Despite having gone to another comedy festival less than a year ago, here we are. Just for Laughs is THE premier comedy festival in the world so we're excited to add it to our repertoire. I hope we'll have such a good time that it will become a tradition of sorts. At the very least, we'll learn how to navigate the system and pick up valuable tips for the next time.
The purchasing of passes isn't quite as seamless as it is for JFL42 in Toronto. We bought 5-show passes, which means we can pick five headlining shows. They also come with free tickets from July 25-July 29 to OFF-JFL shows. (OFF-JFL is made up of comedians that you might know like Janeane Garofalo but they're not as mainstream as someone like Jerry Seinfeld. OFF-JFL shows take place in alternative/non-traditional venues. For example, one of our OFF-JFL shows is in a place that's normally a strip club.) These free tickets, however, aren't automatic. You have to sign up for them when you get an email and you won't have your choice of shows. Tricky.
I definitely preferred getting the VIP pass for JFL42 and having the option to pick and choose shows up until the last minute through my online account. I felt very much in control of my festival experience. It's not that way at all with JFL. Due to JFL's aggressive marketing schemes, I felt pressured to buy tickets way in advance for things that ended up not even selling out. If I had known tickets don't sell like hotcakes, like they imply, I certainly would've waited.
They don't finalize the lineup of participating comedians/guests until the start of the festival. They do a big name drop in the beginning of May and then every couple of weeks drop two names here, one name there. I find that tricky (again) because if, like me, you bought tickets in advance and then a month later they announce someone more to your liking, you might be stuck with a scheduling conflict.
JFL is definitely more of a money-making operation because there's an inflexibility to their ticketing system that just isn't a factor at JFL42. I'm not complaining - just informing any potential festival-goers and learning for the next time. We're VERY excited.
Like we did in Toronto, we're going to live like locals in Montreal. We've rented an apartment within walking distance to all of the festival venues. We're closer to Downtown/Old Montreal than we were the last time we were in town so it means we're a little farther afield from the Mile End (best food options in the city) and Mont Royal (my favorite spot for an afternoon respite). We can always use the metro if our feet get tired. We plan on parking our car in a garage and leaving it there until it's time to go home.
Also, like Toronto, I'll be live blogging rather than reflecting on the trip after it's happened. It's easier to recall the acts immediately afterwards. I'm also going to borrow my previously developed rating scale of 1 to 5 laughs; 1 meaning didn't-crack-a-smile, and 5 meaning pee-your-pants-hilarious.
Our travel itinerary: Monday, July 24 - Saturday, July 30
Monday, July 24
Today entailed getting from Burlington to Montreal, parking our car in a garage, settling into our digs, and then hitting the town for two of our shows. We also managed to order and eat decent Lebanese take-out.
Show 1: Mike Birbiglia: The New One
Loved the venue, loved the audience (Jimmy Carr, a British comedian we'll be seeing tomorrow night, was in attendance), loved the show. I started to watch Mike Birbiglia's Netflix specials a few months ago and I've enjoyed each one better than the last. This show was no exception. There's continuity so if you're interested in him and/or appreciate his humor, I recommend watching all of his specials and preferably, in order of production.
Mike Birbiglia is a seasoned and well-honed raconteur. He's so relatable you feel like he's talking directly to you and not an entire audience of people. His show is funny throughout but also a slow-burn. I felt like I had a tickle in my throat that progressed into tears-streaming-down-my-face-laughing. I also appreciate how he can be simultaneously silly and deep when talking about his life experiences - in this specific case, becoming a parent. 5 Laughs.
Show 2: Arj Barker: Get in my Head
The venue was difficult to find - we actually walked two blocks beyond it because there wasn't proper signage. Arj, however, is fabulous! We love this guy! I feel terrible that he's been given a subpar venue - very small and not filled to capacity. If JFL invites artists to participate then I think they should fill the damn seats, even if they have to offer those seats to people off the street. JUST DO IT.
Arj is talented, fun, and charismatic, and he talks to his audience like we're his buddies. Sometimes his punchlines are obvious but his delivery takes the material to an unexpected level of funny. Other times you think you know exactly where his jokes are going but he takes a surprising turn. I wouldn't be at all shocked if his is one of the best shows we see all week. 5 Laughs.
Strong work from both Mike Birbiglia and Arj Barker. What a great way to start the festival!
Tuesday, July 25
We had a great and filling breakfast at Allo Mon Coco and then set out for a multi-mile walk to gather some toiletries and a week's supply of famous Montreal bagels from St. Viateur Bagel.
