If you happen to have a spare half hour on Sundays, at 1pm EST, you can listen to Wiretap - CBC Radio One Toronto's wonderfully off-beat monologue/comic phone call show. A darker version of Garrison Keller, Wiretap is spoken and hosted by Jonathan Goldstein amongst others. It's a great way to smile off your Saturday night hangover.

Labels: Canada, comedy, Radio

Just saw Jimmy Carr in his last night playing at this year's Just for Laughs festival. Highlights included - nice small venue, good drunken crowd and a fine selection of highly inappropriate jokes. I would repeat some of the jokes here, but I suspect my blog would get banned from everywhere in the world. Suffice it to say he is hilarious and highly recommended. In fact I enjoyed his show more than Eddie's, which is surprising, although maybe I was expecting more from Mr Izzard. Just don't sit in the first few rows unless you can handle being picked on.

Anyways, that's it for this year's Just for Laughs. The confetti is being swept off St Denis, the drunks are causing their last havoc at Couche Tard (the Quebec equivalent of 7-11) and everyone is either heading home or having a last dance on the streets. Until next year, thanks to all.

Labels: comedy, Montreal

Last night we went to see The Line Up, part of this year's Just for Laughs festival. The format was to showcase up and coming sketch comedy groups, presented by Bob Odenkirk & David Cross - who used to team up for the wonderful Mr Show.

The show was in a cramped, most likely over capacity, Kola Note which could have done with a bit more air conditioning. Luckily the comedy kept us awake for the most part. David & Bob opened the show with Bob introducing a fake 'David Cross' before the real David came in from the audience to reclaim his rightful place after an amazing dance off. That man sure can bust a move. They then carried out a short re-enactment of Bob's attempt to buy coffee in a Montreal cafe, where David Cross stole the show completely with his over the top 'Qwebetoise' accent.

After this intro the other acts began, with Kurt & Kristen's inspired double act of randomness. Their re-enactment of the real first ever telephone call was genius, as was our amazement at how sore Kurt's throat must have been after his singing finale.

Next up was Hot Sauce, a trio of lads also from New York (there was a bit of NYC bias in this show). Again, very enjoyable with some planned heckling and excessive destruction of eggs before our very eyes. Without stunt doubles, amazing.

Bob & David came out for a brief interlude prior to intermission. After which they returned with David's 'French speaking mime' called 'Est le petit bonbon', dressed as a clown and holding balloons. The sketch again revolved around Cross' frantic movements - leaving Odenkirk mildly stunned. All this physical comedy was a great starter to the main course that was Karla, a female duo from LA with a great line in cerebral comedy. Karla was probably our favourite act all night, offering something that stood out as hilariously different and interesting, in a lineup that often seemed a bit in the same groove of east coast stylings. Go check them out if you get the chance, if just for their glove puppet morality tale.

Finally we had the Buffoons, another New York based male trio, this time with a much more physical approach to their comedy. There were some inspired moments of chicanery in their act, but for me it didn't quite gel, although Miette loved it. They might have suffered at this point of being right at the end of a long show.

Thanks to Bob & David for a splendid evening, hope you had fun up in Montreal. Please come back soon with your own show!

Oh, and as a minor 'celebrity' bonus wandered past Greg Proops and Brad Sherwood (of Whose Line Is It Anyway fame) on the way out. Mr Proops looking very dapper as he grabbed a quick pre-show cigarette outside.

Labels: comedy, Montreal, Reviews

For us Brits there is no surprise that Hugh Laurie is such a big success with his Fox series 'House', he's a talented actor that we've enjoyed for many years. However there is some level of amazement that Hugh is doing a series with an American accent, and one that is apparently very good. Well he's been doing it for years, as you can see from this early 'rap' video he did for 'A Little Bit of Fry & Laurie'

Labels: Brit Stuff, comedy, tv, videos

Those of you who have spoken to me recently may have noted that I was going to see a filming of The Colbert Report tonight... well it's true, and very splendid it was too. The audience is pretty small, about 100 odd folk, and the studio is very intimate. Colbert is amazing to watch in action, practicing his lines to himself and, off camera, telling John Stewart he only has another five days left to finish his imminent book. The only downside of the whole night was that the guest was a country & western singer so probably about the most uninteresting guest I could ever hope to see. Ah well.

For those of you thinking of heading down to see The Colbert Report here's some background; you can sign up online for free tickets here - although they regularly stop taking requests so you have to keep an eye out. Also, once you've been given a date by email they need you to confirm your tickets a week or so before the date you're given - this is a bit strange, as you need to email them back but they don't confirm they got your mail. Alternatively you can just come down to the standby line outside the door (on W 54th St between 10th/11th Aves) before 5.15pm on the day of filming. They recommend you get down early, at least 1 1/2 hours before this, so I got down at 3pm at which point I was 32nd in the ticket line - there were about 10 people in the standby line and I think a lot of them got in.

