Round 2: Buzz

Tonight was round 2 of the Steam Whistle Presents "Yuk Yuk's Pro Am Comedy Competition".  The room is full with people of all ages and all walks of life.  The manager of the club is dressed to the nines and greets every patron with a smile.  In the backroom the amateur comedians are pacing back and forth, going over their lines and looking nervous.  The professional comedians are a bit more relaxed while catching up with each other over a beverage.  The Rolling Stones "Paint it Black" begins to play, the house lights go down, the spot light is lit, it's time for the show to begin!

The host and MC for the evening comes onstage with high energy to get the crowd warmed up.  Greg Schroeder does a great job as MC, and one of the first things he notices is that one of his former students is in the audience.  The student informs that he has travelled the world since graduating, and Schroeder quips "in high school you couldn't even find your pencil, how the hell did you manage across the world".  And so begins some fun banter!  Schroeder delivers on his tried and true material, and warms everyone up for what is to come.......

The first act is Scott King.  King is relatively new to comedy, and his jokes about fast food have mixed reaction from the crowd.  Some enjoy them, some are a bit lukewarm, but he continues on with his set.  It is never easy to take the bullet, and some of his nerves show, but overall he does a good job.  Out next is..........

Ken Strangeway, who comes out talking about his balls and how magnificent they are.  He moves to his enjoyment of Queen Sized Women and moves to discussing infertility.  He has good segues, but doesn't pause to let the audience enjoy the jokes he just told.  He does a good job with positive audience response.  Up next is...............

Dan Wire, who comes out with long hair, and does his best to overcome his nerves; however, doesn't quite get there tonight.  It happens to any comedian at any time.  He gets a very good laugh when he discusses his love of pot, and finishes his set, and out comes.....................

Mike Daly, who is obviously the best dresser of all the comedians.  He brings this up in his act, the man is wearing a fabulous suit with great shoes.  Classy dresser for sure, and the crowd is responsive to him.  He delivers a very good set for sure!  When done, the last amateur comedian for the night is..............

Chris Timms, recently back from Vancouver.  Timms has honed his skills during his time living in BC.  He begins telling the audience about his family "I have a brother from another mother and a sister from another mister", and moves to some jokes about hockey teams.  The crowd really enjoys him.

Greg does some time in the middle, to split up the amateur and the professional category.  It is important for the judges (Jen Traplin and Dave Schellenberg of Live 88.5, and Karen Wilson and Rebecca Stanstic who are experts in social media and blogging) to have a clear distinction between the ams and the pros so they are not comparing them to each other when scoring.  People often wonder how the scoring works; perhaps your favourite did not get in and you wonder why not?  The judges have four different categories to mark up to 25 points each.  One comedian may score very high in one and very low in another, while another comedian may get consistent medium marks.  All the judges totals are taken to create an average, and therefore it is whomever gets the highest points.  If someone consistently impressed all four judges with high scores then they likely will come out the victor.  So while you may really enjoy someone, they are judged by the judges on specific criteria, and that is what is followed.  Judging is a tough job, and tonight's judges are great!

When Schroeder is done reading a story written by one of his fourteen year old students (which is amazing, and gets hysterical laughs and applause), he brings out the first pro............

Nick Carter, who begins by addressing his name sake and his sexy appeal.  Carter is a favourite both on and off the stage for JH5.  He brings out some great material on how creepy he is, and delivers a slightly awkward rant on how people do not know the origin of the saying "ignorance is bliss".  After an awkward pause, he gets to his punch line with impeccable timing and everyone is with him and laughs.  Great job Carter.  Then out comes.........

Jessica Salomon, who trekked in from Montreal for the show.  Salomon is also a JH5 favourite (spoiler alert, all the pros on tonight are our favourites, they are all that good) and begins by saying "eff (she said the word) perfectly bilingual people".  She has the audience with her wit and charm, and moves forward with jokes about the vein on her forehead and into a great and original bit on her experience with one night stands.  Forever will we giggle when we hear "complimentary sleepover".  Great job Salomon, and then out pops.......

Rabbi David Rotenberg, who brought Jewish culture to the club in a hilarious way.  I really want to see "Hitler on the Roof!".  He handled an awkward situation with excellence:  After a joke someone yelled out "that was in poor taste" (it wasn't) to which he said "REALLY?? that was in poor taste??  Someone was out here talking about creative names for porn sites, and THIS is in poor taste?". The audience laughed with hysteria at this, and all we can say is "well done Rabbi!".

Trevor Thompson.  For those who know our blog, you will remember he is one of our true favourites.  He has been on a roll in comedy, getting better and stronger each time on stage, and tonight is no exception.  He calls out the competition "all we actually win is free hot dog buns" and moves into some of his grade A material on linguistic bickering, college rivalries and hippies.  The crowd is riveted by him, it is an excellent performance.

When he is done, JH5 and Yuk Yuk's management  tally the scored while Alex Wood entertains the audience.  He is one of the most likable comics for his easy going smile, charm, and his accessible jokes. He entertains whilst the comedians are anxious to know the results.  Out comes Greg to announce them and they are...................

Amateurs 

Timms

Strangeway

1.  Chris Timms

2.  Ken Strangeway

Professionals

Salomon

1.  Trevor Thompson

2.  Jessica Salomon

The crowd applauds their approval to the judges choices.  It is important for us to note that the line between second and third place in both categories was thin, so good job to everyone else as well!

Each person will be moving on to a semi-final round on August 17 or august 24 respectively.

Once again a great night is had, the audience had fun, and the comics go celebrate together after the show. Next week will be another great week, so do NOT wait to book your tickets at 236-LAFF.  For $6.00 you get a show and then some!  See you next week!

J Hayward

JH5