Along the way we found ourselves passing by a cat cafe so we turned around and went inside. It's not a good day unless you have a cat to pet! While there we met most of the nine resident cats. Unlike many cat cafes that offer cats for adoption, this particular cafe adopted/rescued the cats to make the cafe their permanent home. Perhaps that's why one of them tried to take a sip out of my, I mean, his, water glass.
Here's King Kong bidding us adieu:
In addition to it being festival season in Montreal, JFL is just one of many festivals occurring, it's Montreal's 375th birthday, and it's the 150th birthday of Canada's National Parks. What an exciting year for our neighbor to the north! Anyway, because of all these concurrent events, there is stuff going on constantly.
We happened to see several people covered in body paint from head to toe riding matching bicycles around the city. We don't know the project or the purpose but Evan got a quick pic of Mellow Yellow:
There are so many cool murals all over the city. Here are just a few we saw along the way:
Tonight we're seeing three very popular and JFL-specific shows. Beforehand I had some delicious tacos (one pork, two shrimp) and Evan had a quesadilla from La Capital Tacos, about five minutes from our apartment. A taco place in Chinatown. Let that sink in.
Show 1: The Ethnic Show
Host: Alonzo Bodden
Participants: Vladimir Caamano, Mike Rita, The Doo Wops, Rachid Badouri, Steve Byrne, and Jessica Kirson
We utilized some of our free tickets to get into this show. I'm glad because I wouldn't have wanted to waste money on this showcase. The entire show from start to finish felt like a warmup. Rachid Badouri definitely had the most spunk/personality and I'll give the Doo Wops credit for being different - one plays guitar and they both sing. 2 Laughs.
Show 2: The Nasty Show
Host: Ari Shaffir
Participants: Robert Kelly, Yamaneika Saunders, Godfrey, Jimmy Carr, and Big Jay Oakerson
This was a much better showcase with good material from most of the acts. I look forward to seeing Ari Shaffir's Netflix special when we get home. I'd also see Robert Kelly and Jimmy Carr do solo work. Regardless, I wouldn't seek out the Nasty Show at a future festival. 3.5 Laughs.
Show 3: Midnight Surprise
Host: Alonzo Bodden (repeat from the Ethnic Show)
Participants: Jeff Ross, James Davis, Daliso Chaponda, Emily Heller, and Ricky Velez
The concept behind this show is a cool one - you buy a ticket having no idea who will be performing. I was disappointed that right off the bat we had a repeat performance from earlier in the night - Alonzo Bodden. His prepared material didn't impress me but his crowd work and off-the-cuff stuff was an improvement.
I was so freaking tired that even when there were stand-out performances from the other participants (they were each given seven minutes) I could barely muster a laugh. The people I'd keep an eye on are Daliso Chaponda, Emily Heller, and Ricky Velez. 3.75 Laughs.
...
Overall, it was an unimpressive evening and another thing - the seating was uncomfortable for all three shows. I'm still recovering from numb butt.
Tomorrow night we have two galas, which will feature multiple comedians. I think we've learned our lesson and going forward, we'll stick with solo acts. It's more our speed and then we can pick and choose more specifically who we're spending our time with. Needless to say, Mike Birbiglia and Arj Barker are still at the top of our list for best performers at the festival.
Wednesday, July 26
The morning after we're still feeling dismayed by our lackluster Tuesday evening so we're going to skip one of the galas we were originally attending (David Spade is hosting but every other participating comedian is a repeat of people we've seen or will see later in the week). Instead, we're paying extra to see Tom Segura.
A good tip for life and JFL - go with your gut. I wanted to see Tom Segura right off the bat but when I saw that he and David Spade conflicted I thought, well, Tom Segura will probably be in our area one of these days and David Spade won't.
In the future, we will not waste our money or tickets on multi-participant stand-up events. An interactive panel is one thing but I really don't need to see a multitude of comedians over the span of ninety minutes. It's exhausting and bits start to run and blur together in your mind. It's a disservice to the artists, too, because they can get lost.
We had some bagels for breakfast and then hung out in the apartment while Evan did some homework and I did laundry.
There are a bunch of food trucks set up in the outdoor festival area so we're probably going to grab lunch and dinner there.
This is Victor, the JFL Mascot:
We ventured out and got some sustenance from a few different food trucks and then sat on a bench and people/celebrity-watched. No joke - in the span of thirty minutes we saw eight different comedians just walking in the wild.
