Brent Butt, a pro's pro

I got my Butt fix last Saturday night. Wait. That doesn't sound right. Let me rephrase. I caught stand-up comedian Brent Butt again last week. It had been a while.

Gone are the good old days when I could see him two or three nights a week at a local watering hole. Now that he's a major star, I have to enjoy him with the masses at a theatre about once a year.

I remember the first time I saw him live. Being a comedy fan, of course I had heard of him. He was a well-respected name in Canadian stand-up circles. I saw him on TV and wasn't blown away. I thought he was decent. Nothing spectacular.

Then one night I headed down to the Urban Well downtown, where Butt hosted on Wednesday nights. It was a smaller show than the one in Kitsilano on Tuesday nights, which Butt also hosted. I sat and watched Butt perform in front of probably ten to twenty people. He was fantastic. Now I got what everyone was going on about.

Over the years, I probably saw him perform hundreds of times and I'm not exaggerating when I say he was fantastic every single time. I kid you not. And if you don't think that's rare, you haven't seen much stand-up. Think of all the factors that are involved: 1. The writing. 2. The delivery. 3. The ability to be in the moment and make changes on the fly. 4. Spritzing with the crowd. 5. Confidence not to bail on your material. 6. Adjusting to the whims of the crowd and noises from the room. And lots more I haven't even considered. Every single time he nailed it.

Butt has an exceptional talent. Not only is his material great the first time you hear it; it's great the hundredth time you hear it. I can recite many of his bits almost word for word, but I never tire of hearing him tell the jokes. Nothing he says sounds rehearsed; it's as if he's just thinking of it each and every time.

One thing I always admired about his act was his professionalism. Whether he was performing to six people or 600, he never tanked. He gave a show to the fans who showed up, not worrying about who didn't. He dressed for success, too, usually wearing a blazer, if not a tie, no matter how insignificant the gig. I don't think dressing up is all that important, but it illustrates how he treats all the shows equally.

I once asked him about playing to the sparse downtown Well crowds, who weren't exactly gregarious (maybe because I comprised a large percentage of the crowd – I'm not exactly a big laugher). A lot of comics get up there and if they don't get the reaction they expect, lose all confidence and start bailing. Some of them take it out on the crowd. Not Brent. He told me that even if people weren't laughing, he could sense they were enjoying the show. And he was right.

When he first told me about his idea for Corner Gas, I was... skeptical? Not because the show sounded lame, but because it was Canadian TV. We're just not used to seeing anything good on the tube. The Royal Canadian Air Farce has lowered the bar so much that a horrible show like This Hour Has 22 Minutes is considered a masterpiece. And forget about sitcoms. When was the last one we had? The King of Kensington? You can't count Mosquito Lake. I honestly can't remember.

But damned if he didn't pull it off. Season one of Corner Gas was as good as anything on TV, in my opinion. Great writing, good acting, impressive production quality. The second season was, again in my opinion, the dreaded sophomore jinx and the show was as bad as anything on TV. The actors all started trying to be funny instead of relying on the writing. They started "face acting". Ugh.

Since then, I like it more. Not nearly as well as the first season, but way better than the second. Regression to the mean, I guess it is. All things considered, it's still a pretty good show.

But for our international readers, or anyone who came to stand-up after Corner Gas hit the airwaves, you really don't know what you're missing. At some point along the way I came to the conclusion that there's no comedian out there funnier than Brent Butt. There are lots who are just as funny, with varying styles. But no one is funnier. And he's one of the few who gets the same respect from fellow comics as he does from the audience. Those two don't always go hand in hand. So many comics I've interviewed over the years bring up his name. Andy Kindler raved to me about Butt. So did Mike Macdonald. Ditto Mike Wilmot. One story goes that at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, Butt was a little nervous having to share the stage with American satirist A. Whitney Brown. By the end of the show, the former Saturday Night Live cast member said Butt was the funniest comic he'd ever seen.

I hope one day Butt records a CD and DVD. Check out the web. A talent as great as he is and his standup act is next to non-existent. Where are his Comedy Now! specials? Where are his Just For Laughs spots? I have no doubt that if the rest of the world could see him and forward favourite clips on to each other, he could be a viral hit and sell out theatres in other countries the way he does in this one.

Butt claims his first love is stand-up, but it seems television and movies are a priority for him now. It's a shame. At least he's getting out on stage more since Corner Gas ended. His appearance at the Red Robinson Show Theatre on Saturday was vintage Butt. When I saw him at the River Rock Show Theatre last year, his timing seemed off. Maybe he was out of practice. Maybe he had other things on his mind. But his last show was as good as ever. Unlike a lot of comics, who give up after the first punchline or two, he just keeps coming with tag after tag after tag.

It's also a weird kind of fact, but many hilarious stand-up comics aren't so hilarious in real life. Butt is. He just thinks funny. It's not like he's obnoxiously "on" all the time, because he isn't. He's just naturally funny. His one visit to our studio remains one of my favourite shows. As I said, he's a pro through and through, so he's going to be as informative and funny on little old co-op radio as he is on a big-time commercial station. Here, for old time's sake, is our hour-long conversation from December of 2005.

February 22: Damonde Tschritter

It's Oscar night! How exciting is that? Well, if you're me, it isn't. I lost all faith in the Oscars when Forrest Gump won for Best Picture and haven't watched since. But our guest tonight, Mr. Damonde Tschritter, will be watching so he can fill me in. And you, too, if you're listening. Damonde is a storytelling standup comic, actor, film maker and volunteer firefighter. I think. He's also the only Canadian ever to win the Seattle International Comedy Competition. It's his third time on the program, so we've got all the biographical information out of the way. Tonight we'll just rap about whatever. If that doesn't sell you on the show, I don't know what will. So tune in, won't you?

Break Room Live with Maron & Seder

I was a big Marc Maron fan without ever having seen his stand-up act. For years I admired his intellect as a panel guest on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. It was sit-down comedy, I guess. And I loved him in animated form on my favourite animated show of all time, Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist. Then in 2003, I met his publicist at the Just For Laughs comedy festival in Montreal. She told me Marc would be playing the Chutzpah festival in Vancouver the following year. I couldn't wait.

When the time came, I arranged an interview. Needless to say, it was a good one. The guy is whip-smart and full of neuroses, always a great combination for a comic and an interview. When I finally got to see his act, I wasn't disappointed, even though he almost killed my baby. My wife was pregnant. Right after the show, she experienced some bleeding so she went to a clinic the next day and the doc told her she probably lost it. We figured Maron made her laugh so much she spontaneously aborted the fetus. Thankfully, it was a false alarm. All was forgiven.

A couple years later, Maron returned to the Vancouver comedy festival (not sure what it was called that year – it has a different name almost every year). I got to see a much rawer Maron experience than the more genteel (but not gentile) show at the Norman Rothstein Theatre.

