If I Were A Rich Girl

After 2 useless nights of trying to get through to the Yuk Yuk’s box office and no response from my on-line reservation request, Tim and I decided to head down to the casino and see if we could get in to the Sunday night show that Nikki Payne was putting on.  It was Tim’s 40th birthday so we wanted to do something.

Thankfully there were tickets and the reason given for the lack of response was the big influx of calls due to it being opening weekend.  Okay, but if you know you’re going to be swamped with calls, shouldn’t you hire a few more people to make sure everyone gets looked after? 

Then to top it all off, we get upstairs and when I inquire about a certain table, I was informed that a “rich guy” reserved it.  Wouldn’t it have been enough to say it was reserved?  Did you have to throw the “rich guy” thing in there?  Did we look that destitute?  I wonder how said “rich guy” would have reacted had he known that is how he was being referred to.  Big whoopee, so the guy has money.  How about next time answer your cotton pickin’ phone so I too might be able to reserve a table.  Hmph.

Anyway, Gary was able to find us a fairly decent table where we didn’t have to fight with a big crowd or sit with a bunch of strangers so that’s nice.  We settled in and were looking forward to the show.

Jay Brown was the MC for the evening.  Here’s where I’m conflicted.  The Jay Brown that appears as “Boomclack” on the Comedy Couch (a Vancouver message board for comics) didn’t seem to be the same person.  The Jay Brown that I saw last night was quite affable (although he was very colourful with his comedy).  He did a stellar job of MC’ing the show and keeping the crowd interested.  Very different from the individual whose posts I read, oftentimes with distain. 

I think what comics need to keep in mind is that when they post on a public forum people will formulate opinions of them based on what they say and how they say it.  It’s not just your stage show that gains you fans, it’s also how you conduct yourself off stage – that often gives people more of an insight into your true character, and yes, it will count in their overall opinion of you. 

So what is my overall opinion of Jay Brown? Well, I don’t agree with everything he says on Comedy Couch, but then again, not everybody agrees with my opinions either.  I did find him to be entertaining, certainly edgy and is someone I would definitely see again.

Dan Guiry had the first guest spot last night.  Dan spoke very quietly and slowly and it took the audience a bit to catch up with him.  I like Dan best when he has his guitar with him and he’s doing his quirky songs.  He was just a little flat for me – I’m used to seeing more oomph in his performances than what I saw last night.  I did like his sex on mushrooms bit though.

Manolis Zontanos had the other guest spot.  Manolis was on his way home to Toronto after touring out west for a bit.  While I wasn’t completely blown away, he was entertaining enough.  Somehow though I expect more from an experienced headliner, but that’s also why I don’t always like headliners doing guest spots – I feel like they don’t feel like they have to try as hard and therefore don’t impress me as much as when they do their own headlining set.  That’s just my observation.

Can monkeys do jazz feet?  Ask Sean Lecomber, he’ll tell you.  From the very second he walked on stage, I was laughing.  Sean has an easy going manner with an underbite of sarcasm that gets me every time I see him.  I sincerely enjoy the way this guy’s mind works and I’m looking forward to seeing him again on Wednesday as he competes for $25,000 in the Yuk Yuk’s Great Canadian Laugh Off.  A very funny and enjoyable middle act on his way to being a bona fide headliner very soon (I hope!).

Then the main attraction – the diminutive in size but gigantic in stage presence – Nikki Payne.  Nikki was just here not too long ago and we got to see her close up and personal.  However, seeing her again in a big full room (with no sound system hiccups) made it that much more entertaining.   She’s a dirty little girl, but she certainly gets away with it. 

It was interesting to hear a more elaborate story about her special gift (one of her kidneys) to her father.  In between fits of air humping and spritzing with the front row, there were some good laughs at her time in the hospital. 

Nikki pokes fun at herself but I love how she recognizes her “disability” gives her an advantage in her chosen profession.  It’s not always easy to understand her, but then when someone does have a speech impediment I think the audience tends to pay more attention – they don’t want to miss anything.

It was so great to see Nikki again, and I’m looking forward to some of the upcoming shows at Yuk Yuk’s new club in Calgary.  I have to find me a way to get me some more money though so I can be some “rich chick” who reserved that seat.

A girl can dream…

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