Return to the Horse

I've decided that the Yukon is very much like the island from Lost.
I'll take a chance at frustrating people, cause I'm not going to bother to go into details, cause I think more people should watch the show. Suffice to say, there will always be a pull to go back North.
I've tried to explain to people what makes the Yukon so interesting. It really is one of those places that you need to see for yourself, to fully understand. Like Vegas - I don't care what kind of Earth Mother friendly kind of person you are, forgo thoughts of your carbon footprint, and land them feet in Las Vegas at least once. It will be impossible to regret.
See Vegas and Whitehorse, there are comparisons. Plus I've heard a lot of stories of the mob having ties to Watson Lake and a certain hunting lodge outside of Haines Junction. Not so far-fetched of a comparison perhaps.
And heed the call back North I certainly did, for Rendezvous no less.
Coasters were putting together a big re-launch of the Comedy Nights, followed by three nights of Sweet Soul Burlesque, returning for the third time to Whitehorse. All during Rendezvous.
Indeed, there was no way I was not going to be a part of that.
I flew up on a Monday, and by Tuesday, the roller coaster had started. First, Erica and I spent a great evening hanging out with Howie Miller, the comic hired by Coasters to headline the re-launch. That was the first of some very long nights.
The comedy night re-launch went over extremely well, having an entirely new audience. Chris McNutt, Al MacLoed and Tristan Hopper each had great sets, and I worked my pasty white arse off to bring a great night, culminating in a marathon of laughs from Howie.
We ended up leaving him in the room across from his, at around three in the morning, watching a long-time Rendezvous volunteer hump a rubber chicken.
Then I get a call around nine am, from Mr. Miller, asking me to come hang out in his room. Figuring five hours of sleep was enough for me, I headed over and we watched Star Trek (the original, natch) some of the Obama visit, and what I was sure was stoned people doing the Global Edmonton news.
Howie and I will meet again soon enough, he wants me to open for him when he's in Saskatoon in a couple of weeks. I'm very much looking forward to the opportunity.
The next three nights, I was a happy little worker, all for the Sweet Soul Burlesque crew. These are some fine performers, and really really genuine people. The shows were pretty epic, including performances from the MacLean sisters (a band), some dancers from the latest Varietease show and of course the evening wouldn't be complete without the Sourdough Rendezvous Can-can dancers.
This was a three-hour burlesque extravaganza. And a very classic one at that.
It was a celebration of female sexuality, but also a carnival of cheap lewdness and debauchery.
Not a lot of people can handle a real burlesque show, and what that truly entails. This was readily apparent from the person that came up to me after the show on Saturday, to tell me about how she was offended by things I said on the Thursday night. I was a little taken aback, as everything I had said, while certainly being lewd, was all a part of the show. These were lines I had rehearsed with, during the Varietease act, in which I say these lewd comments, then get summarily punished for it by the Varietease dancers. It was a pretty simple set-up, with a righteous kind of pay-off.
The funny thing was, the exact same act had been performed before at the Guild Hall, which the complainant had seen. If she wasn't offended then, why did she feel the need to say something now? Is it because it was a friend of hers saying the "offensive" comments during the Guild Shows, and now it was me?
Compounding the ridiculousness, she then told me that she would never be attending another performance of mine. This was quite funny to me, as she has never been to any of the comedy shows before this, and she very well knew that I didn't live in Whitehorse anymore.
An audience I never had, is certainly one I'll never miss.
I wasn't necessarily diplomatic about it when I shouted: "Like I *%$@ing care!"
But, I had a few Chilkoots in me, and my buzz was being killed in front of my eyes.
It certainly deflated my fun balloon that night. And what made it a little worse was feelings of sympathy I had for my verbal assailant. The sympathy came out of my re-telling of the incident, to pretty much everyone involved with the show. Now there's a large group of far more intelligent, and far more secure women, who think she's a complete idiot. That's what a self-inflated sense of importance gets you gang.
Someone who doesn't like my stuff, that's easy, there's a lot of them out there, but someone who completely misses the point of something so obvious - it makes for a teeth-grinding kind of evening.
I got back on that fun horse though - enough that by around 5am, my liver walked out of my body and slapped me in the face.
We balanced all this Rendezvous crazy time with some great quality time with our nieces. These are two great kids, who we've had the pleasure of knowing since both their infancies. One is almost two and the other is four, both fun developmental stages to watch. And influence...
We caught up with as many people as we could, but with such a short schedule, we couldn't fit everything in.
But we came up with some interesting theories:
1. Whitehorse is a unique place in Canada, because there are no "buffer" people. While pretty much every other major urban centre has a large part of their population that live pretty basic lives (work, eat, sleep, etc.), even the nine-to-fivers in the Yukon are some pretty kooky people. There's no buffer zone between normal folks and the colorful ones - they're all pretty darn colorful.
2. We'll be back again - whether months or years, doesn't really matter, we'll always be a part of the Island.