Here's what I wrote in a festival wrap-up. I believe this section on Maron was edited out of the final story that ran in the Straight:

Marc Maron, former morning man on the Air America radio network and one of the prime movers in the so-called alternative comedy movement of the mid-1980s, was nothing short of brilliant all six times I saw him. His best set, oddly, was at Balthazar’s House of Comedy on Monday night. The restaurant/bar is not the perfect comedy room with its temporary stage and L-shaped layout. Throw in a party in an adjoining room, and you’d expect nothing good to come out of it. But Maron hit the stage with attitude and did 38 minutes of pure gold, talking about everything from religion (“I don’t mean to mock the myths that define some of you”) to drug testing (“It’s cheating. If you can’t tell I’m high just by looking at me, I win”) to politics (“George W. Bush is absolutely the right president to oversee the end of the world. I think he’ll do it quickly and efficiently”).

Unfortunately, the next night at Yuk Yuk’s, as good as he was, four fans sitting front and centre, ruined it for the rest of us by constantly interrupting, while Yuks security stood by the whole night doing nothing. In 15 more minutes than he got the previous night, he got to only half of the same material. But Maron handled it beautifully, eventually pointing at the overzealous quartet saying, “I’m the audience now. Bad show.”

And this brief graf was also lost in the editing, I do believe, the next time he came to town:

Marc Maron’s existential angst is always a treat. His wife left him this year, so his soul-baring was even more pronounced than usual. But as he says, he’s just as happy if someone comes away thinking he’s hilarious as he is if they just hope he’s okay.

The guy's a real mensch, too. I e-mailed him during his first comedy festival appearance here in 2006 to ask if he'd be in town on the Sunday night after the festival ended, and if so, would he want to do my little radio show. He wrote back and said he wouldn't be, but if I could get him an extra night at the hotel, he'd stick around and do it because he was just going to be driving to Seattle and didn't need to be there until mid-week anyway. Our show – hell, our station – has no budget, so I asked festival organizer Will Davis if he could keep Marc an extra night at the hotel. Bingo, he was in.

Marc was true to his word. A couple nights before the show, I saw him and he asked if he could bring his friend Janeane Garofalo with him to the show. Yes, that Janeane Garofalo. Can you imagine a better show than Marc Maron and Janeane Garofalo on co-op radio? I couldn't. So I said of course. The next night I got an e-mail from him, again asking about Janeane, saying that if I didn't want her there, that was fine. I responded that I'd be more than happy to have her on, but it's totally up to him if he wanted to share the hour with someone else. Finally, on the evening of the show, he called me at home, just to make sure I was okay with him bringing Janeane with him. You can hear the hour-long show right here.

All this just as a preamble to say I stumbled across a show Marc's doing now on Air America. Or it's somehow affiliated with Air America. I don't quite get it. It's a web show, I think, on video. He does it with Sam Seder, but this week he's all alone. It's a funny political show. I don't usually care for bloviating opinion jocks, but this show is fantastic.

I couldn't figure out how to embed this particular clip, so I'll just provide a link below. In this particular episode, one of his viewers IM'd him asking for his top five comics of all time. Throughout the 22 minutes, he keeps coming back to comedy, all the while giving a thoughtful and intelligent lesson on the art form. He's more articulate off the top of his head than most people are in print (read: me). When a woman IM's him asking how he could possibly like Sam Kinison, Maron says this:

The reason that good comics like Sam Kinison is that he pushed an envelope. He created a delivery system that was completely unique and his own. He also had a sort of energy of wrongness and transcended moral barriers. Obviously he was questionable in a lot of ways but there's a couple of bits of his, just because of the way he delivered, because he had the thrust of the preacher and he developed this device in himself. He was sort of the perfect angry clown and he was a complete original. No one had ever seen anything like him and no one has seen anything like him to this day. His bit on drugs, his bit on Charlie Manson were spectacular. His bits on Jesus were spectacular. The homosexual necrophilia bit was spectacular. The questionable bit about "move to where the food is", which is wrong politically but nonetheless a clever bit. His stuff on women and on AIDS was pretty insensitive, though a couple things on women and abuse, even though he was speaking from the point of view of a potential abuser, were true-to-life psychic nightmares of many people. So I think that's why. I can understand why women didn't like him. A certain type of woman. But believe me, he had no problem with the other type.

He also talks about old-timers like Shelley Berman, Buddy Hackett and Lord Buckley. And brings up the Robin Williams-Steven Pearl comparisons. And if you heard him on my show talking about Dane Cook, you'll know he doesn't hold back. Here he is on his biggest beef with comedy:

The thing that I find most disturbing, because the business has expanded so much, because people can find their own little demographics or sort of campaign to get people to like them, and because of Last Comic Standing you get people who are too green or unprofessional or unoriginal. I think unoriginal or hacky disturbs me more than anything else. And I think the other thing that disturbs me is, because there is a movement towards alternative comedy, that I can sit in the back of a comedy room and close my eyes and not be able to tell the difference between comics and how they deliver jokes and how they structure jokes and how they distance themselves from anything real and just manufacture little packages, little poetic packages that have turns of phrases at the end without taking any emotional risk to find out who they are up there or be something different or at least engage in something that is real life.

To watch the whole thing (and you really should), go here: http://airamerica.com/content/post-show-chat-wednesday

But for some reason, I'm able to embed this short clip from a show earlier this week. Here Marc has a brilliant take on Bristol Palin's interview with Greta Van Susteren, including the greatest description of the male member you'll ever hear:

Misadventures in interviewing

I love interviewing celebrity comedians. They're mostly all really great and engaging. Don't get me wrong. I also have a blast interviewing non-celebrity comics, too, on my show. The ones I'm talking about here are conducted over the phone for print stories. But you can't beat lounging around your pad talking on the phone. Off the top of my head, only two have been less than engaging.

One was Patton Oswalt, who was pleasant enough, but it was a forced pleasantness and he offered absolutely nothing more than he had to. Most comics will treat an interview as it should be treated – as a conversation. But Oswalt took it literally. If there was no direct question, there'd be next to no answer. If there was a yes/no question, you can bet he'd answer with either a yes or a no with zero explanation. I guess he does a lot of interviews with idiots and went into it figuring I was an idiot, too. And maybe I was. But I was also no different than I am with anyone else. Here's the thing: over the years, I've found no correlation between great answer and great question. Sometimes a really original, well-researched question gets a fantastic answer and sometimes it gets nothing. Sometimes a really banal and boring question gets a fantastic answer and sometimes it gets nothing. It all depends on 1) what the interview subject wants to give, and 2) the connection between the subject and me.

