Florida Part 1

In a need to disseminate a month in the States, I shall expound on our vacation there.

First off, why Florida? It really wouldn't be the first choice on a list of places to visit. I had been there when I was young, did the Disney World thing, and viewed the humid flatness of it all.

The main reason for heading to Fort Lauderdale was the free digs. My father owns a condo in a low security, gated retirement community. Hard to pass up not having to pay hotel bills.

Our second reason was the pull of Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights.

Having had a wonderful time scaring the bejeezurs out of people at our haunted house in the Guild Hall last year, the prospect of an entire theme park transformed into a cavalcade of horror sounded like a lot of fun.

Arriving in Florida, we weren't particularly surprised by the humidity, that's to be expected. What came as an unpleasant surprise, was upon entry into the condo, discovering a large complement of dead cockroaches through the house. Apparently the person care taking the place fired off a bug bomb before our arrival, which was thoughtful, but with all the drains open and the water shut off - them bugs decided to skitter their way into the condo proper.

There isn't much that makes me squeamish, but I can't freakin' stand cockroaches. An old apartment building I lived in, in downtown Ottawa was above a Lebanese bakery, which smelled really nice - but also attracted the bugs. Watching a cockroach crawl out of the tap while you're brushing your teeth isn't an event I'd wish on anyone.

Cleaning up their dried carcasses, we moved through the house with unease, discovering a couple of live ones. Of course the one I sprayed happened to be one of the more evolved beasts that could fly. Eeeeeeeeuuuuuughhhh.

I think we should all be suspicious about cockroaches. Every time I would spray one with the killing juice, it would immediately scuttle/fly towards me - likely in a desperate attempt to land one last blow.

The condo cleaned, we moved onto the next task, getting our wheels in gear.

My father also had an old Cadillac for us to drive - a great ole boat - about as old as I am, and wall to wall white leather. What he failed to mention however, was that the insurance had expired...

Ah well.

Our first cultural forays into Fort Lauderdale involved the Seminole Hard Rock Casino, a grand example of largess, but also home to some of the best sushi we've ever had in our lives. Another point of note was the Publix grocery store, in which the next row beside the cereal aisle, was all wine and beer.

I tell you my friends, being able to buy my evenings booze and food in the same location is a wonderful sign of civilization. Is it that Canadians can't be trusted to have their liquor so accessible? Probably.

We had a couple of days to drive around the town (Google maps saved the day numerous times), and then we were off on our first adventure to Orlando, to hit the Halloween Horror Nights.

Heading to theme park, you're going to have to assume a couple of things. Firstly, you are going to spend a lot of money - natch. Second, you might be elbowing your way from one end of the park to another.

We were proved wrong on the latter at least. October/November is a pretty quiet time for the park thankfully. So we were able to hit the rides with joyful abandon.

Good ole Jurrasic Park! While the ride might be a little dated, nineties style - the pay-off at the end is all worth it. Almost in a "Is the giant animatronic T-Rex head screaming at me going to crush us all?" kind of way.

A little damp we sauntered over to the grandiose "Poseidon's Fury", a terribly dull A/V live actor experience, that involved a gorgeous zillion dollar set on the outside. Thankfully, the Twin Dragon, dueling roller coaster was able to take the taste of that experience away.

I've only had small experience with theme parks, the aforementioned DisneyWorld, and a couple of ventures out to Canada's Wonderland.

I never was really interested in any of the periphery things in the parks. I could care less about the decor, shops and displays - gimme the rides. I've been a roller coaster nut since the first time I parked my arse in a wooden beast in CW.

Universal Studios was disappointing in the coaster department, Twin Dragons was decent, and the over-hyped Hulk coaster was actually dull. The 3-D Spiderman ride was an exhilarating surprise, but what trumped every single ride - the experience that we needed to do over 9 times - Revenge of The Mummy.

It's one part A/V experience, which is okay, but the it has the most intense seconds of fast indoor coaster action - in pitch black! Now that might have made up for the exuberant price of admission alone.

Our main reason for wandering into the doors though happened every evening - Halloween Horror Nights. They take one entire section of the park, fill it with "scare zones" and nine elaborate haunted houses. And though you might be stuck in a long queue, it's that anticipation of getting to the front gates, and hearing the genuine screams inside that make it a wonderful experience.

If you love Halloween, horror, or just getting the living crap scared out of you - think about it.

This is a movie studio after all, they have the money and the resources. Many of the houses we wandered through really knocked it out of the park with theme and atmosphere. Some seemed cobbled together, and some had half-assed actors inside - but it was all worth it.

If that wasn't enough, they had hundreds of people in costume wandering around to spook the unwary. The thick fog they would pump through the park also helped the mood.

This malevolent Scarecrow was advancing on Erica as she tried
to take a picture of him. He was a part of the Oz themed scare zone, complete with evil Winkie guards on stilts, an insult shouting witch atop a parapet, and flying monkeys. Seriously, they had guys on wires that would swoop out of the fog from one end of the street to the other.


You can try and say you're not unnerved, that these are only actors, but where's the fun in that.


The whole point of these nights is to scare yourself silly.


You can imagine how many "jocky" type alpha males would try and put on brave faces for their shrieking girlfriends. Those same guys would be the ones jumping six feet in the air as an actor announces their presence behind him with the roar of a chainsaw.


There were a lot of sneaky chainsaw dudes...



And these guys, who looked distinctly like "The Gentlemen" from a favourite Buffy episode of mine. (Judge me if you will, but I will defend the value of that show.)
These guys were stationed in a Jack the Ripper themed scare zone, gliding around on those roller shoes, each one of them at least six feet tall. Tall gaunt figures with white faces, literally gliding out of the fog - now that's some good scare effect I tells ya.
We had two favourite houses of note, one involved a story about zombies, glow paint and strobe blacklights. Think blackness, flash of nothing, blackness, then suddenly a zombie is in your face.
There was also the Interstellar Terror, a whole space ship to wander through, filled with possessed crew members.
You would think that one would get tired of all that Halloween-ness, but they truly found new and innovative ways to tweak scares out of people. Even when you were sure you could see it coming, a little misdirection would pull you into the real scares.

Funny thing was, it wasn't even Halloween yet - we still had to do our thing.
We went back to Fort Lauderdale to prepare...

