Nile Seguin began the night with some sharp and enthusiastically delivered material about how he hates the Toronto Sun, yet he gets pulled into liking it simply because they have such awesome puns in their headlines. He also recounted a great story about a man in England heckling him simply by yelling "Lionel Ritchie!" as soon as he walked on stage, and humorously speculated that it would be easier for gold diggers to earn law degrees than to put up with Nosferatu-like old men to get rich. Having said all that, it was Seguin's bit about his cat that became one of the most hilarious moments of the night: Seguin explained that even though the vet confirmed twice that there's absolutely nothing physically wrong with his cat, it screams every time it defecates.
DeAnne Smith was adorably nerdy, yet had the confidence of a rock star. Her new joke about adult men who go to work on skateboards wasn't much more than a premise, but her act out was so spot-on that it was very funny nonetheless. Likewise, Smith's joke about her appearance and her explanation of why she got "I don't approve" tattooed on her arm in her grandmother's handwriting were amusing. Moreover, her unpolished joke about vaginal rejuvenation was comical, especially because she improvised a splendid pun at the end: "Next time, that joke will be tighter." Additionally, her story about encountering a pit bull at 2 a.m. at her friend's apartment was fantastic, considering that she'd never told it before. Though the narrative was merely engaging when Smith performed it at this show, it will surely become utterly gripping once she edits out the extraneous details.
Lastly, Mark Little performed a bizarrely long song which involved Little repeatedly saying the phrase "sex talk" and occasionally saying "sex chats." It carefully walked the line between being amusing and stretching the audience's patience, but in the end went roughly a minute too long. Having said that, the rest of Little's set was superb. His crowd work was hilarious: at random moments throughout his set, Little called out "Grumpy," a man whose chuckles sounded like grunts, as well as "The Mouse," a woman who clapped very quietly. Additionally, Little's theory that people only get nostalgic because things from their past remind them of the time before they lost their innocence was as truthful as it was witty. Furthermore, his bit where he made up a song with perfect rhyming verses in a ridiculous jacket was mesmerizingly skilful and hilarious. Similarly, his closing chunk where he improvised renditions of sitcom theme songs based on audience suggestions was also very funny.
DeAnne Smith was adorably nerdy, yet had the confidence of a rock star. Her new joke about adult men who go to work on skateboards wasn't much more than a premise, but her act out was so spot-on that it was very funny nonetheless. Likewise, Smith's joke about her appearance and her explanation of why she got "I don't approve" tattooed on her arm in her grandmother's handwriting were amusing. Moreover, her unpolished joke about vaginal rejuvenation was comical, especially because she improvised a splendid pun at the end: "Next time, that joke will be tighter." Additionally, her story about encountering a pit bull at 2 a.m. at her friend's apartment was fantastic, considering that she'd never told it before. Though the narrative was merely engaging when Smith performed it at this show, it will surely become utterly gripping once she edits out the extraneous details.
Lastly, Mark Little performed a bizarrely long song which involved Little repeatedly saying the phrase "sex talk" and occasionally saying "sex chats." It carefully walked the line between being amusing and stretching the audience's patience, but in the end went roughly a minute too long. Having said that, the rest of Little's set was superb. His crowd work was hilarious: at random moments throughout his set, Little called out "Grumpy," a man whose chuckles sounded like grunts, as well as "The Mouse," a woman who clapped very quietly. Additionally, Little's theory that people only get nostalgic because things from their past remind them of the time before they lost their innocence was as truthful as it was witty. Furthermore, his bit where he made up a song with perfect rhyming verses in a ridiculous jacket was mesmerizingly skilful and hilarious. Similarly, his closing chunk where he improvised renditions of sitcom theme songs based on audience suggestions was also very funny.