Spring comedy preview

The biannual arts preview just came out in the Georgia Straight. As usual, I did the comedy portion. I imagine the theatre and dance writers have an easier time of it because those art forms usually book a season in advance. Comedy, not so much. Which is to say, this isn't a definitive list. Still, as you can see here, there are some good shows coming up. Two I'm most excited about are Brian Regan and Norm Macdonald. I've seen both of them before (come to think of it, I've seen all but Jamie Kennedy before), but they're always hilarious. Anyway, my point about comedy bookings was driven home right after I sent this in to the editors last week. Three more shows were announced but we were unable to include them. And they are

• Danny Bhoy, May 16 at the Vogue. He's the darling of the Just For Laughs people, having closed two of their cross-country galas. I can't imagine there's a huge demand for the guy, but those JFL people know how to fill seats.
• Penn & Teller, June 11 at the River Rock Show Theatre. I've never seen these guys live before and I'm a big fan so I'm looking forward to this one. Granted, I am an unabashed fan of magic. But even people who aren't fans of traditional magic love their meta-magic show. I interviewed Penn Jillette in Montreal about his involvement with The Aristocrats back in 2005, which you can hear on the podcast here.
• Tim Allen, June 18 at the Red Robinson Show Theatre (two shows). I've never been a fan, but I've also never seen him live before so look forward to seeing if his live show is different from what I've seen on TV. I can't tell you the number of times I've been pleasantly surprised at a live show after years of not liking what I've seen from the same comic on TV.
  

November 16: Byron Bertram

I'm spent. What a comedy weekend it was here in Vancouver. Friday night started with the Just For Laughs comedy tour at the Centre. A solid, if unspectacular, start to the weekend. There was no one I hated, but no one blew me away, either. Five comics performed and I present them to you in order of preference: Pete Zedlacher (Canada), David O'Doherty (Ireland), Hal Crittenden (Britain), Finesse Mitchell (USA) and Danny Bhoy (Scotland). As soon as that show ended, I raced up to the Vogue where Louis CK was 15 minutes into his act. Man, what a forceful and funny comic he is. Seeing him immediately after the JFL acts made you realize what was missing in the earlier show. The five comics there all knew how to make a crowd laugh (and some were laughing uncontrollably), but it didn't have the same impact as CK. His comedy is more... real, I guess. Or at least he presents it that way. It was a great show.

Saturday night was my most anticipated show of the season in Dame Edna at River Rock. She was supposed to be here last April but had to cancel. I know some people think she's just a drag act, and old-school at that, but she's so much more, and if you've never seen her live, you owe it to yourself to check her out next time she's in town. That being said, it seemed like she had an off-night. Still plenty of laughs, but too many lulls, too.

And how do I top it off? Well, how about standup comic and street performer Byron Bertram? Boo-ya! He'll be making a return visit to What's So Funny?, but it'll be my first time interviewing him. I can't remember what happened last time. I think I was sick, so trusty manservant Kevin took over the hosting duties. So let's just say this is his first real visit to the show. I'm hoping he does the whole thing in various accents. The guy is amazing.

Hey, you know what else is kinda amazing? His father, Gordie Bertram, it turns out, was (or is... I guess we'll find out) a jazz musician who played with my jazz musician father. Not only that, but Kelly Dixon's jazz musician uncle (Frank Mansell) also played with my dad. That's neither here nor there, but whatever. It's not all about you.