LOL Blog

On today's show, you'll hear some more comics from Laugh Out Loud's Winter Road Trip!

You've already heard some stuff that we recorded in Toronto and Calgary. Now, it's time to head to Vancouver, British Columbia and just a sampling of what we captured for you there!

You'll hear the very funny and probably quite familiar, Charlie Demers.

But, I also have a couple of names that aren't quite as recognizable...yet.

While out in Vancouver last month, we planted ourselves at The Comedy Mix for two nights. The first night was filled with "newer" comics that were vying for a wildcard spot for our live recording on the next night! The plan was to pick one of them to add to our bill.

We ended up adding two, great young comics; Michelle Shaughnessy and Chris James! As soon as we heard them, we knew they had to be on the show!

Special thanks this week to our Vancouver recording crew, Susana Valente and Alexis Douglas.

Thanks, as well, to Rob and Mario at the Comedy Mix in Vancouver!

~Craig

On this week's show, we head to Calgary, Alberta for a couple of sets from Laugh Out Loud Presents Comedy Monday Night!

A couple of weeks back, we were honoured to be at Broken City Social Club, tape rolling...well computer digitizing where nine Calgary comics took the stage, and I have two of them in this show! The understated, contemplative Terry Hollas and well, pretty much the other side of that coin, Trent McClellan!

It was an evening filled with headlining comics, and we asked them to distil their sets down to around the 12 minute mark. The results are potent.

I think it's safe for me to speak for LOL producer Tracy Rideout and tell you that we LOVED Calgary!  The comics were great, the club was fantastic and even the people we met along the way were incredible!

For example, Tracy and I were standing outside, waiting for a cab to take us to the club when a friendly gentleman approached us, making casual polite conversation.

During our chat, we soon learned that we were speaking to very well-known Calgary playwright (and ubiquitous CBC radio guest) Eugene Strickland! Small, small world! Eugene let us know that cabs are extremely scarce whenever there's a Flames game on...and Tracy and I were running late!! Eugene disappeared inside the restaurant, then emerged with his friend, Frank, who offered to give us a ride to the venue!

We took Frank up on his offer and I want to thank him again for his help! Thanks Frank. Calgarians are nice people!

I also want to send very special thanks to James Moore (not the Heritage Minister..although he's good, too!) No, the James Moore to whom I refer is a tireless supporter of comedy in Calgary, running Comedy Monday Night, and he was an enormous help to us while we were there! Truly, we couldn't have done any of it without him.

Cheers James, and thanks for these cool photos, too!

In the weeks ahead, you'll be hearing more comics that we recorded on that great night in Calgary!

~Craig

This week, the spotlight is fixed on Dave Merheje, with a set that Laugh Out Loud recorded a mere three weeks ago at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto.

It was the first stop on our 2012 Winter Road Trip, and as you'll hear in Dave's set, we hit the ground running!

Born in Windsor, Ontario, he now calls Toronto home and even though a lot of his most raw, honest and fearless material centres around growing up in a Lebanese-Canadian home, a lot of his story-telling tackles immediately familiar and identifiable themes.

That said, a lot of his stuff isn't familiar or identifiable at all!

But it is riveting, tangential, passionate, circuitous and extremely funny.

Dave won last year's Just For Laughs Irwin Barker Homegrown Comedy Competition, and it's easy to see why in this set!

Next week, I'll have a couple of comics that we recorded in Calgary at Comedy Monday Night at Broken City Social Club!

~Craig

On today's show we're presenting comedy that's "Not Necessarily For Radio".

Now, get it out of the gutter; it's not inappropriate in a salacious or lewd way (sorry). The comics we have for you just fly in the face of the notion that "video killed the radio star".

See? That reference is probably the worst thing you're going to hear on the show.

Today you'll hear styles of comedy that don't usually work without the visuals.

As you'll hear in sets from Hot Thespian Action, Hal Sparks and Reggie Watts, there are always exceptions.

Here's some video of Hal and Reggie!

Thanks to everyone who came out last week in Calgary and Vancouver for Laugh Out Loud's Winter Road Trip live tapings!

