Men of Comedy: Guest Blogger Nobody

We do not have a guest male blogger this week, as four men are currently writing, and are not quite ready yet.  I am sure when they are, they will be marvelous!


To keep with the theme though, let's chat about some men in comedy.


There are in fact a lot of men in the comedy business.   I should amend this to state there are a lot of boys in comedy and a few men.  This is not in reference to the general maturity level of most comics (I just won't go there,) but that there are many boys under the age of 25 wanting to be stand up comedians.  I often wonder what makes someone with little life experience want to tell jokes.   I got an answer this week from Alex Wood, of whom I am a fan.  He said it was something he always knew he would do.  Is this true of all young men?   With so many young males trying to make it in comedy, how does one stand out?


Obviously there are those who have a natural talent.  Rumour is Dave Atkinson is just such a person.  He was signed in record time because he knew how to perform, he is theatrically trained, and has strong writing skills.  All together this made him stand out from the crowd and was signed within a year of performing comedy.


Atkinson aside, these young men are starting their comedy at an age where developmentally they are also "finding themselves".  Significant change and growing up occurs between the age of 20-30, and these young men are going through this, all while on stage.  I won't lie; there have been times I have wanted to smack the silly off of some young guy performing misogynistic and racist jokes.  I wonder if in 15 years these males are going to look back at their early years and think "i can't believe i was so ignorant!".  Most people will do this as part of looking back through their life, but these young men have recordings of their development and ignorance. 


Another way to stand out from the crowd it so do comedy that makes sense to everyone.  There is a little one named Greg Stringer here in Ottawa.  He is a mere child of 16, and does jokes about being a sixteen year old.  He gets laughs almost every time!  Not condescending "look a kid" kind of laughs, but laughs because he is doing honest comedy.  I often look at young men doing offensive sexual references and think to myself that there is no way that boy has ever had sex!  It doesn't portray as honest to me.  Make sense and find the style that fits for you!  I certainly won't be doing jokes about partying all hours of the night at a rave, because the audience would not only be confused, they may call social services for an intervention!


Wow, it sure sounds like I do not like male comics!  Nothing could be farther from the truth; however, when you watch as much comedy, both amateur and professional as I do (once weekly on average) you see a lot of great comedy, some poor comedy, and a lot of generic comedy.


We have developed a current top ten list.  In we, I mean both my husband (JH1) and myself (JH2).  We have distinctly different types of comedy we enjoy.  He likes dark, I like light, he is on the edge, while I have to bring a sexual thesaurus to dark comedy shows!  The funniest moment for my husband was watching a dude eat a banana on stage for five minutes.  I kid you not.  So when we both like someone, I mean really like a comic, then they have passed all of our critical filters and become dear to our comedic hearts.  Here is our top 10 of male comics we have seen live in the past two years, and before you get pissy, understand that we both have to have seen said comic, so these are OUR top picks.  Think you were missed?  Let us know and we will make a point to come out and see you while in town!  My promise!  Digressing, here is the list, in order:


1.  Mark Forward:  Our favourite, hands down!  We took born again Christians to the front row of Forward's show.  Imagine four of us sitting in the front row....two born again Christians, an angry feminist, and a laid back beatnik hippie heathen...all laughing with hysteria at everything from jokes about squirrels to pedophilia!   He had strong broad appeal for different tastes and we all walked out talking about his comedy!


2.  Darcy Michaels:  We saw Michaels at the PRIDE show at Yuk Yuk's this past summer.  Now I will caveat that I am madly in love with him as he is the gay version of my husband.  Everything I love about my husband, with none of the sex!  That aside, he is funny, rip roaringly funny.  He has charm and a laid back style that makes everyone else relaxed, and ready to listen to his jokes.  He is a must see!


3. Don Kelly:  Don Kelly is what one would describe as a classy comic; one can envision Kelly sipping JD alongside the Rat Pack.  Kelly's style aside, he is a strong writer, and a stronger performer  He does mainstream comedy, and has amazing non-polarizing comedy about being Aboriginal.  There are other Aboriginal comics, who are great for Aboriginal crowds, but lip biting awkward when around non-Aboriginal folks.  Kelly can transcend all audiences, regardless of cultural background.  As an aside, my eldest son (9) is pretty much president of Fish Out of Water fan club, so Kelly is a draw for the entire family!


4.  Graham Chittenden:  A great writer, an amazing story teller, and a very enjoyable comic.  We have seen him headline twice and enjoyed both times.  He will be featured in WHO TO WATCH in April!  Come out and see him when he is next in town!


5.  Trevor Thompson:  We first saw Thompson two years ago at a New Talent Showcase when Yuk Yuk's was on Albert St.  He has a unique style, an escalating rant within his set done with charm and wit. He can be seen very regularly at Yuk Yuk's.  We have talked at length about Thompson on this blog, so moving on!


6.  John Hastings:  This young fellow has a nerdy, slacker vibe on stage, but look further and you can tell he is a pretty cool, and more importantly a good comic.  He does not hold back on topical jokes, and finishes them with a charming smile, and the audience eats it up.  Very good, and a JH5 pick!


7.  Alex Wood:  Obviously we enjoy Wood, as he was profiled in this week's WHO TO WATCH.  Wood has energy in abundance, and looks like he is having the time of his life on stage.  We have seen him perform many times, and have never seen him hit a bad set, making him one of our favourites.


8.  One of those Carter boys:  JH1 came home one day after a review and said "I really, really enjoyed that Carter boy!".   I also enjoy a Carter boy.  Turns out we like them both but each have our favourite.  Nick and Matt Carter (no relation) perform together at times as The Cartergans, as well as their indivdual comedy.  Nick Carter has strong writing skills (JH5 hired him to write and produce vignettes on International Women's Day) with a dry sense of humour that is appealing, and Matt Carter has a strong stage presence and pleases the crowd with impeccable timing.


9.  Fraser Young:  Young is a funny young man, with off beat goofy comments mixed with intelligent banter.  We have only seen him once each, but will go to see him again.


10. Bobby Mair:  Known at our house as "the lanky guy who does the milk carton joke", Mair delights audiences with awkward, dry humour.  His jokes do not provide small amounts of increasing laughter throughout, but rather a few BIG guffaws.  Will continue to watch his career, and he made it as one of our top 10!


So men of comedy, you are out there in abundance.  What does it take to be in someone's top ten?  For us, it comes down to originality, personality, and consistency.  With these three traits we are bound to remember the comic, and then become a repeat customer.  Here is to the young ones striving to be great, and old ones still trying to make it, and to the ones that we can't get enough of!  Get your laugh on people, and these are some of the men to help you out!


Who is in your top ten list?
JH5