There - now go watch more Lost.

Florida Part 2

I meant to write some cheeky entries on the latter part of our Florida trip -
But I pictured myself reading this in the future, thinking: "Who freakin' cares..."
So I sat down and thought about the real salient points I would actually like to get across about our stay in Fort Lauderdale for a month.
The thing that really saved the trip was a little hookah bar called: "The Funky Buddha"
I discovered the place while looking for an open mic to do some comedy. Now that I've been doing stand-up for a couple of years, it has become a regular compulsion to make sure I can get in front of a mic on a regular basis. The longer in between stage time, and I actually get squirrely. It's a question all comics ask themselves, when can I next some time? I'd elbow my way into weddings for five minutes and an audience.
So, while were in Florida, my itch was starting to drive me nuts. Then I spotted the ad for this open mic in Boca Raton, only 20 minutes from where we were staying. The fact that it was a hookah bar with over 90 specialty beers was a decent draw as well.
Let's just say it seemed like a natural place to find like-minded people. And by like-minded people...okay, how many hints would you like? Basically - two birds, one stone, alright?
The place was nestled in a strip-mall, flanked by a Deli and Kinko's. And it was in this unlikely place we found our haven.
That first open mic was pretty over-whelming. It wasn't just comedians, but folk musicians, bar rockers, hip-hop artists, beat poets and an old blues icon. This was an amazing pastiche of open mic denizens - all under the Funky Buddha banner.
Hosting this cavalcade was one Richy Lala, a Dr. Bunsen Honeydew look-alike. I've never seen a comic do crowd work like this guy. He's a natural storyteller, able to exactly measure the appropriate amounts of charm and smarm necessary to keep the crowd enthused. The guy was a pro host, plus a great comedian.
There was also Matt Z, of proud Scandinavian descent, who took to the stage like an awkward Viking, but then assaulted the crowd with hilarious material about his apparent disfuctionality. If debasing yourself becomes an artform, this guy will be its Picasso.
We had many adventures with the Buddha gang, turning our trip into something more than just a sightseeing expedition. We made some lasting friends.
An unexpected, yet rewarding surprise.
It reminded me so much of the comedy scene we started in the Yukon. There's a large group of people that know each other, and make sure to tell one another about upcoming gigs. It seemed really supportive, and a lot of fun to be a part of.
We always had ample performance opportunity in the Yukon, let's face it, if you want a stage to put whatever the hell you fancy in front of an audience, it can easily be done. Our show at the Arts Centre proved how easy it can be if someone wants to do the work.
Our pals in Florida have that too, but they also are exactly where they need to be to hit the next level. The leap from amateur to pro certainly is facilitated by having access to larger markets. South Florida, with easy access to Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Tampa, and Orlando, seems like a decent logical choice for someone wanting to get into the comedy game.
I don't think Id leave Canada, but when I check out Facebook pictures of our friends at the Funky Buddha, wearing tank tops and shorts in February, I wonder if I might have took that constant hot weather for granted...