The line itself is pretty comfortable - it's covered over which was very handy in today's intense sun. You're not allowed to take food or drinks into the actual studio, but you can take them into the waiting room so it's worth bringing some along. About 5.15pm they give you a number and you go through security into the waiting room, where you get to hang around a bit more until around 6pm. Once they're ready to let you in, you will go in in the order of the numbers you were given - so don't worry about being near the studio door.

When you go through the studio door you tell the crew member there how many people are in your party and they direct you to where you need to sit. Since it was only me in my group I got put in the second row to fill up some space in the section of audience opposite Colbert's desk. If you want to be in the audience near the interview area, which is generally more visible in shots, then you probably want to be further down the line but it's a bit of a crap shoot. Also note that if you're in the front row Colbert will high five you before the show - bless.

Once everyone's inside the warm-up comedian does his stuff, and the stage manager gives you some background. Then Stephen Colbert himself comes out - huzah! Today we got to sit in and watch the 'toss' between Jon Stewart at The Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Then Stephen went backstage again and the warmup guy carried on. Shortly Stephen came back out and took some questions from people in the audience - favourite moment; some guy asking Colbert about Jane Goodall... he actually meant Jane Fonda, referring to his infamous kiss & cuddle session, but the mistake was hilarious. I didn't get the nerve up to ask a question, although I thought of a good one when leaving the studio - guess that will wait for next time.

Questions over, Colbert takes the stage and rules the show. He ran through the show tonight with only one slight hiccup which was pretty amazing. One thing I noticed was how pale he looks in his TV friendly makeup, he also never really stops smiling and moving, often tapping & singing along to the indie rock songs that play between shooting to keep the energy up. 'Keeping the energy up' is a key part of being in the Colbert audience; you need to be ready to laugh and clap loudly, so my throat is pretty sore right now.

Have fun if you go, it's well worth the effort. Although in my case this meant flying down from Montreal so maybe that was a tad excessive.

Labels: celeb spot, comedy, Politics, tv

This older interview from the Charlie Rose show featuring Stephen Colbert is wonderful. Colbert is actually himself rather than his character 'Stephen Colbert' and there are some moving insights into the show as well as his own history, parts of which are very sad indeed. All of this has gotten me even more fired up for next Monday, when I'm going to go see him do his show in person. Woo! Yeah! Etc!

On a related note: this means that when I bumped into Charlie Rose at Heathrow airport over Christmas, he has already met Colbert - so guess I should have thanked him even more effusively than I did.

Labels: celeb spot, comedy, Genius

Oh my frikkin' lord... I just found out that Eddie Izzard is playing Montreal's Just for Laughs festival this year!! Huzah! Go get tickets now!!

This was also as Arcade Fire suddenly released a few tickets to their New York gigs tonight & tomorrow, but having managed to get one held in TicketMaster's evil clutches I then decided that $15 in fees on a $35 ticket was excessive given I don't really want their children. Eddie on the other hand... well. I think most folks know how I feel about Eddie.

Labels: comedy, gigs, heroes, Montreal

Last night I finally got to see one of my favourite comedians play live, as David Cross was a guest at last night's Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre's (UCBT) 'Un-sanctioned Tribeca Film Festival F%ck Around'. Having never been to the UCBT or seen many improvisational shows it was an interesting and fun experience. The theatre is small but well organised, and they have their line mechanics highly tuned - you sign up on an RSVP list before the show, when you get there you pay downstairs then go stand in the line with your tickets and 10/15 minutes before the show they start letting you in 20 people at a time. Oh, and they have beer. Sweet.

The show itself was based around the Tribeca Film Festival that's currently taking over most New York cinemas. All the comedians play characters related to film, including an over-angry Harvy Weinstein and a dog loving Paul Bogdonavich (no relation). The two show comperes, Jackie Clarke and Seth Morris carry on a talk show format with the other guests - mostly based around movies, but also bizarrely around dog food - giving them questions to respond around. For his bit David Cross played a movie marketer ("not marketeer!") and expounded on how the film industry relies on its box office figures - "Hey, you just saw Rocky and it was really great. Can you see any more? No! Because without numbers there's no Rocky 2, or 3". Great stuff.

Labels: comedy, heroes, New York Shows

Well that's not strictly true, MattHobbs.co.uk will be kept around out of a vague sense of patriotism, but from now on I'm moving fully over to MattHobbs.com for my blogging type antics and other Matt Hobbs related fun. So if any of you, my lovely regular visitors, have linked to me then it would be smashing if you could update those links to my .com address - ta muchly.

Meanwhile we've been entertaining ourselves by watching all of Eddie Izzard's standup videos. In order. Currently up to Definate Article, which is only the second of the six he's done so far, so a ways to go yet - but it's great to see all his old stuff again. Go check it out (although if you can watch UK DVDs then go hunt down the 6 DVD box set which is much better value).

Labels: comedy, web stuff