It all starts here -

Sorry, I was attempting to be clever.
To kind of expand on my post about cartoons, or more specifically the opening themes for some of my favourites. While Batman: The Animated Series, and Batman Beyond are by far my favourite openings, there are some great ones out there in television land. There are some themes that capture the eye, or have a particular tune that makes you watch the same opening over and over.
I noticed this trend with an obvious winner - The Sopranos -



Even though I would rent episodes on DVD, I never skipped the intro. It sets up the entire show so very well, musically, visually and thematically. Tony's drive from the city, through Jersey to his home shows so much that encapsulates the uniqueness of that show.

Here's another I can't skip - Dexter




Taking a common morning routine and turning into something so creepy and dark is a stroke of brilliance I say.

Recently I caught on to HBO's True Blood, a vampire drama set in modern day Louisiana. Sure the show can have a muddled plotline at times, and the acting a little over the top, but it is unique. Also one great tone setting opening, plus a great tune -



Two cents I needed to get out. Got yer own favourite openings? Drop me a line.

Rob Stalkie's my hero.

Though I use the term lazily, cause let's face it - Hal Jordan's my hero.
But Stalkie gets all the props for winning the Last Comic Standing Yukon contest, held at Coasters these past ouple couple of months.
A brilliant idea concocted by Jonas and Chris McNutt to get a boost to the comedy nights in general, and create a good buzz regarding the sheer amount of comedic talent there is in the North.
Stalkie always had a natural ability to keep the crowd engaged, as in, when he took the mic, people would shut up and listen. Wish I could say the same for the rest of us.
His presence was due to his lack of a persona. There wasn't much characterization going on, because that really was him on the stage. Which I think is what will make him a succesful comedian.
He's heading out to Toronto to get his name out there, and as he brilliantly said himself: "I'm prepared to suffer."
If you're brave enough to admit that, then you'll do just fine.
He's also, one funny bastard.

Hmmmmm...

This -

http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/544684

Made me think of this:



Connection? I say oui!

Toontastic!

I feel the need to discuss cartoons.
A whole article in What's Up would never fly, and the only person I could have a conversation with on the subject is a few thousand kilometers away. So, a rambling I will go. I've included some Youtube links to cut and paste to your liking.
Animated escapism has always been popular in my life - from the retro '70's Spiderman:




To the ridculousness of learning through Captain Nemo:






The wonderful weirdness of the Wizard of Oz:







And the surrealness of Dr. Snuggles:







Now most of us who grew up through the late seventies/early eighties likely fondly remembers these shows, and countless others of their like - to which most will exclaim "They don't make 'em like they used to."
Now this supposition has a lot of credence due to the cartoon wasteland of the mid-eighties, right through to the beginning of the nineties. There wasn't all that much to look forward to, and then suddenly in September of 1992, the face of cartoons changed dramaticaly:



That opening makes you notice it. It stylization was so unique, and different - and many people noticed. The creators of Batman: The Animated Series took great pains to craft some real stories in these half-hour episodes, so much so, that some animated episodes are considered more "canon" than the comic books. Indeed a few characters from the cartoon - either saw their resurgence or addition into the comic book world.
The popularity of this show led to a Superman Animated series, then the impending cancellation of the B:TAS show led to a unique direction for the studio.



Now that's an opening. Batman Beyond is an unfortunately overlooked show. But the same studio leaped from this to create first, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Now the creators not only had decades of comics to work from, but they also pulled in plotlines and characters from their animated history. It's really sad that the JLU show was cancelled - it was consistantly better than the actual comics. The creators cared about what they doing - the story, the characters, their history - and it showed.It certainly helped that they casted some really good voice actors. An art I'd never really appreciated till recently. I submit for you some grand geeky goodness from Justice League Unlimited:



and certainly:



I don't care what you say - that's sixteen slices of awesome. "I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard." That's one of the very best things someone has written for Superman ever.
So there you go, a little conversation with myself to explore something I really enjoy. I certainly don't plan to convert anyone, nor do I ever feel guilty about my geeky pleasures. It's just sometimes: I effing love cartoons.

Jive Talkin'

So let's say you really enjoyed talking crap -

But not just any kind of crap - stoner jive. It's a term that was originally coined by my lady love, to describe only the sweetest of introspective chatter that occurs when one is - oh - shall we say - under the influence. I like to dance around subjects as much as the next person, considering I'd wager at least 70% of the territory has intimate knowledge of the subject - or let's just say - y'all know exactly what I'm talking about, right?

Good now that's out of the way -

Jiving. I had an awful lot of it last night.

When travelling, if you're like me, you like to find a place to call home, a watering hole that in some way encapsulates what we like to find at home. A nice cozy atmosphere, with a wide selection of beer is what we were looking for while on vacation in South Florida. We found exactly what we were looking for and more in the Funky Buddha -



A bar smack in the middle of retirements-ville Boca Raton. We headed there for the draw of 90+ micro-brew options, hookahs and a free open mic for me to get out some performance anxieties. (I gotta rant on stage every so often or I get squirrely - a common affliction with stand-ups)

After one evening, we had made some very close friends - including the incredibly talented Master of South Floridian comedy and all around nice feller Richy Lala, the astoundingly funny and heavily bearded Matt Z, and the guru of all things beer related - Joey Beers.

You gotta love a place where the man behind the counter can take you on random hop induced flavour adventures...but I digress.

Matt and I had some jiving to do, seeing as it was our last night in town. We covered a wide variety of subjects - but a couple of them stuck with me.

Tweens. The rise of the tweens. Having gone through the horror of witnessing hundreds of girls screaming during the piece of garbage titled "Twilight", I voiced my concern to Matt on how these 13 somethings were completely taking over, and thus ruining the entertainment industry. Some of you might say that it's all harmless pre-teen fun, but if Miley Cyrus isn't a sign of the Apocalypse, then I'll eat my imaginary hat! Hilary Duff never made me worry for my sanity - so what happened? I'm pretty sure it's tweens of the nineties that ruined pop music. Hear that you 80's music lovers - that's where you point your fingers! Matt and I might have come up with more answers, but then we moved to politics.

I told my new American pal that a small part of me had hoped that McCain and Palin would win the election just to see how crazy the world would get after that. Matt was slightly saddened but agreed that a part of him wished that had happened as well, just so his paranoid self would be able to shout: "See! I told you so! I was right!"

From politics we moved to professional wrestling, and the heyday of the art, which we both agreed had peaked around the mid-nineties, with the introduction of The Undertaker as its supreme highlight. Yes, I miss those days when I bought into it whole-heartedly. When The Hulkster was shaking he was nigh-invincible! And those were the days when a body slam was a finishing move and the sight of a chair in the ring was something rare and awesome...