I hung up from my interview with Oswalt thinking we didn't really connect and he wasn't all that giving, but I put most of the blame on myself. I always think I should be able to reach whoever I'm talking to – and I usually do. Oswalt certainly was polite enough, so it must have been me. Then, out of the blue, I got an e-mail from a colleague who I rarely see. He didn't know I had spoken to Oswalt. He just wrote me to tell me that he just had the worst interview of his life... and it was with Patton Oswalt. It was enough to turn him off interviewing comedians altogether. What I can't figure out is why someone who wants to promote a show would piss off the very person who can help promote the show. If you don't want to speak to the press, don't. Simple enough. But if you're going to talk, be a professional.

The only other comic I've interviewed who I couldn't reach was Steven Wright. I wrote about that in an earlier post. But with Wright, I figure, that's just the way he is. I can't blame him for that. He eventually warmed up in his own peculiar way but was incapable of really communicating with someone he doesn't know.

Jimmie Walker was a tough nut to crack. He hates doing interviews and didn't want to do one. He's been screwed over by reporters in the past, who sweet-talk him to his face then turn around and bash him in print. That's not my style, but he had no way of knowing that. But I explained to his publicist that I respect him and I only write about comedy and was finally able to finagle one. I call him at the appointed time and he answers the phone quite strangely, I thought. It was like a sexy voice or something. I can't explain it. He was probably just being funny. But I tell him who I am and he immediately shuts down. The first few questions were like pulling teeth. But I persisted and as soon as I showed I knew something about his history outside of Good Times, he started to warm up and it turned out to be one of my favourite interviews.

Beyond that, I've had a couple of funny experiences while conducting phone interviews, both involving my son. These days, I can tell him I've got a phone interview to do and he'll leave me be. But back when he was two or three, it was more challenging.

One morning we got up around 9 and I checked my e-mail at 9:23. I remember the time because the message said Roseanne Barr was available for an interview at 9:25. So I quickly put on a video, explained to my not-quite-two-year-old that I needed to talk on the phone and he couldn't disturb me, then went in the other room to call Roseanne. Because of the situation, I wasn't as comfortable as I usually am. I was walking around talking to her when my son walks in carrying a big race track. I silently motioned "shhh" with my index finger to my lips while Barr was talking. I had forgotten that we hadn't eaten breakfast, which is no problem for me, but when a toddler is hungry, forget about it. That one little motion turned him from happily playing with his toys to bawling his eyes out. I was quietly trying to console him when Roseanne whined in her distinctive nasally voice, "What's wrong with that kid?"

I brushed it off, and got right back to the interview. We talked a bit more and my son started crying again. Roseanne, quite accusingly, I felt at the time, said, "Who's looking after that kid?" I told her I was and she said, "No, you're not. You're talking to some old broad." Then she told me to give him a cookie. It wasn't the smoothest interview I had done and I thought she was being harsh, but when I went back to listen to the tape, I realized she was actually being nice, in her own sweet way.

Fast forward a year and a bit and my son has just learned to poo on the toilet. So he's out of diapers but still needs help. I think you can see where this is leading. I'm expecting a call from Jay Leno's assistant one morning to arrange a time for later that day when I can interview Leno. I had set up a playdate for my kid so I could do the interview in peace. Everything would be fine.

So the boy is in the back yard playing in the dirt and the phone rings, as expected. Leno's assistant is on the line. She says, "I have Jay Leno on the line, can you take it?" Uh... My mind races. I can't say no. He's a busy guy. But I had no time to warn my son. So I stammered, "Sure," and headed to the office to record the call. On the way there, my cordless phone started beeping. It was running out of juice. So I had to pick up the corded phone, meaning I couldn't even walk around or see out to the back yard to check on my son.

So I'm talking to Leno and he's going on like a pro when my son walks in. He starts to talk and I gave him the shush sign again. Being just over three now, he wasn't reduced to tears. In fact, he stopped talking. And then he whispered those five little words I didn't want to hear: "I have to go poo."

Shit.

Leno is still talking and I'm trying to figure out my options. I finally pulled my son's pants down around his ankles and pointed him in the direction of the toilet. It seemed to work. He waddled off towards the bathroom and I was home free, I thought, not realizing he had never once gone on his own before. So a minute passes and he waddles back to the office and whispers, "I don't have to go now." Fine with me. So I put the phone between my ear and shoulder and bend down to pull up my son's pants. Leno is still talking, oblivious, and I'm attempting to offer the appropriate responses. While I'm bending over, the phone squirts out and lands on the floor. I quickly finish the job, send my kid out of the room and pick up the phone. Leno's still talking. I figure I can pick it up on the recording, which I did. It didn't make for the smoothest interview, but he didn't seem to notice.

Comedy musings

What's So Funny? alumnus Chris Molineux has a new comedy blog called "standup stuff". Two entries so far and it's excellent (except for the annoying propensity to insert apostrophes into the possessive form of its, but I'm a bit of a grammar nerd). I have no idea where it'll evolve to, but the first two entries (and the next few) are about his recent, and first, experience doing stand-up in the U.K. Chris actually went to school in England but hadn't been back and had never performed there. He brings great insight into the British scene, from his admittedly brief time there a few weeks ago. Here's an example:

[T]he intros the comics are given involve no credits. In North America, credits are the backbone of an intro for every comic. Less so in larger centres such as L.A. or New York but in general you let the MC know all the most impressive (to the crowd) things you have done and he bundles them to together to form an intro. This serves to build up enthusiasm and expectation in the crowd. Americans in particular, are very impressed by any brush with celebrity you might have had and mentioning it in advance serves to legitimise you as a performer. I have said before that in America, crowds will laugh for you because they think they saw you on HBO, but in Canada crowds laugh at you because they think they saw you on CBC. While less inclined to worship at the altar of celebrity, Canadians still feel an act is legitimised by their credits. In the UK, not so. We discussed this before the show and I was told that credits are never listed off as it would seem arrogant and/or raise the expectation, which here was seen as a bad thing. This little fact also seem to run in line with what I had already witnessed; that the comic should appear as much as a friend as an entertainer.

Check out the whole thing here: http://standupstuff.blogspot.com/

Speaking of British comedy, comedian Lee Hurst was in all the British papers yesterday. It seems he smashed an audience member's cell phone and has had to pay a fine. Now, I think it's ridiculous to see people in the crowd filming a set for a few reasons. One, they can't completely concentrate on the performance so they lose out on a level of enjoyment they might otherwise have experienced. Two, nobody wants to see shaky, grainy footage with bad sound of a comic. And by "nobody", of course, I mean me. I speak for everyone. Three, it's a bit disruptive, not only for the performer but for people near the camera-phoneman.

So for those reasons, I'm all for Hurst smashing the camera. But get a load of his reasoning. He says TV writers record his jokes, then turn around and sell the gags to TV shows:

"TV programmes have writers to write for performers and I have had gags stolen and sold to the BBC and ITV and then that material is gone," he said.

