perfect punchline?
Sometimes you gotta hit’em so hard, they don’t see it coming.
[Vancouver’s own, Phil Hanley, drops by the Corner Cafe before he gets right back on his work horse and leaves town for more comedy.]
Taken on Monday, April 12 at ‘The Corner’ on 612 Davie Street.
*write-up coming soon!!
http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=Vancomedy&P=&AID=6521466&T=1
Talent includes:
Simon King, MC (@unfamous)
Greg Kettner (@GREGKETTER
Ian Sirota
Andy Canete
Dennis Litonjua (@flipnfunny)
Jared Borland (@jaredborland)
Phil Hanley, headliner (@phil_Hanley)
Live tweet hashtag: #COTC
