Chris Redd is on Saturday Night Live, but as a featured player, he often plays second fiddle to the main cast. In his standup show at Just For Laughs, Redd got to fully step into the limelight and show why he made it onto the cast of one of the most legendary TV shows in the history of comedy.
Redd's material centred around his rocky life experiences, starting with stories about his crackhead uncle and ending with an anecdote about avoiding racist neighbourhoods in the overwhelmingly white state of Utah. Having said that, Redd's hour didn't feel like storytelling: his playful energy bounced off the walls and every joke was concise and polished. Even when he was riffing, Redd's lines were quick and solid: when he found out that the teacher in the front row was engaged to a guidance counsellor, he quipped "She guided you to her pussy" without missing a beat.
Unfortunately, Chris Redd's opener, Kristen Toomey, was not on Redd's level. In fact, she was the definition of hacky: she yelled about dicks and pussies with no creativity, and she garnered half-hearted laughs with repetition and the volume of her voice alone. Redd's touring opener technically fit with the show because she made Redd look better, but she barely warmed up the crowd and it was disappointing to see that Redd has chosen such an unchallenging comic to follow.
Redd's material centred around his rocky life experiences, starting with stories about his crackhead uncle and ending with an anecdote about avoiding racist neighbourhoods in the overwhelmingly white state of Utah. Having said that, Redd's hour didn't feel like storytelling: his playful energy bounced off the walls and every joke was concise and polished. Even when he was riffing, Redd's lines were quick and solid: when he found out that the teacher in the front row was engaged to a guidance counsellor, he quipped "She guided you to her pussy" without missing a beat.
Unfortunately, Chris Redd's opener, Kristen Toomey, was not on Redd's level. In fact, she was the definition of hacky: she yelled about dicks and pussies with no creativity, and she garnered half-hearted laughs with repetition and the volume of her voice alone. Redd's touring opener technically fit with the show because she made Redd look better, but she barely warmed up the crowd and it was disappointing to see that Redd has chosen such an unchallenging comic to follow.