"You are then accused of stealing your own material from a comic on national television. There are thieves amongst the circuit and thieves amongst the writers. There is nobody to protect us, we have to protect ourselves."

Comedy thievery has always happened, long before cell phones. What's to stop them from scribbling down notes? Take away their pen and paper and they've got their memory. There's any number of ways to steal material. But if he's that worried that thieves lurk at all his shows, why does he even perform?

Here's my favourite personal story on temperamental artists and surreptitious chroniclers. Years ago, I saw a no-name jazz singer-pianist at a little restaurant in Victoria. The show was memorable for two reasons: 1. A family friend of hers climbed a little ladder to take a photo of her trio, lost his footing and fell backwards onto the drum set in the middle of a tune, stopping the show until the ambulance came. And 2. Another old guy was sitting at a table recording the show on his cassette player. Keep in mind she was a nobody. He was doing what I had done countless other times: making a recording for his own personal use. The recording quality would be so poor, anyway, that it would be of no monetary value whatsoever.

After the show, she was sitting at the guy's table demanding that he give her the tape. I thought, "Hmm, what a prima donna. Who does she think she is? Ella Fitzgerald? What possible difference would it make?" The guy, to his credit, refused to give up the tape. They compromised. He would keep the tape but had to promise it would only be for his personal use.

And who was that unknown chanteuse? Diana Krall. I guess she knew she'd be a somebody someday. I wonder if that old guy has tried to make any money off it. Maybe he could sell it to a British TV show.

February 15: Riel Hahn

Hello, dear readers. Nice to see this blog starting to get the odd comment. Feel free to go hog wild. It's the only way I can tell anyone's actually reading.

I hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day. Or at the very least a neutral one.

Tonight we have the lovely Riel Hahn, gracing us with her second appearance on the program. And she's bringing along her guitar to serenade us in song. It'll mark the second time a guest has accompanied themselves on the instrument in our studio. The first was the irrepressible Barry Greenfeld, who managed, in a remarkable case of self-control, to keep his clothes on the entire show. We'll see if Riel can remain so composed.

During Riel's first appearance on our show, I never asked her about her experience on the Jerry Springer show, where she played the girlfriend of Vancouver comic Jy Harris, who himself was playing a guy who wanted to get into porn. It turns out the show's a fake. Can you believe that? Life is one disillusionment after another, I tell ya. Here's Riel and Jy on that very episode:



We'll be sure to talk about it tonight. Tune in, won't you?

Deejays

What the hell is it with theatre gigs and annoying radio "personalities"? Why do commercial radiots (I just came up with that nifty portmanteau!) need to come out before every big show and announce who the audience is going to be seeing in thirty seconds? We know who's coming up. The name's right on the ticket. Secondly, who are you? Nobody listens to your shitty station. With the vast number of radio outlets available to us these days, either on our sets or computers or beaming down from outer space, your two-bit station might get 300 listeners tops.

This isn't petty jealousy because the co-op station that airs What's So Funny? gets maybe three listeners. Honest. I just think this practice is the most redundantest thing. Plus, I must admit, commercial radio people kinda give me the creeps. They stride to the stage all cocky, giving their names and affiliation, pausing slightly for the applause that never, ever comes, before carrying on with their well-modulated voices.

It also must be horribly humbling for them. Everyone on commercial radio thinks they're God's gift to humour, what with their slide whistles and dingers and raucous laughter from their sycophantic sidekicks. And then they find themselves on stage before real live comedians and they're not getting even a pity guffaw from an audience ready to laugh. This is just a lose-lose situation all around. It must be stopped.

At the River Rock once I was introduced to some radio woman on some big station I never listen to. She does lots of these types of intros. I was given her name so I greeted her with a respectful hello. Since I didn't appear to get all excited at the mere mention of her name, she jumped in with, "I'm the hag in the sky." Or some such thing. I said, "I don't know what that means." I immediately felt awful because you could tell she was wounded. I think she was expecting me to be a big fan. But she was doubly screwed because the only thing I hate more than radio personalities are traffic news reporters. Those people are the laziest buggers on the air, getting us to call them and supply them with all the info. Athough it works for me because when I'm running late and the traffic is bad, I just call in and say there's been an accident on my route. They report it and, presto!, the street opens right up. (Okay, I haven't done that, but I will someday, I promise.) Anyway, despite my non-responsive greeting this hag in the sky went out there on that stage like a trooper and announced who was coming up to the best of her a.m. ability.

Maybe these "personalities" don't even want to be there. Maybe their bosses think it would be a great way to plug the station. Like we're all sitting there thinking, "That horribly unfunny person who went up there at the beginning who told us what we already knew sure had a well-modulated voice. I think I'll start listening to his show."

I'm not a fan of heckling or booing actual comics but I think the best way to get rid of this horribly ill-conceived practice is to boo mightily and heckle mercilessly the next time a radio deejay steps to the microphone prior to a big comedy show. Even if you happen to like the person. Just do it. Knowing them, their egos won't even allow for the fact that it was directed their way so it won't sting too bad. But it just might stop the organizers from putting the next local pseudo-celebrity out there where they don't belong.

Sitting in judgment

Comedy competition season is upon us. Yuk Yuk's is in the midst of their yearly showdown. Every Tuesday in February ten or so comics take to the stage to perform six minutes of their best material in the hopes of winning $3000 and a trip to Toronto to compete at nationals (or whatever they call it) for the chance to take home $25,000. Last year, Vancouver's own Graham Clark was the big winner. More on him later.

I was one of four judges last night. I don't enjoy judging. It's so arbitrary, so hard to compare one comic against the other. I've done lots over the years and only do them because I'm asked. I'd much rather just watch. Competitions are artificial. It's like figure skating. When everyone's doing something different, how do you compare? You should just enjoy each one for its artistry without assigning a grade to it. But everyone loves a competition.

Who make the best judges? I don't have an answer to that. Should it be someone like me, who sees a lot of the comics year round and knows their act and what they're capable of? Should it be someone who hardly ever goes to comedy and comes in with a clean slate? Should it be a fellow comic? There are pros and cons to each one.

Each one of those groups has biases, so that evens out. If I have a bias towards individual comics, someone who doesn't go to a lot of live comedy will have a bias towards (or against) certain styles or ages or whatever. It's just so personal. It's ridiculous to think everyone will have the same tastes. Just take any famous comic and ask your friends. Half of them will think Robin Williams is the funniest guy on earth, and half will hate him. Some love Bill Hicks; others think he's highly over-rated.

Someone like me as a judge would be able to recognize borrowed material or overused bits because I've been going to live comedy for 29 years... What the--? My good God I'm old... On the other hand a "celebrity" or lay judge who rarely sees live comedy brings a fresh perspective and maybe represents the common audience member better.

