toronto comedy

This Week In Comedy: ALTdot Comedy Lounge, Kate Rigg, Saved By The Grind, and Jimmy Pardo

They've found the Higgs Boson particle! You know what that means, right? Neither do I. One thing's for sure: the BBC is going to have some far-out documentaries coming up to let us know how the discovery is connected to black holes. Not a fan of God particles and black holes? Then let me introduce you to comedians who can bend torsos with laughter...

MON JULY 9 / ALTdot COMEDY LOUNGE / RIVOLI / 332 QUEEN W / 9PM / $5

As always, ALTdot brings the heat. Now, I've featured Dave Merheje numerous times, but this week is special. Two months ago, we were talking and I asked him, "Dude...how are you not the most famous guy in Canada right now?" He humbly replied, "I gotta be patient...my time will come...it's like the calm before the storm." And last week, he joined MTV's comedic ranks. It couldn't have happened to a nicer, and more deserving, human being. If you're not laughing in the first three minutes of the above clip, we can't be friends anymore. Catch him for $5 while you can--when the US gets wind of Dave, he's going to become a household name the world over.

WED JULY 10 - SAT JULY 15 / KATE RIGG / YUK YUK'S / 224 RICHMOND W / 8PM / $11-20

She graduated from the Juilliard performing arts conservatory in New York!? Damn, son. Within two years of her convocation, she was doing Just For Laughs, and she has a hip-hop band called Slanty Eyed Mama. Wait a minute; she also has recurring parts on Law & Order and Family Guy? Enough said. The lady's a champ.

FRI JULY 13 / SAVED BY THE GRIND / SECOND CITY / 51 MERCER / 10PM / $20

This show has it all, from world-class stand-up to sketch comedy and caucasian rappers. Your MC for the night is the always energetic Keith Pedro, who knows how to keep an audience excited and on the edge of their seat. Meanwhile, the evenings stand-ups are Trevor Boris (Just For Laughs and almost every Canadian entertainment show) and Ron Josol (who's opened for Russell Peters). Sketch will be provided by The Boom and hot fire spat by Rick & Chuck.

FRI JULY 13 & SAT JULY 14 / JIMMY PARDO / COMEDY BAR / 945 BLOOR W / 8PM & 10:30PM / $20

Opening act for Conan O'Brien? Wowzers. Second most popular paid comedy podcast? Double wowzers. The above clip will give you a bit of insight into Jimmy's style. Like Ricky Gervais, he's often 'throwing away jokes' (a phrase used by Chris Rock to describe an aspect of Ricky's act) by casually saying funny things in an almost absent-minded sort of way. Known as the comic's comic, don't get left out by waiting until the last minute to get tickets. I recently heard that Jon Schabl will be opening for Jimmy, which is awesome. I saw him do a bit about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that had the crowd dying with laughter. This is easily the best show this week.

About the Author: This is Michael Jagdeo, and I refuse to write about myself in the third-person. My blog, Diary of a Stand-up Comedian, teaches you how to be - and how not to be - a comedian in Toronto.


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