Well, I am not a male but have size 11 feet so I will do for today. I had expected a blog entry, but with writing for the big Ottawa roast tomorrow, people may have lost track of time. So today you are stuck with moi!
To keep with the theme, I will talk about men, and comedy. Last time I posted for Men of Comedy segment, I listed JH5's Top Ten Male Comedians. This week I will do another top ten list, and was torn between the best looking male comics, and the nicest. Being a feminist, I am pretty sure I am not going to subscribe to the top ten sexiest male comics (they know who they are anyways). So, the day before the Ottawa roast, let me tell you about 10 nice fellows. I will also ad that I have to like their comedy, so there are others who are nice but I am not a fan of their art. Hope that's clear, so someone who is nice to me wondering why they did not make this list, it is either because there are those nicer than you, or I am not a fan. (or I can't remember your name, that happens too)
Why am I outlining nice people? Partly it is in good fun and no one should take it too seriously; however, the other part has a valid and decent point. Comedy brings out a plethora of different types of personalities. In comedy, for the first year there are those who are nice right from the top, those who ignore you, and those who are actually rude. In the first year you cannot take anything to heart. Those who ignore you may be nice people, but they may be shy, they may believe you have to earn your stripes etc. etc. Those who are nice may actually be over the top, and insincere. I won't lie, since I started hiring acts people are nicer to me. This doesn't mean they weren't nice to begin with, but some take it to the extreme and are pretty transparent. Then those who are rude, those are the sneaky ones. They may actually be trying to help. One comedian loves to give newbies pointers and based on this person's experience in comedy, it is quite nice of them; however, it comes off as criticism. So those who seem rude may actually be the nice ones!
To talk about nice people, I am talking about people that in my mind seem genuine in who they are, are nice but not over the top, and these are the people you want to hire. Real people. Genuine people. Yes, of course they have to be talented, but realistically if you have two comics of the same basic levels of comedy, and one you know will create drama and be negative, and one will come do their comedy and are pleasant throughout, which one do you think people will hire? Be who you are, and let the chips lie where they may. The ten we have listed are those we enjoy their comedy, but also enjoy them as people. I will caveat that if this was open for both genders, women would out do the men 20-1, and I don't know why this is. If I had to label the nicest person in comedy, it is without a doubt Wendi Reed.
10) Nick Carter - I cannot say I was a fan when i first met him on the Ottawa Comedy Resource, as he (rightly so) called me out on my ignorance of comedy booking with a mean (but really hilarious) satire about his dead grandma. In person though, no one can make me laugh like he does, he is just silly at times! I am sure he has his bad moments, but overall I see a good heart, a great comedian, and the combination of the two is a great mix!
9) Alex Wood - Always found with the loudest laugh in the room, Wood was the first person who said "good set". He has a kind word, encouragement before one goes on, and always reminds us to "have fun out there". He also has cheeks that one wants to pinch, so the mom in me comes out when around him. Above his niceness, he is funny, and one of my faves in the city.
8) Dylan Gott - I have only met him once while being the door girl at a comedy club, but his set was funny, but he could be one of the nicest people I have met! He would likely have made it higher up the list, but as I only met him once, time will tell!
7) Jim Robinson - A retired civil servant from Ottawa, Robinson is one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. Period.
6) Oliver Gross - Gross ran the Raw Talent Tuesdays and always had good constructive advice for us newbies. "For the love of god, slow down", and "what's the worst that could happen" were two regular comments. He is liked by most of the comedy scene, and has a good joke on "Jesus Juice" so he made the list.
5) Julien Dionne - Nice fellow this young blond one. Never had a bad thing to say about anyone, and he is funny. Really funny.
4) Josh Williams - He runs the Open Mic Mondays and is always nice to help a new comic out, give feedback (done in a nice way), and his humour is quite fun!
3) Don Kelly - Everyone knows Don Kelly is nice, there is not much more to say, except come to Don Kelly and Friends on June 11 at the Bronson Centre!
2) Mark Forward - I had seen his comedy long before I met him, and he is fun, gracious, nice, and even when being "mean", he is lovely. He is also our favourite male comic, and I am not sure anyone could change our minds on this, and this mix of niceness and amazing talent, this comic is headed for greatness.
1) Graham Chittenden - One of the best comedy writers I know, he is also nice. In fact, he is nice enough to give free muffins for his fans! Even when he stands people up for chicken wings, he is so nice about it, you just forget the whole thing :) I defy anyone who has met him to say a mean thing about him. He is that nice!
After writing this I see this column for what it is: pure filler! Whatever, if you want better columns encourage your favourite male comics to blog for us! Always remember that niceness is in the eye of the beholder. There are people out there would label me as a nice person; in fact I hope many people would. there are those though who have a "B" word and a "C" word for me as well! So take this list for what it is, one woman's attempt to highlight people who have made a different in comedy, and have done it with a genuinely pleasing personality.
Next post will be Friday where I talk in general terms about the Ottawa Comedy Roast. (from my world view, I will not be recapping what people do)
Until then, all my relations,
jenn hayward
JH2 of JH5
Quick edit: We forgot Darcy Michael, who would be in the top four for sure!
Showing posts with label top ten. Show all posts
Showing posts with label top ten. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
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
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
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