While we were on a roll, we switched to the internet - and how it was a wonderful mecca of proliferation, and how it should always remain that way - completely uncensored. And then we posited that this granted people far more disposable income, since with a computer and internet connection, one not need spend a cent to receive any entertainment they desire. For example, I wish I had seen Twilight in the comfort of my own home, instead of in the middle of a shrieking hormone hurricane. So, with all of this extra cash, what will we North Americans spend our money mostly on? Food. And with extra money, we want to spend our money on the best food possible, thus we have the proliferation of The Food Network and hundreds of food related reality shows and cooking challenges. This, with the sheer amount of ultimate fighting challenges, will of course bring us closer to the neo-Roman Civilization we all unconsciously want.
Phew -
Take that to your Riverdale dinner parties my friends - amidst the looks of confusion and awkward silence, there will be a good third present who will be completely agreeing with you.
Don't be afraid of where the jive will lead you - this I have learned.

Also - don't watch Twilight.

A Quick Thought...

And a wholly serious one, before I get into a long post about our excursion into South Florida.
There's still a lot of talk, on the internets, television and such - about parkour. It had all the hallmarks of an extreme sport fad - people using urban environments as jungle gyms, leaping off ledges, swinging from streetlamps, bouncing off rooftops...
What I really ask myself every time I hear about parkour -

What's it gonna take for one of them to slap on some spandex, a domino mask and fight some crime? If you're gonna leap around a city risking your neck anyway, is it that much of a stretch to slap on tights and kick some evildoers in the face?

I think not.

If anyone needs help, I'd make for a lousy side-kick, and an even worse Alfred - but I'd be a great Jimmy.

You know where to find me.

In defense of CKRW

I've been meaning to opine on the subject of Whitehorse's most loved/hated radio station, and in a format other than booze/stoner-jive fueled campfires.
(I'll discuss stoner-jive in a later post.)
I've heard through the grapevine for many years about how much people don't like CKRW for various reasons. So I'd like to share some thoughts about this highly subjective topic.
I worked at CKRW for three years, in one of the most relaxed, comfortable atmospheres I've ever parked my arse at. I was the guy that handled all the copy-writing, and pitched in on-air for the Saturday shift, or when the other DJ's got sick.
So - I know that I have a good informed opinion about the operation there.
There are limited number of radio stations in Whitehorse, and they all operate quite differently. CHON has a lot of liberty with their programming, and they do some great stuff, but you indeed know what you're going to get when you tune in. Same for New Life FM, and CBC. These stations have specific formats, that one tunes in to, if one likes that sort of thing.
So comparing these guys to CKRW is a little unfair, as we are indeed talking about apples and oranges. There is also the community radio station, which has music programming that follows no rhyme or reason, and is solely based upon the whims of the various programmers. So, sure, if you like eclectic, there you go.
But - a commercial radio station has to follow some sort of format to be successful. You have to attract people who are willing to buy ad space, then they can get their message to as many people as possible. That's pretty much how the game works.
So, Bob Johnstone, the music director of CKRW, has the unenviable task of trying to please as many musical tastes as humanly possible for the territory.
And let's face it - the Yukon has such a diversity of musical tastes, it's an extremely difficult job to satisfy all these people. The artsy culture in Whitehorse can be blamed for a little bit of music elitism, as they will be the first to complain that their favourite obscure independent band doesn't get any airtime on the radio - etc.
How come I can never hear any (insert name of R&B, hip-hop, metal, reggae, bluegrass, etc band here), is something Bob gets a lot of. And if you were to look through the exhaustive music library at the station, there is a surprising amount of music that hits almost all areas of the musical spectrum.
So why don't you hear that?
Like I said, commercial radio follows a certain format, and to hit the largest audience and keep them tuned in, CKRW has probably one of the loosest formats around. Throughout a day, you'll hear top 40, classic rock and a good chunk of Canadian independent music. As this is what most of the people in the territory want to listen to. Bob's other job is to make sure all this music flows nicely, so you can hear a four song sweep that mixes together really well. You get songs that follow each other musically in a logical, and ear-pleasing pattern.
Music directors plan out which songs would work out at certain times of day, which is why you'll hear lighter tempo songs in the morning.
So, I'd say, Bob does a pretty damn good job.
Plus, there is some specific programming at certain times, to hit other audiences. The nooner (which some people still haven't figured out, runs at noon after the news), is the full-hour request show. You can request whatever floats your boat, and Keith Ellert will try and find it for you. And I do mean anything.
Countless times I've seen Bob run into the production booth to hunt for just one specific song, just for the nooner. Sometimes, he'll hear something that will work for the station, and add it to the rotation. So if you think there's a tune lacking in the CKRW system, don't be shy to drop them a line.
There's the overnight that starts at 11, where songs that are a little too heavy, or contain some adult content that would be questionable to play during the day, so plays late at night.
The DJ's themselves have quite a lot of freedom in picking the music, and can play around with some of what gets played, so you might get an idea of DJ's personal favourites if you keep an ear out.
There's a good reason why Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" got played when I was on air. It's a great tune - one of my fav's. (And it's 2 minutes and 30 secs, great to time-out to the hour with)
Remember folks, the music you listen to may not agree with other people. So if you feel like writing a message of disdain to Bob for playing a piece of garbage like "Jenny from the Block", understand that Bob may not like that particular tune either, but someone out in the territory does.
Still have complaints? Don't be lazy, walk into CKRW at the corner of 4th and Elliot, and say something. While being a commercial radio station, it's still a part of your community.

It's been a while -

So I figure I should make some attempt at writing something.
Now I find myself missing my days as a What's Up writer, firstly because my editor, Darrell, would let me blather about any subject that piqued my interest - but it was also great exercise just to work on something every couple of weeks.
I've been on quite the adventure since I left the Yukon in July. To begin, my fiancee and I packed up our belongings, drove them down to her parents place, stuffed them in a shed, then immediately took off on a long drive to Winnipeg to perform at the Fringe festival there.
Canada has a well known and loved circuit of Fringe festivals, across the country, where any schmuck with the application fee has the chance to put on any kind of show they want in front of an audience. Generally seen as a venue for the weird and experimental, you're likely to catch a little bit of everything at one, from comedic plays, to musicals, beat poetry, dance, clown, classic plays and even some Shakespeare.
It's what appealed to me in the first place, that there's such a scattershot of shows, in such a wide variety, it's like a theatre zoo. Of course, it also means that the quality is highly subjective, from utter crap, to sheer brilliance.
My show was a a bit of a stand-up revue, of material and sketches I had performed and honed in Whitehorse.
The Winnipeg Fringe is not a good place to start for a first timer. The learning curve is quite large, and takes getting used to a lot of humiliation. While each Fringe supplies you with a venue, tech support, and box office - all the promo is pretty much done by yourself. Which entails you hoofing around like a reverse-hobo, begging people to come see your show.
Myself, being introverted, had a hard time at the whole promo thing - but at least we got some audience.
We had a much better time in Saskatoon. The Fringe there is much smaller than the others, but is known amongst the Fringe participants as a bit of an "oasis". This is a real chance for performers to get to know each other, hang out, and socialize. And indeed, we did. Some might say a little too much, but we let them know that people from the Yukon are truly unique individuals.
If you happen upon some lost looking theatre artists from the UK or Australia, don't be suprised. We're pretty sure we sold the place really well on a lot of people.