So I think the best way to go is to have judges of various backgrounds. I think the organizers should also go for other comedy performers who don't do standup. For example, the worlds of standup and improv rarely meet. Why not bring in a veteran improv or sketch performer who's not familiar with the individual standup comics in the competition but knows funny?

Something else I'd love to see is an open scoring system like they have in the Seattle competition. The comics, and public, should see exactly who scored what. In all the competitions I've judged, I've rarely sided with the end result. Last year, one of the three winners wasn't on three of the four judges' top three. How did that happen? We don't know so we just have to trust that the organizers aren't just putting through who they want.

Some comics think they know my biases and don't like to see me at the judge's table. Fair enough. But I try to judge solely on that night's performance and no other factors. And whether I know and like them personally or not has no bearing on the score I give them. I've voted for comics I don't know or may not like all that well personally just as often as I've voted for someone I know and like as a person. It makes no difference to me.

Which brings me to Graham Clark, who also happens to be a great guy. For years I've heard from various comics that I have some sort of man-crush on Graham, like I favour him over all others. Where this comes from, I have no idea. Graham is one of the top comics in the city (and the country, as witnessed by his victory at "nationals" last year). I've only judged him in two or three competitions. The first time was at a Just For Laughs Homegrown competition at Lafflines when he was just starting out. Even though he was nervous as hell and very raw, I liked what I saw and scored him relatively high. But I didn't have him winning and, in fact, he didn't win. The next time was at a competition at the old Urban Well. He was one of the five finalists. On that particular night, I had him 5th out of five. That's no knock on him. I just felt that on that night the other four were better. But the other judges (or organizers) liked him well enough that he won the thing. And I honestly can't remember if I judged him in last year's Yuk Yuk's competition or not, but obviously I had nothing to do with his win in Toronto.

Maybe it's because I've written about him a few times. Here's the thing: I rarely if ever get to choose who I write about. I don't have a column where I get to write whatever I want. I'm either given assignments or I pitch an idea. The ultimate decision is with editors. And let's just say I've pitched way more stories than I've ever written. If there's no hook there, or editors haven't heard of the person, they're often reluctant to give up space to them.

But let's look at this dispassionately. I don't have exact records, but here's an incomplete list of locals I've written about over the years, many of them on more than one occasion:

Vancouver TheatreSports League
!nstant Theatre Company
John Beuhler
Morgan Brayton
Brent Butt
Jason Bryden
Bucket
Tom Chin
Cheech & Chong (c'mon, they were local at one time!)
Tommy Chong (see point above)
Roman Danylo
David C. Jones
Sean Devlin & Kevin Lee
Ellie Harvie
Erica Sigurdson
Giggle Dam
JP Mass
Phil Hanley
Kevin Foxx
Peter Kelamis
Irwin Barker
Ivan Decker
Jeffery Yu
Sam Easton
Billy Mitchell
Graham Clark
Nathan Clark
Bob Robertson & Linda Cullen
Ryan Stiles
Tanyalee Davis
Damonde Tschritter
Darcy Michael

If you go by sheer number of articles, Vancouver TheatreSports League wins in a landslide but I don't hear anyone saying they're my favourite.

I guess what I'm saying is this: Don't assume. Because when you assume you make a ssum out of e.

UPDATE: Come to think of it, I'm not even sure I judged the final at Urban Well. Maybe it was just in my head that I ranked the finalists. I honestly don't remember. But the point holds.

FURTHER UPDATE: Forgot to mention who came through in last night's competition. The three to advance, in the order they were announced, were A.J. McKenzie, Jeffery Yu and Ben McGinnis, all worthy of advancing, too.

February 8: Sugar Sammy

Happy Sunday, all. I'm just back from my first ever Alpine experience. Not that I went skiing or anything crazy like that. No, that record stays. But tubing is awesome, dude (I think that's what they say on the slopes). Here's proof:


But enough about me. I've got a show to prepare for... after the requisite nap, that is. Sam Khullar will be our guest tonight. Who's that, you say? Why, it's Sugar Sammy, who's transitioning into his real name as he matures into a grown-up. Sammy flew into town this very day and he'll be in studio with us tonight for his third visit to the program. This guy is suave and hilarious and I'm betting he'll be bigger than Russell Peters some day. Why the comparison with Peters? It's not fair, really, but they're both Indo-Canadians so it's the easy comparison. And I'm all about taking the easy way out.

The good folks at Just For Laughs are sending Sammy all across the country (or at least the JFL version of Canada that ends in Montreal) on a solo tour. He plays The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts (aka the Catchiest Theatre Name in the Business) on Friday, Feb. 13. Yes, Friday the 13th for you horror fans. And on Valentine's Day night he'll be in Surrey at the Bell Performing Arts Centre. But tonight is when you'll really get to know the man behind the Sugar Sammy persona.

THIS JUST IN: Joining us tonight will be this guy, Daliso Chaponda, who's from Malawi via the UK and Canada and also is Sam's opening act on this tour.

UPDATE: Forget the This Just In addendum. It's just Sugar Sammy on the show. Daliso is jet-lagged. But do check out his blog and website. They're pretty good.

February 1: Maz Jobrani

A couple weeks ago, the Iranian-American comic Maz Jobrani was in town for his "Brown & Friendly" tour. As so often happens with visiting comics, they skip town on Sunday afternoon and aren't able to do my show that night. On rare occasions I think ahead and pre-record an interview with them. I was on the ball this time. Maz was able to talk to me in his dressing room at the Commodore about an hour prior to his show. Unfortunately, he could only talk for half an hour. But whatever. I won't hold that against him. He was as friendly as all get out.

So tonight, I'll play that interview and we'll fill out the rest of the hour with comedy clips. Some, perhaps, even from Jobrani himself. How's that?

Okay, nap time.

Two-time WSF? guest does good

I just read that Kyle Cease has won the Comedy Central Stand-up Showdown. If you don't believe me, see for yourself.

Good on him. Kyle has been on our program twice before and is the only guest we've had who's essentially done his act in studio. I like it, but it's different. I think that's an American style thing. Down south, stand-ups get invited on to radio shows and usually it's a morning zoo kinda deal where everything's wacky. The comic works in a bit and the hosts cackle and ring bells and blow buzzers and all that. Obviously on our show, we don't do any of that. Hell, we hardly even laugh. But he was a great guest. I just checked our podcasts and see only one of his appearances is up. I'll have to look around to see if I have the other one. Meanwhile, if you haven't heard it already, you might enjoy Kyle Cease live in our studio from September 25, 2005.

Speaking of podcasts, as some of you may have noticed, the last one we uploaded is from December 2007. What can we say? We were distracted in '08. It flew by. This very morning I awoke to not one but two e-mails (one from a total stranger, the other a former guest) who asked when we were going to be posting more. Let me just say that's a new record besting the old mark of zero. So let that be my New Year's resolution. I know we had some great guests last year. So I'll work on getting some up for you and I'll let you know right here when that happens. But don't, as they say, hold your breath. Unless you have the hiccups, in which case by all means hold your breath until they go away.