Mike Rita
Myq Kaplan
Sugar Sammy
Deanne Smith
Robert Kelly
Big Jay Oakerson
Ricky Velez
Steve Byrne
Colin Jost
We didn't stop or approach any of them but Evan did manage to yell out, "Colin Jost" as he was walking by. He said, "hey guys" and we smiled and waved and that was that. Evan was determined to see him again to get a picture. We walked around and went into a nearby Starbucks to get some drinks and sure enough, when we emerged, there was Colin Jost! He said, "you guys again" and from there we stopped for a very brief chat and some pictures.
He was very nice, as you'd expect. I think we were all a little flummoxed for various reasons - we were starstruck and we're guessing he doesn't get stopped by fans that often and/or maybe didn't expect that kind of reception walking around in Montreal. I wish we could've had a more substantive conversation but we were tongue-tied and he had to get ready for his show tonight. Can't wait to see him and Michael Che - the dynamic duo!
...
On our way to our first show of the evening we walked through the Gayborhood and saw these cool lights strewn across the street that represent all the colors of the rainbow. We got far enough to see yellow in the distance but we didn't get into the green, blue, and purple.
Show 1: Tom Segura: No Teeth, No Entry Tour
You can't know what you missed but I think we made the right decision by skipping a bunch of repeat performances to see a brand new solo act from Tom Segura. His observations about life are relatable and hilarious! 4.5 Laughs.
Show 2: The Colin Jost and Michael Che Gala
Participants: Phil Hanley, Sarah Millican, Lil Rel Howery, Jim Norton, David Baddiel, Ivan Decker, and Steve Byrne
Our buddy, Colin, and Michael Che were awesome hosts and every participating comedian in the lineup was well-prepared and gave a strong performance. Up until the show we were completely unfamiliar with Phil Hanley and Ivan Decker, both Canadian, but they're definitely people worth watching. Steve Byrne also changed some things up, which made this performance comparably better than his routine from the Ethnic Show.
By the way, when Colin Jost introduced Steve Byrne he mentioned that he was a mentor to him and really supportive of his career when he was starting out. It must've been so weird and potentially offensive when we saw the two of them together earlier in the day and blatantly acknowledged Colin while ignoring Steve Byrne. BYRNED.
We had selected free tickets to see Jeff Ross & Dave Attell: Bumping Mics at midnight but due to an early morning and free radio show recording, we opted to skip so we could get some sleep. Along the way we saw more comedians in the wild - Vladimir Caamano, The Lucas Brothers (they opened for Mike Birbiglia - funny, but not memorably so), Big Jay Oakerson (repeat), and Ricky Velez (repeat).
Our plans to get a good night's sleep were irretrievably dashed by a malfunction with our door handle that meant a representative from our rental company had to come over at 1:30am to let us back into our apartment. That was not fun.
Thursday, July 27
Show 1: The Jim & Sam Show
Hosts: Jim Norton and Sam Roberts
Guests: Robert Kelly, Tom Papa, Dave Attell, and Ryan Hamilton
We will not be deterred so we're heading over to the Hyatt this morning to watch the Jim & Sam Show on Sirius Radio. I normally hate social media but twitter can have its perks. I follow Jim Norton so when I saw that he and his radio partner were offering free tickets to their show I immediately responded. Evan and I accidentally gamed the system by both responding so we're going this morning and tomorrow morning. Winning!
We both really enjoyed being in the audience for the Jim & Sam Show. It was a pretty small group. We had a few scares where we were close to being questioned but ultimately, we managed to escape detection for three hours.
I wouldn't say that there was a cohesive theme but there was a lot of good, interesting conversation, most of which pertained to comedy, the festival, people bombing on stage, people killing it on stage, and successful vs. struggling comedians. 4 Laughs.
I made a mental note of something Jim Norton said. He was in the gala last night and while we thought he was great, he indicated on his radio show that he doesn't enjoy galas. There's a lot of pressure because they're filmed and then televised (in this case, on Canadian television) and for someone like him, it's particularly challenging. His material veers toward blue so he has to tone it down in a way that's inauthentic to his persona. I really don't want to see comics being forced into a box so, going along with what I've already been thinking, we'll definitely hone in on solo acts vs. multi-comic lineups in the future.
I hope there's a little more variety/enthusiasm on tomorrow's radio show. I think most participants were nursing hangovers and/or some of the bigger names stayed away because they were partying late the night before/just going to bed. Jim Norton indicated that Michael Che was planning on coming but that obviously didn't pan out. Bummer.