So - I learned a lot about myself as a performer, but I'm nowhere near having a clue as to where I'm going. Performance wise that is. As for a settling place to call home, we really dig that Saskatoon - and we'll likely find ourselves there in May.
In the meantime, we're hanging out at Erica's parents place in Summerland, BC.

This year was my first discovering the Okanagan. This former Eastern Ontario boy has become Westernized I tells ya. We've already decided that we're going to retire in Oliver, where I have already chosen my old man hobby, forgoeing the usual WWII fascinations, golf or complaining, and instead I'll be working on my grow-op.

What's Up Column: State of Comedy

Watching “Extras” will make you a better person.
Well, maybe not, but if you took the time to watch Ricky Gervais’ comedic opus from start to it’s concluding Special – you will have seen one of the greatest comedies on television. True story.
This made me wonder about the state of Canadian comedy, and in particular, where we define ourselves. I think we lie somewhere in between the two major players in the comedy world – the U.S. and the U.K.
The differences between American and British comedy are pretty obvious. Our cousins to the south have a long standing tradition of appropriating concepts from BBC shows and “Americanising” them, or as I call it “Watering the ideas down to make them more palatable”.
I’m not trying to be harsh on American comedy, but it distresses me when they repeatedly ruin good quality BBC comedies, by importing the ideas – and removing the heart and intent.
Ok – that was a little harsh. So a more concise view, I asked local comic and fellow media consumer, Roslyn Woodcock, to describe the differences between these two comedy powerhouses.
“Generally speaking”, says Woodcock, “American comedy spends a lot of time dealing with external reactions to physical attributes or scenarios – for example, “Arrested Development”'s Blue Man scenes, the Stair Car or Job's magic acts; while British comedy spends it’s time dealing with the internal (mental) reactions to the external: “Peep Show”'s ongoing inner monologues or “Coupling”'s in depth descriptions of what characters are thinking during absurd situations.”
Woodcock sums it up nicely.
“The British seem more willing to delve deeply into human fraility. They dig weakness while Americans dig the absurdity that comes from ignoring weakness.
So do we fit in there?
“Canadians, do a bit of both”, says Woodcock, “but there are just too few of us to really say we have created our own niche.”
Our style does seem to meet in that middle, as our most popular comedies deal directly with how self-aware we are as a people. I would posit that if we had a resting comedic state, I would say that it lies directly with our identity – and the exploration thereof. We take all of the external and internal – then filter it through our ideas of being Canadian.
We’re pretty paranoid about being compared to Americans, which pushes our identity into ridiculous avenues.
Needless to say, Canadians are pretty darn good at laughing at themselves, and we can certainly take it further than the States, but we’re not willing to go quite as far as the UK.
Of course we’ve had some fantastic moments in television that transcended common notions of comedy – or pretty much threw conventions out the window. SCTV and Kids in the Hall are two of the most influencial sketch comedy shows out there.
There is a hint of the key to our comedic strength in those two shows.
While the world sits around and debates whose comedies are better, there we are in the middle of it all – being ignored. And this is a good thing.
If our Canadian identity is our strength, than our subtlety is our stamina.
We don’t take ourselves too seriously. In fact, we’re the best at taking ourselves down a peg when needed. And who better to satirize Canadians than themselves?
So we are one of the best comedic states a savvy writer could ask for. It’s this self-awareness that will eventually bring us the next great Canadian TV comedy.
In the meantime – you really need to watch “Extras”.

Sketch: The Complaint Desk sequel

I have a bizarre need to write sequels -

The Complaint Desk 2

(Man is sitting on a chair – miming watching TV. Another man, an obvious door-to-door salesman waltzes in and mimes knocking on the door.)

Salesman: (to no one in particular) Well now – we have a little quandary here. Without a door – am I still a Salesman? You bet I am!

(He walks through the imaginary wall – and silently walks behind man.)

Salesman: Say kiddo – whacha doin’?

(Man jumps up with a start)

Man: What the Hell! Who are you? Get out my house before I call the cops!

Salesman: Now, now chum – let’s slide the mercury down the gauge eh – you’re getting more excited than Lana Turner’ gynecologist.

Man: What?

Salesman: Don’t get out much do you? I can see that. Nice place you have here.

Man: Who the hell are you?

Salesman: Who I am is a philosophical question I don’t need to ask – I’ve gazed into my abyss and the only thing that looked back was yesterday’s pastrami on rye –

(He belts his stomach and burps.)

Salesman: Why I went to a German deli I’ll never know – Between you and me the 13 tribes got outta the desert for two reasons – so we could have packed houses on Broadway and so I could get a lunch to remember.

(Man looks at him stunned)

Salesman: You look more stunned than a retired Chinese railway worker – Let me slow things down. You happy Roger – Can I call you Rog?

Roger: No.

Salesman: Fantastic Rog! I can tell you are someone who may not be happy with their lot in life – am I right Rog?

Roger: Uh –

Salesman: Uh – indeed Rog. Did I say you had a nice placet here? Solid. Some very solid walls – especially this one. (He points to the audience) You like this wall Rog? The fourth wall?

Roger: What?

Salesman: Rog, Rog, Rogerino – Don’t be coy with me kiddo. You look about as down as Uri Geller at a spoon straightening tournament. And I think I know why.

Roger: Why?

Salesman: You think this grand universe of yours dealt you a lousy hand – don’tcha?

Roger: Well.

Salesman: C’mon Rog, let’s be honest – when I walked in, you were sitting in a bare stage pretending to watch an invisible TV – how sad is that? And between you and me, I’m no Marcel Marceau – but I couldn’t tell if you were watching TV or lazily trying to tweak that person’s nipple (point to person in audience)

Roger: Well it sucks.

