Stand-up Comedy Shows

[ThePenIsMightier]

Post here when you've been to see a live show. If it was good, tell us about it.
Perhaps most importantly, if you liked the opener or the host, dig up their info so we can find out more about them.

[mr2mike]

Local based or while on your travels?

[ThePenIsMightier]

Local based or while on your travels?

I suppose it doesn't matter. Slightly better for local, so that fans can have a chance to go to a show more easily.

[max_boost]

Good idea. Have always wanted to attend a local show. Usually just watch online stuff.

[ThePenIsMightier]

I'll start.

Last night we went to see K. Trevor Wilson at the Laugh Shop in Calgary. He is Squirrelly Dan on the Letterkenny TV show and also a reasonably established stand-up. He had multiple shows and the place was packed. Almost certainly illegally packed. Very very funny, as I expected.

The Host was a guy named Casey Corbin who is from Ontario. He was really good, as well. He had some pretty advanced wordplay comedy that I thought was good. Big chunk of material about Cremona, as well.
Here's his info if anyone is interested:
https://twitter.com/CaseyCorbin


The opener was a Native guy from Manitoba named Chad Anderson. He's a plumber and a new dad with plenty of life observance funny shit. Did a hilarious thing about what a middle finger Truth & Reconciliation Day is that it's not a stat holiday for anyone except Government Workers, who are actually the only ones who should be forced to work on that day! Info about him:
https://www.chadanderson.net/about

[mr2mike]

I've only had one disappointing time at a comedy show and it was in Vegas.
Calgary shows usually a few laughs in there at minimum. Even for no namers.

[Sentry]

Todd Ness is a good local to catch if you get a chance

[T-Dubbs]

i went to a live comedy show at the elbow river casino in feb for my birthday... It was pretty decent!

worth going again, people get quite rowdy in the crowd.

[sabad66]

At a conference in Quebec City and our company booked Sugar Sammy to do a routine. Holy shit I haven’t laughed that hard in ages. Vulgar and R rated, just amazing. He speaks English, french, Punjabi, Hindu I think. At least 3.5x funnier than Russell Peters

He was apparently just in Calgary in February at Mac Hall, but I had no idea who he was until the other day. Definitely going to check him out next time he rolls by.

[mr2mike]

Definitely! A few minutes of a clip has me sold.

https://youtu.be/RfUrzjaRis0

[sexualbanana]

At a conference in Quebec City and our company booked Sugar Sammy to do a routine. Holy shit I haven’t laughed that hard in ages. Vulgar and R rated, just amazing. He speaks English, french, Punjabi, Hindu I think. At least 3.5x funnier than Russell Peters

He was apparently just in Calgary in February at Mac Hall, but I had no idea who he was until the other day. Definitely going to check him out next time he rolls by.

He had an HBO special (I think it was only shown in Canada) a few years back and that was really good. It's really hard to find any clips of it though.

[ThePenIsMightier]

That clip doesn't sell me, but crowd work translates to video like Big Bang Theory translates to video.

[gwill]

This is a great idea for a thread.

I saw sugar sammy a month or two ago. His YouTube clips are super PG13 compared to his act. His show makes fun of everything that would get you cancelled: transgender, lgbtq, all races, gun control, vegans, quebecois etc etc...

Funny dude if you don't get offended.

Saw Bryan callen recently as well. Some half retarded dude opened for him. Extremely awkward but hilarious. Had a skit about windows that made everyone laugh pretty good. Bryan calle is one of my all time favorite comics. Seen him live 4 times now.

Andrew Schulz is in Calgary aug 27th. Would like to catch his act live.

Lesser known guy rocky dale davis has an edmonton show planned in October. He's a funny dude from the south. His clips on YouTube are pretty good.

[mr2mike]

Blaq Ron is on my list. Guy is hilarious, in-depth, detailed stories.

https://youtu.be/HBg9kwkfWTk

[gwill]

Matt rife pre sale tickets go live tomorrow. Shows not until next year.

[bjstare]

Matt rife pre sale tickets go live tomorrow. Shows not until next year.

This guy is amazing. I’ll be looking out for these.