January 25: Simon King

Look at that, it's Sunday already. Showtime. The red light comes on at 11 p.m. Tonight we've got the King of Vancouver comedy, Simon King. Simon was scheduled us to be with us during the great snowstorm of '08 but the flurries, as well as my hacking couch, prevented us from going on with the show.

The Astro Boy lookalike last visited us way back in May 2005. No doubt he'll have lots of stories for us, including his recent experience at the Las Vegas Comedy Festival where he was the only Vancouver comic invited. And even though he spends a good chunk of time down in Los Angeles these days, we still call him a Vancouver comic. Simon is known for his fast-paced stream of consciousness so who knows where else we'll go in the hour. Tune in to find out.

Satire

Most political comedy does nothing for me. Not because I'm apolitical, but because it's usually so strident, so pushy, so... elitist. Like they know better than everyone else. Usually I agree completely with the comic's views, but I'm not interested in hearing my own views screamed back at me unless there's some level of wit and a different take on it. I think the problem is that some comics (Margaret Cho and Bill Maher come immediately to mind, but there are lots more) feel too strongly about the subject so they lose any distance. They care too much.

The Daily Show, in my opinion, goes about it perfectly. They aren't against trumpeting their viewpoints but are at least more nuanced and often take the opposite viewpoint so as to hold it up to ridicule rather than just bashing the opposite viewpoint. Of course, the outcome is the same either way. I just think the satirical route is the way to go.

Ian Boothby over at the Comedy Couch forum recently posted this great video of one of my favourite political comics, A. Whitney Brown. I used to watch Brown on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show back in the day. He was different. Dry. You had to listen to his words because nothing else about him smelled of funny. But he was. Very much so. Then he got a writing gig on Saturday Night Live, which also let him do commentaries on Weekend Update every so often. It was great stuff. He wrote a book called The Big Picture, which I read at the time but can't find anywhere now. And then he was one of the correspondents on The Daily Show back when it was hosted by Craig Kilborn. But we didn't get that up here, unfortunately. I love his take on supporting the troops. He goes about it backwards and is just as skewering as any of those more obvious comics. And I love that he doesn't have a delivery that says, "Here's the punchline! It's coming right up!" You actually have to listen.

Brown doesn't have much of a web presence but you can find a few things. Here are two you'll enjoy. The first is called "I Support the Troops" and the second is a stand-up set he did in Winnipeg a few years ago on the subject of atheism.

I wish we could see or read more of him.

My worlds are colliding

Being a life-long comedy and jazz fan, my worlds had never met before. It was one or the other. When I'm out on the town, it's either for a comedy show or a jazz concert. If I were a little older, I could have indulged both those interests in one sitting. At one time, comics used to open for jazz musicians. How awesome would that have been? Pretty. Jimmie Walker told me he used to open for Miles Davis. Imagine that for a second. Chances are, if you're under the age of 30, you only think of Jimmy Walker as the pudgy guy who shows up on Letterman every half a year or so. If you're a little older, you think of him only as the "Dy-no-mite!"-spouting J.J. on Norman Lear's Good Times. But if you're even older than that, or have read my interview with him, you'll know that he was a pretty hip Black Panther comic and was named Time magazine's comedian of the decade at one point. And Miles Davis is/was Miles freakin' Davis, the epitome of cool.

While I haven't seen a comic opening for a jazz musician yet, my two solitudes have at least come together on the same grounds, if not the same night. The Cellar Jazz Club on Broadway and Alma is about the coolest underground New York-style jazz club in the country. In fact, the venerable Downbeat magazine has named it one of the Top 100 Jazz Clubs Worldwide for three straight years. In the five year's of its existence, I've seen probably over 100 shows there from visiting and local jazz musicians. It's the place to be if you have any interest in the music.

And now they have comedy. Well, at least for this month. And maybe next. I've been the last two Tuesdays. Attendance has been spotty, but I remember the early days of the club and attendance was spotty for the jazz shows, too. Now it's regularly sold out. So I'm hoping they stick with the comedy because the venue is ideal. Not too big, not too small, good stage, good sound system.

Vancouver veteran, and Seattle Comedy Competition winner, Damonde Tschritter hosts. It's a pro night (as opposed to an open mic with amateurs) and what makes it different is that the pros are expected to do only new material. For someone who sees a lot of these guys, it's great for me because I know much of their acts by heart. But it's good for others, too, because most pros are able to make even their failed attempts funny.

What I don't like, though, is the fact that it's the same line-up each week, with maybe one or two different faces added in. The reasoning is that the crowd can sort of chart their progress from week to week. I think that's a lot to ask for. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. Repeat customers I'm sure would rather get a full sampling of the town's pro-comic community. But I'm niggling. It's still a fun show and I'm more than happy to make the trek in from the North Shore every Tuesday to see it.

Which brings me, somewhat sloppily, to the topic of gossip. I love it as much as the next girl, but I have enough of a journalist's mindset to want to find out the truth as best I can by asking the subject of the gossip if it's true. There's always two sides to a story.

Well, I was the subject of some gossip recently that took place at the Cellar. After the Snowed In comedy tour last Saturday, I ran into a young comic who said, "Hey, I heard someone yelled at you from the stage at the Cellar last week." I knew exactly what he was talking about, but not because there was any truth to what he heard. That is, I was heckled by a comic. Here's what happened:

I was sitting off to the side of the stage. Richard Lett, who was performing, walked to the piano to tinkle the ivories when he spotted me sitting there. Richard recently battled back from testicular cancer and had just done a chunk of material on the subject. For a while, he was hairless and bloated from his chemotherapy treatment. In his low, gruff voice he said, "The media's here! Nice haircut... Chemo wannabe."

That was it. People laughed. I laughed. It was harmless. Richard and I, while not friends, are certainly friendly. I always enjoy talking to him. We disagree on lots and neither of us is afraid of saying as much. And he's one of my favourite guests to have on What's So Funny? He's open and honest and thoughtful and a little bit insane. So it makes for great radio. So I took the jab in the spirit it was intended. It's a bald joke, for crying out loud. How on earth did someone hear that and jump to the conclusion that there was ill will between us? Believe me, if Richard wanted to, he could have skewered me on any number of issues.

Then this last Tuesday I sat in a different seat. Richard gets up on stage and spots me again, identifying me to the crowd then mentioned that he heard the same rumour about how he attacked me. He didn't get it, either. So there you have it. The original gossip is way more fun and interesting, but there was nothing to it.

My point is, go to the Cellar. For comedy. For jazz. Just go.

January 18: Reza Peyk (and some notes on Norm Macdonald)

Hey there. It's me again. I'm just lying here on the couch watching Frontline and eating Mini Ritz Sandwiches. What are you doing?