Salesman: I know you think that. You think, I have no good lines, I’m barely fleshed out – and I have no interesting character traits. Right.

Roger: Yeah.

Salesman: Why look at me! I have a loud suit – an outrageous accent and I repeatedly drop anachronistic nonsensical similes. That’s about as colourful as Doug Henning’s wardrobe.

Roger: Exactly.

Salesman: That’s what you might think Rog. I saw you in the other sketch my friend, "The Complaint Desk", and I’m mightily impressed.

Roger: What are you talking about? I don’t do anything! Get out of my house!

Salesman: Ah my bellicose buddy – strolling out of this scene you call home wouldn’t do us any good. We’re two peas in a pod my friend – We’re like Ice Cream and the Cone, Sonny and Cher, Jake and the Fatman – (to the audience) I tell you I’ve been pounding back Root Beer Floats faster than Iron Fist Maureen gives hand jobs – only a quarter – those were the days…

Roger: Would you get to a point – lunatic.

Salesman: (puts arm around Rog) Rog – do you know what a straightman is?

Roger: No.

Salesman: The straightman is a time-honored posistion that holds the whole integrity of a comedic routine together. The straightman is the opposite of the wacky character – the coffee to the cream – You can’t have one without the other. I know what you’re thinking – you want a demonstration! Well – I’m not a wacky salesman for nothing!

(He shoves Roger towards the back)

Salesman: Don’t worry Rog, you’re not going to break anything – there ain’t no walls here (turns to audience) Right folks? Now you go hide back there – and watch.

(Roger hides a little backstage. Salesman goes to center.)

Salesman: Lookie me! I’m a goofy door-to-door salesman. Watch me do crazy things!

(He does a weird dance.)

Salesman: Now that was pretty uninspiring. That was comedy at it’s lowest common denominator (to audience) No offense to those who laughed. Who just wants to watch one goof for a whole sketch. This isn’t stand-up! I can tell by your slack-jawed mug you’re not picking up what I’m putting down, as the kids say – let’s try it another way.

(He runs over and grabs Roger, and shoves him back in his chair)

Salesman: (from wings) Alrigthy – you just sit there and do your nipple tweaking – what you were doing when I walked in.

(Roger awkwardly does so.)

Salesman: (walking in slowly) I gotta tell you Roger – that was more dull than Stephen Hawking singing “Sweet Child O’ Mine” at karaoke. (pause) Did you like that one?

Roger: Wasn’t bad.

Salesman: I aim to please! And look at us go – riffing off each other – that is our relationship – and the driving force of a good comedy sketch. Me – the wacky character – You –

Roger: The straightman.

Salesman: Precisely! You deadpan your way to fame and fortune from here Rogerino!

Roger: So what exactly are you selling?

Salesman: An ending to this sketch! Whaddya say? Do we yammer on in front these fine folks – stretching this scene further than Elton John’s prostate – or with a simple purchase – we can cap this sucker off and leave ‘em smiling…trust me kid – this ain’t the Pivot festival – these folks actually paid to come here (wink to audience)

Roger: Ok – how much.

Salesman: You are lucky we’re such good friends Roger. To other people – like that fellow over there (point to person) I would rip him off faster than a band-aid on Lindsay Lohan’s ass –

Roger: Nice one.

Salesman: I’m moving up with the times Rog. So for you my friend – I have one hot sketch ending – for only 5 bucks.

Roger: Okay. (he digs in his pocket for the money and hands it over)

Salesman: A scholar and a gentleman are you Roger. Here you go.

(He pulls out a sheet of paper from his pocket and passes it to Roger.)

Salesman: Take a second to give it a go-over Rog – I’ll softshoe.

(He softshoes a bit for the audience while Rog studies the paper.)

Salesman: How’s it goin’ Rog – my feet are swelling larger than Gary Busey’s arteries.

Roger: I think I’m ready…

Salesman: Ok – let’s do this chum!

(They hop to center and sing to the tune of “Those were the Days” from All in the Family.)

Salesman: “I came in and you dismayed.”

Roger: “My sense of self had been belayed –“

Salesman: “Like a bitch who’d just been spayed –“

Roger: (Looks at Salesman, who shrugs) Ouch. “I’m now remade!”

Salesman: “Now you know when jokes are said –“

Roger: “I’ll just frown and shake my head –“

Together: “And we’ll make life outta strife and reap laughs till the end…”

Salesman: “Looks like now our time is spent –“

Roger: “I needed that five bucks for rent.”

Salesman: “Least you got more than George Wendt –“

Roger: George Wendt? Who’s that?

Salesman: EX-actly.

Together: “I’m (Your) now remade!”

(Blackout)

Sketch: The Complaint Desk

Kinda fond of this one - though it doesn't usually go over that well -

The Complaint Desk

(A man (Roger) sits behind a booth that is adorned with a large sign saying “Complaints”. A man (Edward) holding a box covered with a sheet enters and walks up to him.)

Edward: Excuse me?

Roger: Yes?

Edward: I would like to register a complaint.

Roger: One moment please.

(Roger starts putting away the magazine he was reading, then stands up and looks at Edward as if noticing him for the first time. He takes a perplexed look at his box.)

Edward: Is something wrong?

(Roger moves around the booth and takes a look at the “Complaints” sign, then heads back around and once again looks at Edward.)

Edward: I’m sorry, is there –

Roger: Wait.

(Roger bows his head in thought, then looks at Edward.)

Roger: This –

(Edward looks at Roger expectantly.)

Roger: This – This isn’t a comedy sketch is it?

Edward: Er…

Roger: I mean, this certainly has all the hallmarks of a comedy sketch.

Edward: I’m not sure what you –

Roger: Oh come on, I’m sitting at a booth. A “Complaints” booth. And you come in with some mystery box.

Edward: So?

Roger: Hello?!? Classic sketch exposition! A little bit hack if you ask me.
Edward: What do you mean?

Roger: Well it’s just so overdone isn’t it? The whole shopkeep / customer thing. You come in, introduce the wacky conflict or either you or I have some sort of extreme personality disorder – hilarity ensues!

(Roger sits down. Pause.)

Edward: I’m not sure I fully understand.

Roger: Oh for Christ’s sake, there’s even a friggin audience!

(Roger goes around and hauls Edward to front of stage, and points audience out. Edward is very uncomfortable of having 4th wall broken.)

Roger: See! (He waves his arms around gesturing at everything) Sketch!

(Roger goes back to his chair. Edward takes his position.)

Edward: So, do you want to know what my complaint is about?