[pheoxs]

The Laugh Shop -> always fill out the cards to win free tickets, everyone always wins eventually. We paid once and we’ve gone to over a dozen shows now. Someone always wins and you get 6 free tickets, everyone enters and someone eventually wins again. One time we won 3 sets of 6 to a single show, that was quite chaotic trying to organize.

[Disoblige]

This guy is amazing. I’ll be looking out for these.
It's up! MATTIX is presale code.

Worst case you buy them from gwill as I assume he's reselling :D

Edit: Holy fuck, they sold out fast... I am guessing it's mostly resellers.

[gwill]

I managed 2 tickets after trying for over an hour.

QUE took forever. Somehow my persistence paid off with amazing seats. Everyone must have given up or didn't like the $550 price tag.

Super crazy to think I've seen a lot of awesome comedians and paid a fraction of the price. Now some tik tok YouTube comedian is commanding crazy pricing. The show better not disappoint.

Curious to see how Andrew Schulz does in the summer. I passed on those and sorta regret it. Passed on bill burr and Theo von in Edmonton due to crazy pricing. Crappy seats with a table were $300 each.

Would have passed on this guy but the wife made this a must see.

[Disoblige]

113494
Crazy how fast they sold.

Unless they hold seats for the general release as well and not everything is sold out during pre-sale.

[bjstare]

113494
Crazy how fast they sold.

Unless they hold seats for the general release as well and not everything is sold out during pre-sale.

I'm hoping that's the case. I haven't had time to go poking around for tickets. Where did they go for sale (i.e., where should I look for general release if/when that comes)? Link?

[gwill]

I'm hoping that's the case. I haven't had time to go poking around for tickets. Where did they go for sale (i.e., where should I look for general release if/when that comes)? Link?

You can check our mattrifeofficial.com

Looks like the Calgary show was easier to buy from then edmontons. I should have started there instead. Ticketmaster had a massive que that barely moved....

There's 3 or 4 different pre-sales it looks like. Next one is live Nation. Then ticket Master.

[JRSC00LUDE]

Everyone must have given up or didn't like the $550 price tag.

Super crazy to think I've seen a lot of awesome comedians and paid a fraction of the price. Now some tik tok YouTube comedian is commanding crazy pricing. The show better not disappoint.



I can't imagine getting $500 worth of laughing, from anyone.

[gwill]

I can't imagine getting $500 worth of laughing, from anyone.

Super fair statement.

What makes it worst is driving to the city, hotel rooms, babysitters... it's a lot more then $500. Wife really really wanted to see him and I think he's fairly funny.

Overall better to pay the comedian then those crappy scalpers (lol) flipping tickets as the wife already told me to hit the resale market if we had no luck.

On a side note for those looking for tickets. I see he's adding lots of other shows in different cities. It's something to watch for if your waiting

[Disoblige]

Super fair statement.

What makes it worst is driving to the city, hotel rooms, babysitters... it's a lot more then $500. Wife really really wanted to see him and I think he's fairly funny.

Overall better to pay the comedian then those crappy scalpers (lol) flipping tickets as the wife already told me to hit the resale market if we had no luck.

On a side note for those looking for tickets. I see he's adding lots of other shows in different cities. It's something to watch for if your waiting
I thought you were the reseller lol!

And I'm surprised you tried Edmonton if you live here.

[Disoblige]

5 pm slot open on artscommon website.

Use MATTIX

[bjstare]

5 pm slot open on artscommon website.

Use MATTIX

Thanks! Got tickets. Time is less than ideal, but should be fun nonetheless haha.

[gwill]

I thought you were the reseller lol!

And I'm surprised you tried Edmonton if you live here.

I'm not in Calgary I can go to either shows pretty easily. EIther way I need a hotel room if I'm drinking.

[Disoblige]

Man, the hype is real. Up n comer and worldwide tour sold out. Tickets in Calgary balcony seating being resold for $300+ each.

And I thought floor seats in Row D for $380 a pair was already expensive :rofl:

Crazy.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Ryan Long is coming back to Edmonton in November and it's only $30 a seat.
Fuckin steal!

[Disoblige]

Spend the rest on AA striploin.
Still better than low calorie cheese smokies or poorly prepared duck

[bjstare]

Jfc those tickets are outrageously priced haha. Almost makes a guy think about selling them. Almost, but not quite.