We recorded a tonne of stuff and it will all be airing on the show very soon!

~Craig

Today on the show our comedians take a long, hard look at themselves.

Khalil Gibran once wrote that "Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror". That piece of wisdom is essential in this era of supermodels, plastic surgery, and society imposing upon us its stereotype of beauty.

That piece of wisdom probably isn't essential to today's show, though. I just brought it up because it sounded kind of smart and cool. Plus, Ayn Rand has surprisingly few quotes about beauty.

Our comics have looked at themselves in both the literal and metaphorical mirror...and as you'll hear, some aren't as happy with themselves as you'd think.

Ryan Belleville for LOL Feb 25 2012.mp3You'll hear introspective (not really) sets from Maureen Langan, Pete Johansson, and Ryan Belleville.

I want to take just a second here to say thanks to everyone who came out last week for the first show in Laugh Out Loud's Winter Road Trip! A great night at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, and you'll be hearing it - very soon - on an upcoming episode of LOL!

And our road trip continues! This coming Monday Night - February 27th, we'll be at Broken City in Calgary, Alberta with a huge line up of great local talent! Click here for info!

Then, two nights later, Wednesday, the 29th, we'll be at The Comedy Mix in Vancouver, British Columbia! Click here for info!

Both shows are being recorded for future LOL episodes so come on out and be part of the live audience! Tracy and I will both be on hand, too, so make sure you say hello!

~Craig

This week, I'm bringing you some more, very fresh comedy, recorded just a few weeks ago at The Winnipeg Comedy Festival! You'll hear stuff from a couple of different galas. From the "Hystereotypes Gala", I'll have a set each from Ottawa's Nile Seguin and Vancouver's Darcy Michael.

And, captured at the "Does This Joke Make Me Look Fat? Gala", I'll have a killer set from Dana Alexander!

**UPDATE - FEBRUARY 25, 2012!**

"Laugh Out Loud Presents" will be taping brand new radio shows next week as we head off on our first winter tour!

First stop, Comedy Monday Night in Calgary at Broken City, Monday, February 27th - performers include Cory Mack, Trent McClellan and Kevin Stobo.
 
Then it's off to The Comedy Mix in Vancouver on Wednesday, February 29th where you can hear brand new material by Darcy Michael plus Charles Demers, Graham Clark, Erica Sigurdson and more.
 
Click on the links for ticket info. Both Tracy and I will be there so please come by and say hello!

~Craig

Aaaaaah, love. Young love....old love...it's all beautiful isn't it?

I think I should come clean and fully disclose that I'm not here to offer any advice to our lovelorn listeners. This isn't a call-in psychic show where you're told that you have to be patient and persevere. Although, you probably should be patient and persevere...

No, today on the show I'm presenting the comical side of this most loving of holidays.

Valentine's Day has gone a long way to making people - let's face it: especially men - feel like inept dorks, even more than we already do. From bad underwear to bad chocolates, our ham-fisted attempts at expressing how we feel with the help of stuffed animals and cinnamon heart-filled cherub figurines has been disappointing our loved ones for generations. It's a tradition, really.

And today, Laugh Out Loud lets you know that you are not alone.

You'll hear Jeff McEnery, Andrew Grose, and one of the Canadian Kings of the one-liner, Stewart Francis...a man of few words. The perfect Valentines Day gift!

Now, I know that the cynics out there will tell you that Valentine's Day was invented by the greeting card companies just to grab some cash out of our wallets between Christmas and Easter.

They're right, of course, but that's besides the point.

What matters is that, even though you've may have struck out in the past, nothing says I'm a whimsical free spirit like a Transformers Valentine's card and a dinner of heart-shaped pancakes at Denny's.

Love is not easy. Especially at this time of year. Ironic, isn't it?

Hey, if you're looking for the perfect Valentine's gift, why not treat your loved one to an evening of comedy?

On Thursday, February 16th, Laugh Out Loud presents a live taping of all brand new stuff from critically acclaimed comedians Gilson Lubin and Dave Merheje LIVE on stage in Glenn Gould Studio at the Broadcast Centre in Toronto! I will be there MCing, too, so come on out and say hi!

