Get ready to laugh your ass off Toronto #JFL42

So I had the pleasure of my first experience going to a comedy festival/show by myself.

At first I was a little nervous…. I don’t know, call me crazy but going to a comedy show by yourself is basically the direct equivalent of hitting up a movie by yourself, and I just feel like moments like those are meant to be sharedThat being said,  I definitely enjoyed myself once I got into the swing of things and found my seat at Rivoli.

I was getting ready to check out my first show of the night, which featured the quirky and hilarious Chris Locke – I will admit, I was a tad late walking in, so I missed part of the beginning of his set (but I did manage to catch his act AGAIN at the following show I went to at Second City for the Sirius XM competition, I will touch more on that later) but quietly made my way over to the empty seat in the heart of the crowd and beheld the dazzling spectacle of all that is Chris Locke.

At first sight, he has an average Joe kind of  look to him. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing at all, because when Chris begins his it is evident how passionate he is about what he does. This without a doubt adds to his endearing appeal and comical stature. As he carries on with his set, a smile paints itself across my face, and lingers there for what feels like an eternity. Chris has a very charismatic nature about him, and  his charming humor and wit are displayed through his comedic delivery, self-deprecating jokes, and ability to take a simplistic concept and turn it into something absolutely hilarious!

One of his jokes in particular comes to mind about spiders, and how spiders view themselves in their own eyes versus how human’s view them. Chris Locke says something along the lines of: “I don’t think spiders ever walk around thinking ‘I’m a spider and I’m a piece of shit.'”
Chris is definitely capable of painting a vivid picture of what he’s trying to convey to his audience, which adds to the hilarity of it all. Honestly, something about Chris Locke just feels so relate able in my opinion, and I think that is why I personally identify with him so well and enjoyed his show so much. I definitely recommend checking out Chris Locke if you haven’t already!

Chris Locke’s set ended at around 8:00 PM and my next destination was Second City to check out the SiriusXM’s “Next Top Comic” competition between some big names in Canadian comedy such as Matt’ O Brien, Alan Cho, John Beuller (yum), Rob Bebenek, Pete Zedlacher, with Colin Quinn as the headliner, and so many more wonderful comedic talents!

Second City, Venue for the Sirius XM Competition

The show started at around 10:30. The Second City venue was considerably larger than the Rivoli but both were equally as awesome.

It was my first time visiting both of them actually.

I managed to score a seat at the very back… actually a table for six… I felt like a douche because I was the only one sitting there and I’m sure a group of people could get more use out of the spot than I could but hey, nobody complained. I had my own little corner and it was pretty sweet! After I was finally situated and comfortable, the lights began to dim and the show was starting! SO exciting!!

One of my favorite opening jokes told by comedian Alan Joe, went something along the lines of: “If you walked into a sperm bank, my name would be in the back of the book in the clearance section!” I laughed so hard… brilliant. lol! I also took note that the first three comedians that I saw were all male and all had beards. I thought that was hilarious. I figured maybe having copious amounts of facial hair was like some sort of inside joke that comedians had.

Turns out, it isn’t. I’m just weird like that I guess.

It was a fierce but friendly competition, and personally if I had to choose who’s set I enjoyed the most I probably couldn’t even give you an answer. That’s how wonderful everybody was! Shout out to Eman El-Husseini who was the only female comic competing and did a fantastic job! She held it down for all the ladies for sure. Which reminds me, also present that night was comedian Eric Andrews, last year’s JFL42 Sirius XM competition winner.

Pete Zedlacher Sirius XM Competition Winner

This year, the gut-busting (and not to mention sexy) Pete Zedlacher took the title. His jokes definitely made me laugh the hardest. Zedlacher’s utilization of the stage, his engagement of  the crowd, and his on point comedic delivery are what won me over when I watched his set. Oh, and this dude has an AMAZING Arnold  Schwarzenegger impression… and strangely enough, also does a really great impression of a Canada goose.

Thus far, my #JFL42 comedy festival experience has been pretty spectacular! I’m looking forward to the next show that I’m going to be seeing at Comedy Bar, which features comedian Jerrod Carmicheal. Definitely looking forward to laughing my ass off some more. It just keeps getting better and better man.

More to come about my #JFL42 experience!!

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Boss Grace Shaw