[gwill]

Taylor Tomlinson has a show mid August. Of all places to hear of this show it was from a tiny banner ad on you tube. Picked up a couple tickets to her show.

Prices no where near as bad as Matt rife thankfully.

[bjstare]

Makes sense, because she’s nowhere near as funny. She just uses the “I’m a female, my sexual escapades = laughs” crutch. And it’s lame.

[Disoblige]

Anyone going to Red Deer to watch Russell Peters? I didn't buy any tickets but looking at the arena, damn it's pretty empty.
I think they overpriced the tickets as it's going to seem weird in there with half the place filled. I do find over the years he is not as funny as he used to, but I also haven't watched him live for a long time now.

[bjstare]

Anyone going to Red Deer to watch Russell Peters? I didn't buy any tickets but looking at the arena, damn it's pretty empty.
I think they overpriced the tickets as it's going to seem weird in there with half the place filled. I do find over the years he is not as funny as he used to, but I also haven't watched him live for a long time now.

That's cause he's washed up and the indian accent/culture shtick stopped being funny 15 years ago (10 years after he started doing it).

[ThePenIsMightier]

How much are tickets?

[Disoblige]

How much are tickets?
Like $85-$105 range.

Bryan Adams is the night before too in that arena lol.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Like $85-$105 range.

Bryan Adams is the night before too in that arena lol.

I think I saw him 10 years ago for about $80 so this doesn't seem like too ridiculous a price.
But that was at an NHL arena, not a WHL arena.

[Disoblige]

Lol I went to see Nikki Glaser at Grey Eagle tonight.
Was anyone there too?

[gwill]

I saw rocky dale davis. Super brutal comedy. He spent 15 minutes discussing how his ass swallowed a vibratory. Another 15 minutes professing his love for some gay dude in the front row.

Taylor Tomlinson was decent.

[mr2mike]

Todd Barry.
Very dry, observational humour and this new special takes a bit to get going but decent.


https://youtu.be/UKuoreiI0a0?si=3ip66PbwwH-Wd5ws

[max_boost]

lol they trying to cancel matt rife over the domestic joke
what a joke
matt rife great response and also goes on JP podcast
i am now a big fan

[sexualbanana]

Just saw Brad Williams at the Eagle and he was great. Even his opener, Thom Tran, was really good.

I saw David Spade when he was in town a few weeks ago and he was okay. I didn't know he did stand-up though. I thought he was mostly a sketch guy.

[gwill]

Sugar Sammy started selling tickets to shows across Canada yesterday. Grabbed a group of tickets to one of his shows.

[Disoblige]

Just saw Brad Williams at the Eagle and he was great. Even his opener, Thom Tran, was really good.

I saw David Spade when he was in town a few weeks ago and he was okay. I didn't know he did stand-up though. I thought he was mostly a sketch guy.
David Spade sucks man. I saw him open for Ray Ramano and he was so bad. People were sleeping.

[sabad66]

Sugar Sammy started selling tickets to shows across Canada yesterday. Grabbed a group of tickets to one of his shows.

Same, snagged some tix for one of the Saturday shows

He was here last month but it was the bilingual show which apparently isn’t any fun if you don’t speak quebecois so didn’t go. Sucks that it’s still a full 14 months away but whatever

[gwill]

Same, snagged some tix for one of the Saturday shows

He was here last month but it was the bilingual show which apparently isn’t any fun if you don’t speak quebecois so didn’t go. Sucks that it’s still a full 14 months away but whatever

I didnt realize it was 2025 until a buddy told me it wasn't in a few months. Hah fuck. That's what I get for buying tickets for a bunch of us to go.

[mr2mike]

David Spade sucks man. I saw him open for Ray Ramano and he was so bad. People were sleeping.

Saw him in LA as an unbilled guest. He was just up there to get out of the house. But Jeff Ross surprisingly stank the place out more.

[JordanEG6]

Todd Barry.
Very dry, observational humour and this new special takes a bit to get going but decent.


I love Todd Barry. I saw his show and then him roaming around 17th ave a couple years ago. Solid set with great crowd work. Reminds me of Louis CK a bit.

A similar Asian version of him is probably Sheng Wang. His special, Sweet and Juicy on Netflix was HILARIOUS. His bit about lotion and wasting office supplies were gold.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtE4itfi8CY

[JRSC00LUDE]

David Spade sucks man. I saw him open for Ray Ramano and he was so bad. People were sleeping.