Oh, yeah. This isn't a conversation. It's a blog. So I best be blogging. But damn these Ritz things are addictive. See, this is why I don't do drugs. I fear I have an addictive personality and if I started in on the reefers and doobies, I'd never stop. I've never actually been addicted to anything, but still, you never know. Hope these Ritz crackers aren't a gateway snackfood.

But enough about me and my orange fingers, let's talk comedy. First off, our flagship show, What's So Funny?, welcomes the Iranian sensation Reza Peyk tonight. Reza will be opening up for the even bigger Iranian sensation Maz Jobrani next Saturday (Jan. 24) at the Commodore Ballroom. Take a look at the young feller over there in the right panel. [UPDATE: That photo changes weekly and isn't there anymore.] Check out those tatts. I gotta admit, I'm a little intimidated. He'll be by far the hippest guest we've ever had on our show (with apologies to Jeffery Yu).

I've never met Reza before, but have spoken to him on the phone the last time he opened for Jobrani at the River Rock. The kid is enthusiastic and fun so I should be okay. It'll make for a lively hour of radio, I'm sure. Of course, I've been wrong before. But I've got a good feeling about this one.

Hey, I just got back from an evening with Norm Macdonald at the River Rock. I can totally see why some people wouldn't like (or "get" might be the better word) Norm but I love him. There are relatively few comics who just make me laugh without even being funny, and he's one of them. Wait a second, that doesn't sound right. He is, in fact, really funny. But he doesn't have to be. I just start giggling as soon as he opens his mouth.

I interviewed the guy two years ago and to date he holds the record for longest phone interview I've done. By a long shot. Most comics of his stature will give you anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. That day, Norm was just in a really chatty mood. It wasn't like a standard interview; more like a two-way conversation. We talked for 90 minutes. I had put a video on for my then 2-year-old son to keep him happy while I was on the phone, but at about the hour mark I had to, you know, feed him and that kind of parental stuff. The interview was essentially over anyway. I had asked all I needed to ask. So I just put my son in his high chair and made him his lunch, then fed it to him, all the while talking to Norm Macdonald. By this point, it was more like he was interviewing me, asking me questions and chatting. Some might describe it as surreal, but I kinda just go with the flow. Nothing much phases me. I transcribe almost all of my celebrity comic interviews and post them on the Comedy Couch with very little editing, but not that one. The last half hour, as fun as it was, was just unusable. I can't even remember why now. Just trust me.

One thing Norm told me then was this: "... sometimes I do an absolutely clean show just for fun. And then sometimes I don't." He was talking about how raunchy his shows can be and how he doesn't want kids there. Tonight I was thinking was one of those nights that he just inexplicably did a clean show. Yes, he threw in the odd swear word, but his set was kind of safe. At least, it started out that way. About half an hour in he started talking about how he believes in God and did some jokes that basically echoed Pascal's Wager, only a helluva lot funnier. Then he mentioned that he recently became a Christian. I have no idea if he really was, but it rang true. Yes, he was still making jokes and swearing, but he sold us (me, anyway) on the idea that he was searching for answers and found it in our lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Sure, he said the first thing he was going to do in heaven was "kick the shit out of Eve", but that's Norm. It was, I gotta admit, a little disappointing to think that he had taken the route of eternal salvation. I expect comedians to mock things like organized religion, not embrace them. But then as he kept going, I came to the conclusion that he's probably not a born-again. He still might be, though. If I ever get a chance to talk to him again, that question is definitely on the list.

It was at this point that he started taking us on a dark journey. A hilariously dark journey. From religion he went on to killing. I can't remember a comic doing such an extended bit on serial killing before. Dangerous, because he wasn't so explicitly condemning brutality. He talked about what he'd do if he were a serial killer (90 percent of the time, he said, would be in digging a really, really deep grave). He clearly wasn't supporting murder, but by taking on the persona of a murderer, I'm sure there were people there who thought he stepped over the line.

Then he started talking about one of his favourite topics: natural death from heart attacks and cancer and how he doesn't ever want to die. He has it in his living will that the plug shall never be pulled. And if it's too much of a burden on his family to leave their bridge game once every two weeks to go touch his hand, tough.

He also had little patience for diseases like alcoholism (it's the only disease where you get to drink all day) and bulimia (doctor to patient: You say you shove your fist down your throat and throw up? Yeah, don't do that. Now I'm going to go deal with this guy with bowel cancer over there). *Note: I'm not using quotation marks because I'm going from memory here so the wording might not be precise. But it's probably different every time he tells it, too.

Norm ended the evening talking about repressed memories and how horrible they must be. If he were raped, he said, that's probably all he'd remember and he wouldn't know anything about, say, the War of 1812. But hopefully those memories would come out some day. Then he imagined people talking to him about things, and he'd just answer something like, 'I don't know anything about that. But I do remember my uncle's cock.' And he took us through several scenarios where his uncle's giant cock featured prominently.

He did almost 90 minutes. Hmm, I'm sensing a trend with Norm. Maybe he just does everything in 90-minute increments. But it was a great show made all the better by his nasally fumbling delivery.

It was also fun seeing the Farley Brothers open up the show. But a different kind of fun. A plane-crashing-into-a-river kind of fun. Like, it's horrific and you can't take your eyes off it, but thankfully nobody gets hurt. I was never a fan of their late brother Chris, but he was clearly the most talented of the Farley clan. Their "act", such as it was, consisted of telling stories about their family. I gotta admit, though, I'd love to sit around and hear those stories. I just think that an act should be more than recollections. But they were having fun and it was infectious in an odd way.

Unfortunately I missed the Snowed In tour, which was finishing up its run at the Rio Theatre. I boogied over there hoping to catch the end, but got there just as the crowd was filing out. Spoke to some people, though, and by all reports it was a big success. The Kelowna paper said it was even better than the Just For Laughs tour, which is pretty big praise. Dan Quinn pulled this tour together and did all the leg work. Former Vancouverites Craig Campbell and Glenn Wool shared the bill with Dan. (Irishman Ed Byrne did all the shows but Vancouver.) They're already talking about doing it bigger and better next year. I definitely won't miss it then.

Sometimes there's just too much damn comedy in this city.

I feel sick now from all the Mini Ritzes. I think I'll go shove my fist down my throat. Talk to you later.

January 11: Seth Perry (and some notes on Lily Tomlin & Kathy Griffin)

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a Seth Perry confirmation. So we're good to go tonight. Seth was scheduled to be on the program a few weeks ago but couldn't make it. So tonight we'll get to hear all about his run at the Seattle International Comedy Festival. And no doubt he'll plug his weekly comedy showcase at Jupiter, at Bute and Davie. And find out what else he's up to. So tune in tonight at 11.

