From Venus Envy To Penis Envy

Last night was the Stampede edition of Comedy Monday Night.  There were lots of things that were new about the show – new sign, new lighting (easier to take pictures – awesome!), new sound system, James has new facial hair and lots of new material.  There were a few familiar faces and a few faces I haven’t seen for a while and it was a very enjoyable evening over all.  Here’s the new sign:

Here’s James with his new sign:

Trent McClellan took the bullet spot and spent almost his whole time talking about Stampede and the after effects.  What a great way to kick off a show!  Trent got the crowd interested, laughing and when he announced he was leaving the stage, got a collective “aaahhhh” from the audience.  We enjoyed him and I’m sure everyone joins me in congratulating him on his Comedy Now special which will be filming in August in Toronto!  Well done Trent!

Patrick Creery (sp?) did a pretty morbid set dedicated to his wife’s uncle’s funeral in Prince George.  Some of his material was a little tasteless  – it’s quite difficult to make death funny and while I give him kudos for trying, it just feel flat for me.

Lyle Bateman (up from Medicine Hat) paced nervously around the stage last night.  A large portion of his set was devoted to talking about his alter-ego’s comedy shenanigans in Second Life.  I myself have never gone on it so I don’t understand what it is all about but it sounds a little too fantasy for me.  I also so totally did not get his physicist joke and I don’t think anyone else did either.  If anyone did get it,c an you please explain it to me? 

This is the 4th time I’ve seen Kenneth Locke and wow did he do a great job last night!  He was full blast for sure!  He’s hard to follow when he’s pacing around the stage, but I do so enjoy his outlook on life.  I see a promising future for this guy – he’s got a great presence and the audience really seemed to like him.

Bless his little cotton socks, Mike Tod made his way down to Lord Nelson’s last night to do a set.  Mike announced that prior to the show starting that Amanda Perrin had mentioned to him how beautiful Karen O’Keefe looked whilst eating.   He then did 2 bits – one about the three things he hates (religion, his mom & birds) which was awesome.  And then he did one about a C-Train Driver which I also enjoyed.  Mike is a natural talent and a born performer – I’m so glad he decided to come down last night – much needed breath of fresh air!

I think Esther Weaver will be very funny when she gets her confidence on stage.  She justs needs to speak a little more clearly and really own it up there.  I must apologize, as I was the audience member that spoke out and said “splooge”.  I can’t believe I said it and I’m ashamed of myself, and I sincerely apologize to Esther.

Fast talker Kelly D’Amour took to the stage next.  I always find it hard to follow Kelly because she does talk so fast and it’s not always clear either.  That said, I didn’t really catch her set last night.

Dan Guiry did a great set but unfortunately there wasn’t any new material.  He sure got Bill laughing hard though.

I have to admit when I saw Devon Jacobs get up on stage, I tensed up a bit.  The times I’ve seen him previously have not been pleasant occasions, as his material tended to lean towards the misogynistic side.  However, he seems to not hate women AS much anymore (clearly,he still harbours some resentment towards his ex, but hey, I wasn’t there and don’t know the situation).  One bit that was really funny though was that after all these years he still doesn’t know where pee comes from in a woman.  I’ve got his answer, it’s here.

Amanda Perrin was having a bit of trouble finding her groove on stage until she turned her attention on someone she admires Karen O’Keefe – Venus Envy.  It was really quite cute and done in a fun way.  Not too many people could make lepresy funny, but Amanda did a decent job of it.  Always a treat to watch!

James gave Karen O’Keefe an opportunity to do a rebuttal and when called up on stage, Karen was able to pull it off like she had planned to go up all along.  Super fun, well done, great energy and I got the best picture ever from the short time she was one stage:

Daniel Lee was decidedly calmer than the 2 previous ladies, but his bit about selling a kid on Craig’s List was one of the funniest of the night.  Once again, a job well done – what an improvement over last year!

Katryna Chan looked absolutely adorable last night.  I would like to see this girl’s closet because holy cow she has some getups…  She was very dressed up for Stampede and most of her set tended to be on the theme of cowgirls and cowboys.  Katryna is really getting comfortable and confident and a lot more consistent.  Nice work!

Chris Gordon is getting ready to go to Just For Laughs next week so he only had a few new bits to try out, and one of them happened to involve a certain royal blue vintage K-Way jacket that I happened to grab from the coat rack last time I was home.  Chris brings a special kind of energy to the stage and yes, he’s a little wacky, but that’s what makes him memorable time after time.  Good luck in Montreal and do Alberta proud Chris!

Daryl Makk closed out the show last night.  One thing that seems to be common with Daryl is that he always mentions Trent McClellan in his sets at Comedy Monday Night (Penis Envy?).  Whether it’s his style of “rating” jokes or even just callbacks to his material, I just find it amusing.  Plus, I needed something to rhyme with Venus and the only word I could think of was penis.  I did enjoy his story about being at the Comedy Cave and watching a couple go at it.  Something else he said made me laugh too – You can’t hear a meow through Levis & towels.  Good job, and looking forward to seeing what tomorrow night has in store with Daryl’s Comedy Detour – F.U.K. Stampede Show. 

Here’s what happens – there are going to be several comics going up doing 10-15 minute sets – kind of like a comedy rodeo.  Some hefty talent is going to be there, and the show is basically all night long.  Get down to Kits Pub early – the show starts at 7 and goes until they say it’s over.  WHAT?  I know!  Crazy isn’t it?  This I gotta see.

Special mention goes out to Bill, the winner of the Austerman Mechanical Sweet, Sweet Laughter Award.   Bill is a great laugher, but at times, I feel like he’s the dreaded “laugh at everything give the comic a false sense of security guy”.  Last night was great, but there were times when you could only hear him laughing and it makes one wonder.  But then again, I’ve been the only one laughing at jokes on more than one occasion, but I certainly do NOT laugh at everything.  But he sure injected a wonderful spirit into the audience and made the night that much better.

Good show, good times, and looking forward to tomorrow night!

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