Pickle Barrel
IT’S JULY, THE slowest month on the comedy calendar, but the busiest for Canada’s comedy festival juggernaut Just for Laughs.
And it’s a good thing, too, in a business where timing is everything. If not for the festival, what would comedy buffs do? Most clubs eke out a bare existence during the summer, and their bookings reflect that harsh economic fact: you can’t compete with nature in a country that only has a few hot months a year.
Luckily there’s plenty to see both at the main festival in Montreal and the new Toronto satellite, now in its second year.
The Montreal festival (English speaking component running July 16 to 19), is followed by the Toronto fest the following week.
There’s no comparison between the size of the two festivals. Montreal’s version is a vast smorgasbord of comics while Toronto is an abbreviated version. But not everyone can head to Montreal for a weekend, so the local option is most welcome.
But let’s start with the Montreal festival first. Go on their website and take a look at the choices. Too much to choose from? Let me help.
The spine of the festival revolves around the galas. These are taped for CBC and consist of a major host and about 10 shorter acts. It’s a great way to see a lot of acts, but some might find it frustrating — as soon as you’re getting into one act, he is gone and another takes his place. On the other hand, this is sometimes a blessing.
I’m not a big fan of the galas. I find them bloated and, because of the CBC involvement, kind of timid. But sometimes you want to see what stars can bring to the game.
This year you can see hosts such as Joan Rivers, Craig Ferguson and Kathy Griffin, all wonderful standups. But they tend to tour anyway, so I’m more excited to see nonstand-ups like Jeremy Piven and Jimmy Fallon take their shot. Piven, of course, is hot thanks to his breakout role on Entourage, and Fallon will be taking over for Conan O’Brien next year. He’s got the most to win or lose from his appearance, so it should be an exciting show.
I like the smaller shows for their intimacy and unpredictability. All of the comics play clubs such as the Comedy Nest, Club Soda and Comedyworks, so a ticket bought to any of these shows is rarely a disappointment. But you won’t really know who you’re seeing until the last moment.
A compromise is to attend one or more of the one-man shows or theatre shows, which really lets a comic stretch out in a mediumsized venue.
I’m most excited about seeing Danny Hoch at the Centaur. Hoch is a New York City downtown performance artist whose one-man shows have a hip hop sensibility and mine issues of race and class. Like Eric Bogosian, to whom he’s often compared, it’s not easy comedy. But I’m looking forward to being challenged.
And there will be concerts by Jeremy Hotz and Tom Papa, improv with Ryan Stiles and Greg Proops, and an evening with South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. These are all shows I hope to attend.
The Toronto shows are more modest, but they’re only a cab ride away. There will be three gala hosts, including Fallon, Martin Short and Jason Alexander.
Alexander just finished an extended tour of South Africa, and although the Seinfeld star is not primarily known as a stand-up, word is that he ripped it up at the small Sudbury Comedy Festival last month. So his gala could be hot. For more information go to www.hahaha.com. 
Post City Magazines’ humour columnist, Mark Breslin, is the founder and owner of the Canada-wide Yuk Yuk’s chain of comedy clubs. The former comedian and TV producer is also the author of several books, including Control Freaked.
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