It was another full comedy weekend. On Friday night I took in Lily Tomlin. I'm a casual fan of Ms. Tomlin. I didn't really know what to expect, or if I'd even enjoy myself. But she was absolutely fantastic. She did some local jokes and then tons of character work, telling her life story. I don't think I laughed even once (not all that surprising for me) but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was totally impressed. The laughs came for me in the Q & A session where she proved she's a naturally hilarious performer. And what energy. I know 69 isn't ancient, but she had boundless energy, doing about two hours and floating all over the stage.

Kathy Griffin was in attendance and shouted out a question during the Q & A, asking Tomlin to please be a guest on her reality series, Life on the D-List. Tomlin showed great faux-attitude, saying she'd love to do the show, but would rather slit her wrists instead. She told Griffin you can't just expect to move up to the A-list so easily. For example, she herself had to do Katherine Hepburn's laundry for years to work up to the A-list. Finally, Tomlin's true humility came out. She'd do the show, but not because she wanted to, but because she had to, having slipped from the A-list thanks to that viral video of her swearing her head off at director David O'Russell on the set of I Heart Huckabees. Great show.

At the post-show meet'n'greet, Griffin's camera crew was there, and Kathy literally sat at the feet of Tomlin to observe the master. They had some great exchanges. At one point, the River Rock's crack media liaison guy introduced Lily to the Westender writer, who had done a story on Tomlin. Lily greets her and says something like, "That was a wonderful story you wrote." Then she stage whispers over to Kathy: "That's what you say to journalists." Very funny.

Then it was Griffin's show on Saturday. I'd seen her a couple times before; once in Montreal and once last year at the River Rock. We all know she's a chatty Kathy. What you see on her series and on talk shows is essentially what you get in her act. No real well-crafted jokes, but just really funny and engaging stories. It's a really conversational style. She's like a best friend who's just dying to tell you what they experienced or think, be it spending her birthday with Cher or hanging with Anderson Cooper on New Year's Eve. You know, just like your friends. She does a horrible Cher impression (as she admits) but a fantastic Rosie O'Donnell and Liza Minnelli. Griffin also did close to two hours, then amazingly went back and did a second show. I don't know how she does it. The paycheque probably helps.

Anywho, the radio show. Don't forget about it. Tonight. 11 pm. Ish.
Peace out, mofos.

January 4: Marcus Ryan

After a couple weeks off, we've got a new show for you. With a new guest. I guess that's why they call it New Years. Our guest tonight, Marcus Ryan, hails (that's the appropriate weather term for today) from the great continent/country of Australia. Where, exactly, we'll find out. And maybe I'll get an answer to how it can be both a continent and a country. I've never understood that. If you don't speak Aussi, not to worry, mates. I have years of ESL teaching experience and we should be able to work our way through any miscommunication.

Take a look at our schedule over there in the right-hand panel. Our January dance card is all filled up: Seth Perry, Reza Peyk and Simon King. That's a solid line-up, I tell ya. So tune in tonight and every Sunday this month for some scintillating conversation about comedy.

Is that about it, then? Any questions, comments or nasty remarks? If so, you know where to leave 'em.

December 28: Still no show!

Still no show? What gives? Well, we here at What's So Funny? (TM) like to end the year on a whimper rather than a bang. And if you tune in, you won't even get an encore presentation. Instead you'll be greeted with the Korean-language show and Korean pop music. Sorry about that. It's just the way things are. Accept, grasshopper.

But we'll be back with a vengeance next Sunday. We've got an international comic on. An Aussie. I hope I understand him. I sure hope our regular listener in Tasmania is listening. (Yes, we have international listeners, too, thanks to live-streaming.)

Anyone get any good comedy-related Christmas presents? Feel free to share in the comments section. (Is it totally transparent I'm just fishing for comments? It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact I never get any and have no way of knowing if anyone views this blog. Honestly. Really.)

Hey, we went a whole year without getting a podcast up. So when they start trickling in (soon, I hope), you'll have lots to listen to. A whole year's worth – if I can find them. I'm sure there were some good ones. Did you know you can find us on iTunes? And it's free? Why don't you go download one and listen to it between 11 and midnight tonight and pretend we're on the air.

Happy New Year if I don't talk to you before then. Okay, happy New Year even if I do talk to you before then. Because that's the kind of guy I am.

December 21: No show tonight

Looks like we're done for the year, folks. Man, it's like we live in Canada or something. I love the snow and all, but my car doesn't. Just as well since I'm still hacking and sneezing from whatever monster bug is out there. Man, if there's ever a case for homeschooling, it's that. Kids bring home the darnedest things, don't they?

So I've broken the news to Simon King, who was scheduled to be on tonight. He took it like the man that he is. Simon just got back from the Las Vegas comedy festival, I do believe. The only Vancouver comic in attendance. I'm sure he had some good stories to tell. Thankfully he was gracious enough to rebook and he'll be back on Jan. 25 (aka 11 shopping months until Christmas '09).

If you want to tune in tonight anyway, there will be a repeat... er, I mean an encore presentation. The station is going to run the Nov. 16 classic with guest Byron Bertram. It's a must-listen. And if you've already heard it, you catch so much more the second time.

Next week we were taking off anyway. The Korean language show that usually follows us will be starting an hour early in our place. That's for you, Paul Bae.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a see ya later.

December 14: Richard Kiss

Welcome to winter. I don't know about where you are, but over here on the north shore of Vancouver, it's a freakin' winter wonderland. Given the hills here, I have no idea if I'll be able to get to the show tonight. We'll see. I sure hope so. Our guest tonight, Richard Kiss, is leaving town on the morrow, going back to his home in sunny California, where he's been living for the last 17 years.

I first saw Richard in a stand-up comedy competition at Yuk Yuk's last year. Come to think of it, I last saw him at that competition, too. I liked what I saw. He's a math/computer nerd who was also a member of the UCLA Comedy Club (I have no idea what that is, but it sounds impressive, I guess just because it's at UCLA).

Hey, speaking of Yuks, I saw a great show there last night. Jon Dore was in town. If you've never seen The Jon Dore Television Show, watch it. It's pretty damn funny, and original, to boot. I know, it's on the Comedy Network, but not everything they do sucks; just most of what they do. This one's good, though. Trust me. He's also a really funny stand-up. The show was hosted by Sean Proudlove, who was on fire. It was fun watching him work. He came out to a really chatty crowd. Proudlove doesn't have the voice that really commands an audience to sit up and listen. So he started in while everyone was yakking away. But, pro that he is, he immediately related to them by addressing the Christmas parties in attendance and calling out the bosses. That got everyone listening and once they realized he had the goods, were in the palm of his hand the rest of the way. Former Vancouver Dave Tsonis middled and the crowd loved him, too. I like his new single guy material. Even if he gets a new gal in his life, he should keep it. It suits his persona. A good night of comedy on the town.