I would assume that anyone going to Ray Romano is asleep permanently.

[rage2]

David Spade toned down his humor massively compared to 10 yrs ago. That's why it's so bland now. Scared of being cancelled.

[mr2mike]

David Spade toned down his humor massively compared to 10 yrs ago.

That's what almost getting murdered by your assistant will do.

[sexualbanana]

I love Todd Barry. I saw his show and then him roaming around 17th ave a couple years ago. Solid set with great crowd work. Reminds me of Louis CK a bit.

A similar Asian version of him is probably Sheng Wang. His special, Sweet and Juicy on Netflix was HILARIOUS. His bit about lotion and wasting office supplies were gold.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtE4itfi8CY

Sheng Wang is awesome (not that I've seen him in person). He had a couple bits that have since been removed on Youtube, but were some of my favourites:
- There was a bit about getting less blackout drunk
- And another about how his parents came to America for more opportunities only to have their son pursue stand-up comedy

I like to quote this one a lot too...


https://youtube.com/shorts/Lzo_A6PSS4g?si=wcoCmRGANyu_N6-J

[gwill]

Aries spears at grey eagle coming up in April. Edmonton show at river Cree as well.

[danno]

I’ve been watching lots of Aries on insta. Is he pretty good overall??

[gwill]

I’ve been watching lots of Aries on insta. Is he pretty good overall??

He's come across my feeds lots. Overall he seems kinda funny. Seems to have good crowd work. Hes a bit sketchy looking at times hah. It was total fluke I came across his tickets for sale today. I locked up some amazing seats as I googled who he was... then realized I'm following his feeds so I bought them.

Tickets weren't expensive so it was an easy buy.

[danno]

Going to try and go as well, wife was a hard no. Just as she was for Anthony a few months ago. She even said she didn’t want to go to thunder from down under. Haha.

Ice cube is at grey eagle as well, that’s pretty cool. He was just here in the summer

[Disoblige]

I only know Aries from all his work on MAD. He was funny. Not sure how standup will be.

[gwill]

I only know Aries from all his work on MAD. He was funny. Not sure how standup will be.

Bryan called is my all time favorite comedian. He was also on mad TV. Here's to hoping aries live show is good.

[gwill]

Ian bagg announced for Calgary for beginning of June. Ianbagg.com.

Only one show in edmonton vs Calgary with a bunch.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Ryan Long is in Calgary right meow.
Ben Bankas will be in Edmonton at the end of March. Perhaps a rally to try and also get him here to maximize his travel efficiency would work. It's one single show in Edmonton and not part of a structured tour by any means.

[gwill]

If your open to an edmonton show. Andrew Schultz and Shane Gillis was announced for july 12th great outdoor comedy show. Pre sale code is Alumni. Tickets went on sale at 10 am this morning.

General sale is Thursday or friday

[mr2mike]

Ryan Long is in Calgary right meow.
Ben Bankas will be in Edmonton at the end of March. Perhaps a rally to try and also get him here to maximize his travel efficiency would work. It's one single show in Edmonton and not part of a structured tour by any means.

I'm away on the days Ben is around. Damn or I'd be up for it.

[MOB68]

I saw Ryan's show last weekend after following him on YT for the last year or so. Thought he was funny AF.

[bjstare]

Anyone else go see Matt Rife yesterday? I thought his openers were both pretty lame, but he was excellent. Basically exactly what I expected.

[Disoblige]

Anyone else go see Matt Rife yesterday? I thought his openers were both pretty lame, but he was excellent. Basically exactly what I expected.
I was. Any long sleeves out there? Turtle necks? Turtle necks? I thought 2nd guy started slow but I liked him after near the end.

I liked how there was so much security, and even Alex was telling loud ppl to STFU nicely lol.
One of the things I was afraid of going to shows like this, especially with the kind of crowd I assumed this was going to be, was a bunch of bimbos yapping with main character syndrome. The way it was handled was great and this was one of, if not the most well-behaved audience I ever saw in comedy. I saw some couple get kicked out by security so quickly and I didn't even notice what happened.