Roger: (sigh) Lemme guess, it’s something to do with the box.

Edward: Yes.

Roger: Wow. (to himself) Jesus, I guess I gotta play along. Get this over with. (to Edward) Okay! What, sir, is your problem?

Edward: Well you see –

Roger: (making exaggerated gestures) WHAT! Can I! Help you! With!

Edward: Are you all right?

Roger: Just trying to breathe life into this. I mean, these guys paid money. (He motions to audience, then looks at them) You did pay money right?

Edward: I see. Well, I would like to register a complaint. My hamster is doing very well.

Roger: What? Are you serious?

Edward: Completely.

Roger: This is the Parrot sketch!

Edward: What?

Roger: (to the wings) FUCK! This is the goddamn Parrot Sketch! Classic Monty Python! “Pining for the fjords!” How about some friggin’ originality here!

Edward: Er, you see, Oslo, that’s my hamster’s name, he has –

Roger: What? He’s dead? He needs a “hamster” license? Is on first? Took a wrong turn at Albuquerque? Only has one leg? On Thursdays at 9? Has a canoe welded to his head? Is a Newfoundland separtist? Has a cabbage for a head? Only knows elementary school French? Makes things out of duct tape? The only gay in the village?

(A man enters suddlenly on stage)

Man: And now for something completely different!

(Blackout)
Roger: You guys suck.

And so -

Well, I'm not 25 grand richer - but what a long, fun trip it was.
Scroll down and you'll get the drift of my trip.
I was lucky enough to have a layover in Vancouver, at the same time that Yukyuk's has their Pro/Am nights - a mixture of sets from professional and amateur stand-ups. I had emailed the feller in charge and he gave me the okay to do a set.
It was the perfect practise round for Toronto - and all-in-all, I had a pretty strong set. I was pretty worried about the whole time thing, as in, at these clubs - you have a set amount of time, going over your time is a faux-pas.
I kept everything quick and easy, and had great crowd response.
Naturally, killing in unfamiliar territory is a huge rush.
However, once I got to Toronto - I couldn't stop stressing out. This knot of worry just grew and grew all day on the Friday before showtime. I was actually slightly worried about my growing state of nausea. It didn't help we went to a mediocre Italian restaurant beforehand.
I did a couple of practise rounds in the hotel room, and off I went.
I went into the green room and met the other comedians who would be participating that night. One older comic and I had a great chat about touring. And he was telling me stories about his booker sending him to Fort St-John, and other dives around Northern BC and Alberta - some very interesting and sobering stuff.
Then I joined in the queue of pacing comedians, worrying their hands as they went over the sets, and poured over their notes. At least it was comforting to know I wasn't the only one about to crap themselves.
When my name was called, my stomach jumped and away I went. While it wasn't one of my solid moments (the nerves certainly got to me), I had a pretty good set. Even Mark Breslin - the founder of Yukyuk's, and the very funny MC of the evening, gave me a thumbs up.
It was quite a mix of talent on the stage - and I guess I had been naive in my uinderstanding that you needed to be funny to be a pro stand-up comedian.
A lot of jokes were pretty formulaic, and standard. The MC even made a meta-joke on the subject - though it might have been lost on some of the attendees.
I can say that I know I could be doing this professionaly if I want to. All it takes is being in a city with a lot of clubs, then hitting them up as much as possible. Eventually, you get picked and you journey of living in your car begins.
I asked myself, is this what I really want to do?
I'm not so sure.

Great Canadian Laugh-Off

Due to some lucky computer randomness, I will be participating in said Laugh-Off.
It's put on by Yukyuk's - and involves stand-up comedians vying for a 25 thousand dollar prize.
It's a mix of veterans and amateurs, so as to how I'll match up, I have absolutely no idea.
I'll be heading down to Toronto at the beginning of April, and then doing 8 minutes of blathering, for a shot at getting into the finals.

We shall see.

Waxing Gygaxian

Trolling the blogosphere turns up more than a few articles about Gary Gygax, one of the creators and driving forces behind Dungeons and Dragons, and his death this past week.

Not that I really wanted to opine terribly much on the subject, but I naturally started to cast my mind back to those days I spent in darkened basements (usually John's or Peter's), rolling dice and eating junk food.

My first exposure to Role-Playing was game of WarHammer RPG, a particularly grim, gritty and unsurvivable world where more time was spent delving through their ridiculous character creation system: "I'm a Rat-catcher! Yay!", than actually doing anything before your personage died a horrible death.
Yes - I was hooked.
It was pretty much inevitable, cause after that my next foray was with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Ahhh, good ole TMNT - wherein you would portray a mutated animal.
I was a camel. Yep.
Years would pass and reams of character sheets, dice and pizza.
I have a lot of memories invested in the rolling of dice. There was a lot of joking around, a lot of comraderie - and a lot of imagination.

So Kudos to those Comrades and the times we spent. To John, for creating one of the creepiest moods in my imagination with that Chill campaign, and to Andy - for making me laugh my ass off one so many occaisions - and the six fucking years we spent on his Grand Guignol.

I tip my glass to you Mr. Gygax.

My First Roast

This past weekend, a very good friend of mine was having a suprise birthday party - which was also announced as a roast.
Roasts are a time-honored tradition wherein the guest of honor (and indeed it is a point of honor) is celebrated by being completely insulted by his/her peers. The idea is to tear the person a new asshole in the most loving way possible. There's a lotta respect involved, amidst all the bashing - and thus it's usually quite a good time.
Dean Martin brought the roast into popularity - and Comedy Central's recent hilarious roasts of William Shatner, Flava Flav, etc. - have brought them into the mainstream.
The idea was certainly tantalizing to do one here. There are certainly enough subjects, but when the idea was briefly bandied about - it just seemed that it would likely turn into people lamely insulting each other. There has to be an art to the whole thing - and the key I think is to have a genuine affection for the subject.
So - I thought long and hard about what I would write - I love the guy, and didn't want feelings hurt. So I churned out what I thought was something honest, and filled with some light witty jabs.
I went up to the mic that evening and went through the whole thing - the crowd laughed, he laughed - and at the end I could see he was genuinely touched.
Could I have been harder on the guy? Sure. But it was my first time - and it was a pretty special event. And no really my cup of tea - insulting people makes me slightly ill.
I think I'll just stick to denigrating myself - that I can do.

