I pledge impertinence to the flag-waving of the unindicted co-conspirators of America…

Posted by Jeff on Jan 13th, 2025 in News | 0 comments

It’s 2025 already. And before the Trump administration sends the troops to annex us as the fifty-first state (or Poilievre gets elected and hands us over), I’ve got one last event to plug…

Tomorrow night, I’m the Feature Artist at the weekly Time to Arrive event on Zoom.
At least, that’s what the fancy picture says.

Open mic to follow my set, so bring some poetry or prose of your own to share.
More info on the Facebook event page. Zoom link accessible via the event listing on the right sidebar.

At the end of the month, I’ll also be performing (live this time) at the Arts and Letters Club in downtown Toronto, at Ad Lib’s Got Talent – the annual show for host Damon Lum’s birthday.
Kind of a semi-private event, but the club permits non-member guests on Friday nights, so be my guest.

*****

You might know that I was recently across the pond again. This time, I went everywhere from northern Scotland to southern Ireland over more than three weeks.
This included a live appearance at the internationally renowned Ó Bhéal series in Cork (which is, unfortunately, ending in a few months). It’s a hybrid series (i.e. live and on Zoom) and was also streamed live online. If you missed it, here’s the recording. I think I did pretty well considering I had a sore throat and my voice wasn’t at a hundred percent. I blame two previous nights of karaoke in Liverpool.

And one more video…
You may also know that I’ve been dabbling in stand-up comedy over the past year-and-a-half. Here’s my set at Comedy Bar’s PRO class showcase a few months ago.
(And I got paid for it! I didn’t even know at the time that it was a paid gig. We all got a share of the box office. When they say PRO, they mean it.)

Farewell, my concubines.

Word up, Hot Mic / Lots of stuff you’re gonna like

Posted by Jeff on Sep 26th, 2024 in News | 0 comments

Busy month coming up. Busy in a good way, I hope.

First, this weekend, I’ll be exhibiting once again at Word on the Street, Toronto’s annual outdoor book fest.
And I’ll have an actual table this year! Yes, I won’t have to busk like last year. They actually found and processed my application this time. Huzzah.

Look for me in Section C, just south of St. Joseph Street.
I’ll be selling copies of my novel Hate Story (mostly paperback). If you already have it, why not buy another one as a gift?

Second: for four Tuesdays in October, you can catch me attempting performing stand-up comedy at Hot Mic, at Comedy Bar Danforth (the east location).
I’ll be joined by other recent grads of the Comedy Bar PRO stand-up class. Each feature lineup is followed by a “bucket” open mic. And on the 8th, I’ll even be hosting the open mic. Huzzah again.

Tickets and other info available via the links on the right sidebar.

If you want a sense of the type of shenanigans you’re in for when you catch me trying doing stand-up, here’s a video of my Advanced showcase performance back in July:

Eat lead, Einstein.

This morning I shot an elephant that was wearing my pajamas

Posted by Jeff on Sep 7th, 2024 in News | 0 comments

You might’ve heard (or maybe not, but who cares) that I got accepted into the Comedy Bar “PRO” stand-up class.
This means either that Comedy Bar believes in my stand-up potential more than I do, or that it’s really not that hard to get into the PRO class.

Anyway.
I’ve been doing this class since July, and now the final class showcase is happening in less than two weeks on the Comedy Bar mainstage.

I’ll be performing a set about the horrible, out-of-control toddler who lives in the apartment upstairs from me. There will be a couple of digs at the Ford brothers thrown in too. I wanted to throw in a cannibalism joke (the same one from my set in the Advanced showcase), but was advised against it this time.

Tickets available at the link on the right sidebar.

If you can’t make that night, but still want to watch me attempt stand-up, you can catch a sneak preview of the show this week at Hot Mic, in the basement theatre, Tuesday the 10th at 8:30 p.m.
This show includes a “bucket” open mic as well. I don’t recommend putting your name in early, because you’ll be on the bottom and they pick only twelve. Trust me. I learned this from hard experience.

(Both of these events are at Comedy Bar’s East location, 2800 Danforth Avenue, at Danforth and Dawes.)

And I expect I’ll be performing at (maybe even co-hosting) more Hot Mics in October, so keep an eye out.

Now. If you want to get in the mood with some real comedy, here’s a bit of classic Bill.

See you in the funny papers, Boo.

What’s the deal with Comedy Bar? I’ve heard of a crowbar, but this is ridiculous!

Posted by Jeff on Jul 6th, 2024 in News | 0 comments

My class showcase for my Advanced stand-up class at Comedy Bar is this Wednesday.

 

 

I’ll be doing a bit about how I still don’t know how to talk like grownups. There may or may not be a cannibalism joke in there. More likely may.

Tickets available via the link on the right sidebar.

Now. If you want to get in the mood with some real comedy, here’s a bit of Dylan.

 

 

Toodles, yo.

Saturday in the Salon / It isn’t yet the Fourth of July

Posted by Jeff on May 26th, 2024 in News | 0 comments

Another Zoom gig coming up at the end of this week: I’m kicking off June with a virtual reading at Saturday Literary Salon, hosted by Dane Ince.

I’ll be reading from my novel Hate Story, with a little bit extra, and there will be an open mic, so you can share your own work with an international audience.
The Zoom link will be available on this web page.

In other news, I’m currently continuing my stand-up classes at Comedy Bar Danforth, and there will be a couple of live class shows in July.
I’m still not one hundred percent sure that stand-up comedy is something I want to pursue seriously (or if it is, I probably should’ve done it twenty-five or thirty years ago), but I’m enjoying the classes and meeting a few interesting people. You can see me at the occasional local stand-up open mic, where I’m often the only performer whose material isn’t about sex or scatology. (And always the only one promoting a book.)

I’ll leave you with the most infamous Thomas the Tank Engine episode, for no particular reason. I think Henry deserved his punishment, don’t you?

Cheerio.