Why the fuck didn't he take off his beanie? lol

[gwill]

I saw him In edmonton. His opening act from the southern USA kept making weird clicking noises, kept spasming on stage and it sounded like he was swallowing his mic. One of the worst opening acts I've ever seen.

With that said he made a joke calling himself the N*** word that had the crowd laughing hysterically. Then people awkwardly realized what they were laughing at... crowd 95% white. 60% female.

Matt rife himself was just ok. Almost lean towards bad based off the price of his tickets. Overall He's a long story teller and could get to the point quicker. At my show someone threw their panties on the stage. Got kicked out. He didn't do much crowd work which I thought he was supposedly really good at.

Lots of empty seats at my show so the resellers took big hits.

They sure loved to push their merch. By the beginning to the end they pushed it 5 or 6 different times. Never seen that before.

If you go to lots of comedy shows id say with the price you pay($250 per ticket) he's not worth it.

It's got me rethinking a bunch of the shows I've paid big money for later on in the year.

[bjstare]

Interesting, sounds like the experience was pretty different in Calgary vs Edmonton. They pitched the merch twice in Calgary show IIRC. We got a decent amount of crowd work I think. There was someone in a wheelchair right next to the stage at the show I was in (5pm show), and he made jokes with her and also at her expense for the whole show, and it was excellent haha.

The second opener's joke about mosquitos sampling the black dude's blood like wine and calling it Pinot Niggar was pretty much his only funny moment IMO, and it was low hanging fruit (lame, albeit still funny). He was one of those comedians that repeated things like 12 times, but that doesn't make it any funnier, it's kind of annoying.

For $250/ticket I'd for sure have been underwhelmed. We paid much less than that for seats on the lower level, so overall I feel like we got our money's worth.
Disoblige I think he didn't take off his beanie cause he wasn't about to give in to the main character bimbos. Give an inch and they probably would have never stfu'd. He was so good at handling them.

[Disoblige]

Edmonton show sounded horrible, 5 pm Calgary show sounded ok, the 8 pm show was decent for crowd work. We had handicap dudes, and one of them had no legs. So Matt used that to his advantage and the dudes was able to tell their story on how they lost their mobility or legs (physically). Then there was a woman who had main character syndrome who was able to speak to how she is in a reality TV show that's coming out on Peacock for throuples. Easy crowd work For Matt. Overall, I enjoyed it but I came in there thinking it was going to be really bad and had very low expectations. But I do agree that the 2nd opener is one of those comics that keeps going on the same joke for too long. I feel like they do it on purpose just to be a bit cringe.

Also with the expense of pushing the merch so much, you would imagine they would shoot out a few free t-shirts or something, but nope... Kinda lame.

[gwill]

I thought the black guy opening for matt had some sort of tourettes. When he repeated things 12 times he was making some weird noises not words. HAH.

For the merch, each opening act mentioned it at least once if not twice. Matt did twice as well.

[CompletelyNumb]

Matt Rife is a $50/ticket kind of comedian IMO.

[ThePenIsMightier]

I paid $50 to see Ryan Long from here.

118612

Winning.

[ExtraSlow]

That rug really ties the room together

[SKR]

I paid $50 to see Ryan Long from here.

Can't see him.

[mr2mike]

Funny because you can head to LA and see a lot of comics close up for cheaper than Calgary ticket prices.

[bjstare]

Funny because you can head to LA and see a lot of comics close up for cheaper than Calgary ticket prices.

Yeah totally, minus the cost of flights, hotel, and food.

[ExtraSlow]

Yeah totally, minus the cost of flights, hotel, and food.

You just write those off.

[ThePenIsMightier]

You just write those off.

Mr.MikesExpenses.xls
1. Salad Bar.
2. Bugaboo Ribs.
3. Comedy travel tickets & expenses.
4. Case of Nix Shampoo.

[ExtraSlow]

and Magnum condoms for his magnum dong.

[gwill]

Funny because you can head to LA and see a lot of comics close up for cheaper than Calgary ticket prices.

I'm in for $710 for front row to Andrew Schulz later this year. Didn't think of flying somewhere. But I'd guess I'd spend recklessly in whatever city I flew to.