Growth Spurt

So new Comedy developments lately.
A small group (4) of us decided to put on a Comedy night at our local community theatre - the Guild Hall - but we decided that it would be pretty sketch centric. We collaborated on pretty much everything in the show, and each had a solo piece to ourselves.
It was a refreshing experience - we all got along really well, and put together a great show - during one of the busiest times in the Yukon. So we only had 20 people in the audience - but they were warm and the laughs were plenty and genuine. Which, in a small town with people who know you in the audience almost all the time - genuine laughter is great.
And now our little community is growing - with some notable folks added to the mix. Logan Larkin is my new hero. The guy has a lot of theatre training and experience, but he's a great comedian. He stole the show with a very simple premise, and turned it into a clowny masterpiece. We also happened to be making fun of the Pivot festival at the same time - so - Wheee!
I can't voutch for how much effort Logan put into his preparedness beforehand, but I think it's pretty minimal. Not that it's a bad thing - he does very well - but he could kick some serious comedy ass in this town - easily. Hopefully he will.
We've had some newcomers to the Coasters Comedy stage as well - Stephen and Brendan have come up twice now to play a few funny tunes (some Flight of the Conchords, Adam Sandler, etc.) and they are eager to be back for more every two weeks - huzzah.
We are in a sorry state for female comics though. I know a few in town how would kill on stage, some already have, but don't show their faces anymore. Which is really too bad - it was a sea of guys out there last night. (Except for one woman - who I pandered to for a small bit - which I appreciated, cause otherwise it would have fallen pretty flat.)
More comedians also helps me flesh out material a little more - as now I'll actually have acts. I try anyhow to make sure I have at least about 45 minutes of stuff to talk about, just in case. We start the Coasters' nights around 9:30 - and I don't finish the show till around 11. That's the goal anyway.
So now instead of blathering, I can take time to refine.
Though a wealth of material will help me in the long run - when I skeddadle outta here in the summer for different climes.

What's Up Article: Scrap the Farce!

Attention CBC Television fans: Stop watching Royal Canadian Air Farce!
Please.
I’ve long felt the need to clearly and confidently state, with the utmost of sincerity that Air Farce is a terrible show. I say this with a truly noble intent my friends. Whereas most of us consumers of comedy media know fully well that Canada has an excellent knack for bringing the funny, a show like Air Farce has been pushing our comedy stock value down for a couple of decades now.
Trust me, I don’t say this lightly. I’ve sat through long half-hours of tired sketches, extremely lame jokes and truly awful impersonations to arrive at this conclusion. Air Farce just isn’t funny.
I’ve given the show more chances than it really deserves, and only by virtue that it is a Canadian comedy show – and that the show has an obvious venerability. But being around for a long time doesn’t make one funny, and aging hasn’t done anything for Air Farce but make Luba Goy’s character choices less believable.
I want to be proud of Canadian comedy.
I remember the good ole days of being glued to set, ready to have my brain altered by the SCTV gang. Codco and This Hour has 22 Minutes (only while Greg Toomey was on), The Frantics had some great hits, and I still love catching re-runs of the highest watermark of Canadian comedy TV – The Kids in The Hall.
So what happened to Air Farce?
I’d posit that Air Farce jumped the shark as soon as we could see them. Having been on the radio since 1973, they made a jump onto television via a special in 1992, then 5 years later they were regulars on the CBC TV line-up.
Performing on radio and television has some obvious differences. While the Air Farce members could easily bring the charisma when our imaginations filled in the blanks, seeing them on air changed everything dramatically. The dynamic was completely different, and certain things radio could forgive were garishly pointed out. A good voice actor, doesn’t make a good actor. Watching Luba Goy impersonate Wendy Mesley made a part of me die inside – the part that had a crush on Wendy Mesley.
Look at what happened to Double Exposure. They were extremely popular on radio, but the jump to television pretty much buried them.
It was Air Farce’s venerability that has been saving them so far, but as their jokes get more tired (seriously, I swear the writers are phoning it in), shouldn’t we just cut our losses?
Television comedy is a tough battleground, so naturally CBC is going to rely on Air Farce’s history to keep them afloat. It’s a safe bet, and I don’t blame them for it.
What disappoints me, is that people might look at Air Farce as a standard of Canadian comedy, when there are so many other astronomically better Canadian comedy shows.
And you’ll have to pull yourself away from the Mother Corp. to catch some of these – I know – heresy!
There’s the fantastic History Bites, created by Frantics alumnus Rick Green. While personally not an impersonation fan, History Bites has some of the best. Trailer Park Boys is certainly a niche – but it covers it extremely well. Same goes for the new Jon Dore Television Show. Shows like The Newsroom and Twitch City knocked it out of the park with style and creativity. Though sometimes hit or miss, I can also recommend Comics and Comedy Now, which feature new and upcoming Canadian stand-up comedians.
So, since we all know that Canadians can make a superior comedy product, we need to acknowledge when something isn’t funny anymore.
Feel free to keep the memory of their past glories intact, but it’s time now to retire the Air Farce. If you need a supportive hug, I’ll be around.

Titles suck

But they're the hallmark of the clever blog aren't they.
Fingers poised over the keyboard, dangling pupetteer-like, ready to show the world how creative you are. Sometimes it comes easy, other times your ready to let gravity take charge of the dead weight your head is, and allow it to make a dull thud onto your desk. Or maybe a "Wackle" kind of sound when yer noggin hits the keyboard.
So, the Coaster's Comedy nights have been moved to Wednesdays. Thank freaking Jesus!(figuratively of course) We've always been lacking for audience members, and I know there are people who would enjoy coming on a regular basis. The Monday evening thing was a difficult hurdle I fully understand. I'm a recluse to begin with, and Mondays are just so condusive to staying in, it's practically law.
Plus, people might have shown up in the past, and then watched some serious floundering on stage, and decided to never come again. I can't really argue that, I mean, I'm never going to attend anything that goes by the name "Pivot" ever again.

So now I've been going through reams of material, for a few reasons. I have about two dozen Word documents on various computers with jokes, sketches and ideas. This likely isn't the most efficient way to organize the funny. I've lost track of a few bits, and things I've wanted to work on, get lost in new messes that pop into my head.
For example, for the show I'm taking to the Fringe, in between the sketches, I was planning on performing some stand-up vis a vis religion, etc. Except now ideas are starting to consume me regularly, and I have no idea how I'm going to squeeze some of the stuff in. I should be taking what I want to do, likely the best stuff, polishing that - then rehearsing the shit out of it. Every time I go to polish, I find something new - then that thing needs polish.

You'd think that was a good thing right?