Tickets are on sale now! To get yours, click here!

It's all part of LOL's Winter Road Trip! Look for us as we hit Calgary on Monday, February 27th and Vancouver on the 29th! Tracy and I will be both be there, and we'd love to meet you! More info coming very soon!!

Finally, CONGRATULATIONS to Murray Mackey from Victoria, British Columbia! Murray's the proud recpient of a Laugh Out Loud mug for correctly answering this week's "Get Lucky Contest Question"!

~Craig

We received a great response from our "Salute To The Ladies" episode that aired a couple of weeks ago! One email, in particular, pretty much sums them all up! It's from Kamahra Lamb...

"THANK YOU for airing an episode that honours female comics and does not in any way portray them as being comically inferior to men.

I really appreciate the position you took. Your show was refreshing and, as always, absolutely hilarious. It's hard to convey the impression I got; I'm so accustomed to the men I know not having any idea about the issues that face women today, and the women I know deliberately avoiding discussing it because they don't want to be branded as "feminist."

Your method of discussing sexism was calm, deliberate, matter of fact, and reasonable. Just such a thing calculated to voice an opinion without inadvertently calling the opposition to arms. It was perfect. Thank you SO MUCH!

Best Wishes,
Kamahra"

Thank You, Kamahra! And to everyone who dropped us a line! It's easy to do, just hit the "Contact Us" button to the right of this entry!

~Craig

Here at Laugh Out Loud, it's our goal...our mandate..our MISSION...ok, that's a bit much..let's just go with "goal".  As you can tell by the name of our show, it's our goal to facilitate your laughing out loud.

At the very least, we want you to feel good.

At no time do we take that responsibility more seriously than right now...in the bleak days of winter. And if there's one, sure-fire way to beat the winter blues, it's with a sing-along!

On today's show, I'm taking you out to Winnipeg and the "All Star Super Good Musical Variety Special" recorded at last year's Comedy Festival!

You'll hear songs from Hot Thespian Action, George Westerholm, Jessica Holmes, Cathy Jones and Seán Cullen!

And, don't forget...

Thursday, February 16th, Laugh Out Loud Presents two of our favourite Toronto comedians,Gilson Lubin and Dave Merheje LIVE on stage in Glenn Gould Studio at The Broadcast Centre in Toronto!

The evening will be hosted by Ali Hassan, and I will be there, too, so come on out and say hi!

Tickets are on sale now through Ticketmaster. Click here to get yours now!

~Craig

This week, in a New York Times profile, comedian Eddie Brill got into hot water when he was quoted as saying, "There are a lot less female comics who are authentic".

It's since been determined that Eddie's comment  was taken out of context, and he apologized. What makes this story noteworthy is that it magnifies a long-held feeling in the industry that men are funnier than women.

The role of women in comedy and the erosion of "the old boy's club" mentality was in the news a bit this week.

Hollywood superstar producer, Judd Apatow - while accepting the award for best film at the Critics' Choice Awards - had some choice, non-CBC-friendly words for the legendary Jerry Lewis!

Judd was referring to an interview that Jerry gave in 1998, when he said..and I quote: "A woman doing comedy doesn't offend me but sets me back a bit. I, as a viewer, have trouble with it. I think of her as producing machine that brings babies into the world." Funny stuff, Jerry.

Oh, and that film that Judd Apatow won for? Bridesmaids. Co-written by one of the funniest women on the planet: Kristen Wiig..with a cast full of beautiful, mind-blowingly funny women.

Now, we here at Laugh Out Loud don't want to get on a soapbox, but me, personally, I think women do everything better than men! Except for peeing standing up...and I'm pretty sure they can do that better, too. They just let us have that one.

Instead of editorializing further, we've chosen four Canadian woman whose writing and standup can speak for itself. We'll let them do the talking...

You'll hear killer sets from Cory Mack, Anna Gustafson, Diana Frances, and Heidi Foss!

~Craig