[gwill]

Came across this guy des bishop recently. The links for a full show he did.. funny guy for some random comic.

https://youtu.be/X0Xc6Kh5xMs?si=6LY642TJVazDhqnF

[gwill]

Did anyone see Aries spears? Never seen him before but hes easily the spiciest show I've seen live. Most comedians wouldn't say half the stuff he did.

He is insanely hilarious. Worth seeing again if he comes around again.

[JordanEG6]

Bought tix to Tom Segura at Prince' Island with Bobby Lee opening. Should be a good show.

Russell Peters and Iliza Shlesinger are on the same weekend as well, but selling separate sets of tix.

Contemplating going to Edmonton to see Shane Gillis, but not sure if it will be worth the drive. He's funny AF though. One of the best currently. So good that SNL hired him as a host after being fired a few years ago for podcast jokes.

[gwill]

I wonder if Shane Gillis and Andrew Schultz do 2 shows in edmonton as they still haven't announced the Saturday line up yet. Shane/Andrew sold out super quick. Bert kreishcher still isn't sold out and it was announced back in November.

On an unrelated note. Listened to a podcast discussing Dave Chapelle new comedy club opening in Dave's home town. Shane and Bert kreischer were there opening up the club.

Apparently they locked everyone's phones up. Security was worst then fort knox so the comedians were able to let loose and not hold back.

Might be cheaper to fly to Dave's club then see these shows in alberta.

[JordanEG6]

Might be cheaper to fly to Dave's club then see these shows in alberta.

Interesting. I'll look into it.

[mr2mike]

I'm not sure why Calgary bends people over for these comedy festivals. Assuming they're paying in USD for the talent plus wanting profit like a tech company.

That Malik guy is funny. Local guy too.
119068

[gwill]

Rob Schneider did a special event in Regina. For whatever reason the foundation who hired him booted him off stage as people started walking out.

Guess the comedy set didn't align with their values. Curious what would he could say that would get him kicked off stage.

Somehow this made the news.

[CompletelyNumb]

Rob Schneider did a special event in Regina. For whatever reason the foundation who hired him booted him off stage as people started walking out.

Guess the comedy set didn't align with their values. Curious what would he could say that would get him kicked off stage.

Somehow this made the news.


It's because the hospital booked him and his routine is anti-vax and anti-trans. So they did 0 research on his material. There's a recap on reddit about it, I guess the crowd did not align with him either.

[Xtrema]

It's because the hospital booked him and his routine is anti-vax and anti-trans. So they did 0 research on his material. There's a recap on reddit about it, I guess the crowd did not align with him either.

I am surprised they booked him without checking his routines on Youtube or something. Like the 1st short is him making fun of liberals wearing masks.

[ThePenIsMightier]

I am surprised they booked him without checking his routines on Youtube or something. Like the 1st short is him making fun of liberals wearing masks.

98% of humans are functionally retarded.
I saw Norm at a not-cheap show several years ago and I watched probably 10-20 people walk out. The internet was a thing and he hadn't been on SNL in more than a decade so it was no secret what these fucks bought expensive tickets to.
And! It was barely mildly offensive.

[gwill]

It's because the hospital booked him and his routine is anti-vax and anti-trans. So they did 0 research on his material. There's a recap on reddit about it, I guess the crowd did not align with him either.

I did finally come across the reddit post. Funny enough I've seen rov Schneider maybe 5 or 6 yrs ago. He wasn't funny then, I can't imagine he's funny now. I remember his funniest joke was him asking if we'd be upset if all he did was stand there and say "you can do it".

From what I read on reddit nothing Rob Schneider said seemed that crazy other then his crowd was a bunch of prudes.

They would have hated Aries spears as that bastard was as spicy as they come and not afraid to tell the lgbtq crowd what a man and woman truly were. He went off the deep end worst then anything I read for Rob Schneider.

[SKR]

I kind of think walking Canadian rooms is sometimes almost a sport for American comedians. I think sometimes they're much less interested in putting on a good show, and more interested in entertaining themselves at a gig they'd rather not be at in the first place.

Corporate gigs are awful for everybody anyway. You have a crowd that is only there because they have to be, a comedian that wasn't smart/proud/rich enough to say no, and the guy who booked him has never said or heard anything funny in his life. Nobody comes out of that better off than they were when they went in.

[ThePenIsMightier]

^This guy fucks!