Ice Foggy Bottom

Yeah, it's cold - but how much is there bitching about it, when you clearly choose to live in a place that has a regular tendancy to completely freeze over for a good portion of the year. Trolling Yukon blogs, it's all about the cold - with only a few people noting the obvious - that's what the Yukon does - it gets cold - really cold - something you can count on. Ah well.
I've been avoiding writing these days, taking a nesting sort of attitude. The cold and lack of fiancee will make one sink into geeky pleasures with vivacious abandon. I do get up to go pee though - I have some retstraint.
But I'll have to hit that writing board soon enough. Comedy Night was cancelled due to the chill, so I'll have material for the next one, but we're putting on a sketch comedy night at the Guild on Feb. 23rd. There are some sketches we've done before, that we really could improve on. In a "I know these are funny people, they just got fucked up in the performance" kind of way.
I've been trying to osmose as much as possible, watching sketch comedy shows on DVD and TV. Sometimes the simplest ways are best for sketch - case in point - a British show called "ManStrokeWoman". Almost all of their stuff is great, fresh, but follow a pretty simple pattern. It's some smart stuff.
Sketch comedy is a lot easier to depend on than stand-up. Even the fact of having someone on a stage, "acting" out a character, gives the audience all the set-up they need to wait for something funny. That anticipation will wring laughs out of the simplest of stuff. Not that it's easy - it's just way more dependable than stand-up comedy.
Mike Ellis is on board to do some writing, which is great. He's a very funny guy, and comes at things differently than I do. His sketch "Dutch Oats" has all the hallmarks of being a "classic" - and if I can convince him to perform it again, that would be great.
I just really want to do a show that's way more organized than Guild Comedy Nights in the past. I put my trust in people before, to bring the funny - and a lack of desire to work bit me in the ass. They were successful nights indeed, people had a good time - but man, the professionalism was certifiably absent. I'd like that to change.

And with a theatre, and all it's facilities at our disposal - the tools are there.

Pivot Schmivot

This year, Nakai Theatre decided that instead of the usual Comedy Fest they usually put on - they would replace it with something called "Pivot" - an extreme theatre event. From the press that touted this new festival, words like: "Groundbreaking, extreme, and out-of-the-box".
From Tara McCarthy's article in the Jan. 25th issue of What's Up Yukon, David Skelton mentions that Nakai was finding that Whitehorse audiences: "were moving away from being as satisfied with the stand-up and sketch comedy" and that one of Nakai's responsibilities: "is to expose Whitehorse audiences to a high quality of professional theatre"
That's some pretty bold statements there, and if you're a regular Yukon culture vulture - you might agree that Pivot would have to be pretty impressive indeed for all that pomp to ring true.

I'll admit, I only went to one evening of the Pivot festival, but I saw the bulk of shows that were being offered. And honestly, I felt a little guilty for having comp tickets, only because I felt so damn sorry for the few people who paid. Let me stress the "few" part of that statement.
It's not my intention to point a finger at Nakai and laugh, but boy, Pivot certainly added to the Hindenburg-like qualities that Nakai has slowly been building.
The shows at Pivot were pretty much the exact kind of fare anyone could see at any Fringe festival in North America. The difference being that one has much more choice at a Fringe festival - so you're likely able to see something you like.
There was nothing likeable about the shows at Pivot (mind you, I didn't see "This is Cancer - Live" and I'll go out on a limb and say it was probably good - Bruce Horak has some cred). David Bateman's monologues were so disjointed, obviously unrehearsed and pretty dull. Gay guys talking about their mothers and comparing them to glamourous stars of the past - it's actually kinda cliche. I did make a good mental grocery list during his show though - so thanks.
He couldn't handle his props, and didn't seem to have a grasp on where he was going. It was pretty unprofessional seeming - not unlike a crappy Fringe show.
"Lounge" was better, but that's not saying much. It was split up into two acts, and the second certainly killed what little momentum the first had.
Neither show was groundbreaking, extreme or thought-provoking.
Taking a look into the crowd, you could see the usual folks who go to Arts events in Whitehorse. We've all seen stuff like this before, and we've seen it done better. I've seen more entertaining things done at Homegrown.
This festival had no heart, and no drive. Just the fact that there were so many free tickets handed out should be telling.
Last year, me and a little group of like minded amateur comedians put together two nights of sketch comedy. We had the Westmark ballroom filled with people, and we put on a pretty decent show. While we certainly had some low moments, this was relatively new to us, and we had a lot of room to grow.
Nakai couldn't even fill one third of the ballroom, which was their main venue.
Just add that to the growing list of things Nakai has lost money on.
While I'll completely agree that Nakai should be the last people to run a comedy fest in the first place, at least they were trying before. Now - not so much. If they can pull people like Ron James and Cathy Jones up here for fundraisers (that they lost money on by the way), one would think these people would be perfect anchors to build a comedy fest around.
Pivot was a pretty uninspiring festival, right where we needed somethign bright in our dead of winter. This has me worried about Homegrown, and if Skelton will have his hands in what shows will be put on.

Then again, as they say, if you want something done right...

Family Ties kicked Growing Pains' Ass.

Just needed to get that out.
And c'mon, Tom Hanks as the drunk uncle - drinking vanilla and marashino (sp?) cherry juice - priceless.
But as usual, I digress.
This past Monday saw the return of Comedy night at Coasters. I not-so-sneakily parlayed the leaving of my partner (she's gonna get some edumacation) into getting more people to show up for some laughs. Thankfully, it worked.
It was a good night, with a lotta laughs, and some great comics. From where Chris McNutt started, yelling over people talking to their beers at the Whitewater Wednesday Open Mic Jam nights - to where we are now is pretty nifty.
There are now comics who are close to on par, and occaisionally better than us *cough* pros. There's Logan, who on his first time on stage, blew everyone out of the water with his presence, and his material. We have Rob, who really is a nautral, as long as he can get over his nervousness and the trend to mimic popular comedians. Though, we should worry, cause once he finds his own voice - he's going to kick all our asses.
And then there's Scott. This guy has his own thing going, and it's going very well. He's a natural at the mic, although he usually mentions how nervous he is. When I say he's a natural, I mean he has a presence that says: "This is who I am." Whereas, most comics will come on to the stage with some proto-persona of themselves, Scott is wholly real. And watching him - you can see the power of coming from such a real place.
So those of us that have been doing it for a while, our days might just be numbered. We'll have to make sure we step up our game once in a while. Not that I plan on being competitive, far from it. We need new, good comics to keep this thing alive. Our audience is one fickle sonofabitch. So the more, the merrier. It also keeps everyones brains churning for new material - and that's always good.