You're here so I assume you love comedy. Well, have I got a deal for you! Mark November 22 in your calendars. Not only is it the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, but it's also the night of a thousand stars. Or six, anyway. CFRO, Vancouver co-op radio, is holding a fundraiser at
Pat's Pub and Brewhouse (home of cheap and delicious beer and eats) and you're invited! For the low, low cost of $10 (plus $1.59 for Eventbrite's troubles), you can get yourself a ticket to the extravaganza featuring six of Canada's top headlining standup comedians, plus the music of
James Danderfer and the
What's So Funny? Orchestra, and Eric Cottrell of
She Was The Law.
Let's run down the line-up for you if you're not sold on it already. What do these comics have in common, besides being hilarious? You guessed it, they've each guested on
What's So Funny? on co-op radio over the years. Here, in alphabetical order, is who you'll see:
Dino Archie. This Fresno, California, native is practically a local given the amount of time he spends up here at his home-away-from-home. Vancouver fans have come to love his infectious enthusiasm and "simply dope" comedy. In June, Dino brought in a couple of his comedy brethren from Los Angeles and Toronto, added in Ivan Decker, and packed the
Vogue Theatre on the strength of his brand.
Graham Clark. The bearded wonder spent the summer at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where his show garnered great reviews like
this and
this. A four-time nominee at the Canadian Comedy Awards and co-winner twice for his podcast Stop Podcasting Yourself. In 2008, Graham pocketed $25,000 as the winner of the Great Canadian Laugh-Off in Toronto. He's appeared on HBO's Funny as Hell series. Zach Galifianakis (of
Hangover fame) calls him, "A really great comic... I wish more people knew of him." And that's not a made-up quote!
Ivan Decker. The
Georgia Straight called the boyish(-looking) Decker "a real star in the making." Yes, I wrote that. And I stand by it. He never ceases to amaze and amuse with his smart(-aleck) observations. Decker has played the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal and this past summer performed at JFL42 in Toronto. Maybe you saw him opening for Brent Butt at the River Rock Show Theatre. In 2011, Ivan won the Vancouver Comedy Showdown.
Charlie Demers. CBC radio listeners are familiar with Demers through his numerous appearances on
The Debaters. But that's just one aspect of this multi-faceted performer. He's the author of the novel
Prescription Errors and the book of essays
Vancouver Special. Charlie's latest gig is as adjunct new media studies professor in the creative writing depart of UBC, but don't let that scare you off. The 32-year-old doesn't lecture when he's on stage telling jokes.
Shirley Gnome. The voice of an angel, but her lyrics are anything but angelic. The naughty songstress sings hilariously filthy c*untry songs. Shirley won the 2012 People's Champ of Comedy award, which was accompanied by a cheque for a cool $20,000. This past summer Shirley took her act on the high road, all the way sunny Scotland where her performances drew
raves (and more
raves, and still
more) at the Edinburgh Fringe Fest.
Erica Sigurdson. One of the most prolific comics in the country. Sigurdson never ceases to impress me with her constantly changing act. No wonder she holds the record for most appearances on CBC's
The Debaters. The woman knows how to write. Erica has performed all over the world, from Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan (during a rocket attack, yet!) to Alert, Nunavut, the northernmost permanently people place on the planet. She's played in every province and comedy festival in this country. Plus, she won a Leo Award for Best Comedy Screenwriting.
What a winner of a show! If you get your tickets online at
eventbrite.ca, not only will you be saving yourself money (tickets are 12 bucks at the door), but you'll be entered into a draw for prizes, such as passes to the two premier comedy clubs in town, the Comedy MIX and Yuk Yuk's. And you'll be helping co-op radio, which relies on memberships and donations from its listeners to keep on keeping on.
I had a front row seat for the Shirley Gnome show on What's So Funny? a few weeks back. As always, Shirley arrived with guitar in hand and proceeded to entertain us for an hour. Well, we talked, too, but she even entertained then as she discussed penis art and public nudity and all that. In this hour, she played 3 or 4 songs, and we played one track off her new album, Taking It Up the Notch. Word is, her jazzy Christmas song, which we also talked about during this episode, will be out on December 8, so listen for it!