...
We ate at the food truck corral again and saw Dave Attell and then Ari Shaffir (shirtless) in the wild.
Took a little afternoon nap so that we'd be fresh as daisies for our evening events.
Show 1: David Baddiel My Family: Not the Sitcom
Evan and I almost skipped this at the last minute to see an Australian stand-up but I'm so glad we stuck with David Baddiel. His show is ninety minutes of fun and outrageousness with a dash of sentimentality. It's a lovely homage to his deceased mother who defined herself outside the mold of Jewish mother and housewife. She was quite the pistol! 4.75 Laughs.
On our way out Evan says he saw Sasheer Zamata walking away from us toward her venue for the night. I couldn't confirm because by the time I looked her way I could only see her back. I'll take his word for it, though.
Show 2: I'm Dying up Here on Showtime: A Night with Cast & Creators
Participants: Michael Angarano, Erik Griffin, Ari Graynor, Jim Carrey, Andrew Santino, and RJ Cyler
If I'm being frank, I barely noticed any of the other cast members. All eyes and ears were focused on Jim Carrey as the executive producer. Everyone in attendance was there for Jim Carrey. There was even an Ace Venture impersonator right behind us. Brilliant.
I loved hearing stories of Jim Carrey's days as a struggling stand-up. You discover that many of his real-life experiences inspired and informed some of the storylines on this show. In the 1970's, when he was starting out, the only way to achieve success/fame was to get a spot on The Tonight Show and the competition was fierce. It's completely different now because there are so many different avenues comics can take to get noticed. Jim Norton and Robert Kelly were saying (on the Jim & Sam Show) that even just a few years ago, people could go to JFL and leave the festival with an option for a TV show and contracts worth millions of dollars. They said it doesn't happen as much anymore because too many people who were deemed up-and-comers didn't live up to their potential.
There's so much depth to Jim Carrey and sadness, I think. He admitted to being in an existential crisis - not really being able to define himself as Jim Carrey anymore. But I could see the light in his eyes when he looked around the room and soaked up all the love we were sending out to him. At the end he got up and shook hands with some of the people in the front row and I could feel the warmth dripping off of him. He loves his public and his public loves him. For good reason! 5 Laughs for the legend.
Jim Carrey strongly recommended seeing the show that we had skipped the night before so we bought tickets for the final performance tonight. On the way there we saw Jimmy Carr, Sarah Millican, Ali Siddiq, and Jeff Ross. Evan shook Ross's hand.
Show 3: Jeff Ross & Dave Attell: Bumping Mics
There was great energy around this show. The club was packed and there were a lot of comics in attendance including: Michael Che (we actually ran into him on the way in and we both got to shake his hand and tell him we're big fans), Godfrey, Alonzo Bodden, Vladimir Caamano, Elon Gold, and Jimmy Carr. Those were the ones we saw so who knows who else might've been there.
It was a fun night because a lot of their work is off the cuff. They pull up audience members and roast them. They also had Jimmy Carr and Michael Che take turns on the stage with them. 4.5 Laughs.
We were disappointed to learn that we had missed Jim Carrey in the audience the night before - the night we were supposed to be seeing this show. If you remember, we skipped it because we had to get up early for the Jim & Sam Show. Our evening then devolved because of the issue with our door handle. It's weird to think that we could've seen Jim Carrey in the wild but missed our opportunity because of a free radio show. Then again, it would've been worse to have stayed out until 2:00am and then discovered we couldn't get into our apartment. It would've made for an even longer ordeal in the middle of the night.
On the way out we saw Dave Attell chatting up some girls, of course, and then we saw Moshe Kasher and waved hello.
Another late night and we're supposed to get up for this radio show again. You've got to be a night owl to survive in this business and/or to be a fan.
Some great murals we saw late this afternoon/early evening:
Some fun guys on stilts and in weird costumes while we were getting dinner from a food truck:
Friday, July 28
Show 1: The Jim & Sam Show (again)
Guests: Annie Lederman, Ari Shaffir (he came across like a bored, self-centered douche), Dan Soder, Natasha Leggero, and Moshe Kasher
It wasn't as fun this time around. To be frank, I would've rather slept in. Apparently, yesterday's show was inconsistent with their usual banter and I liked it. There were a lot more hardcore fans in the audience today and the hosts were catering to them. I was bored and even annoyed by some of the conversation. It devolved into tales of cringeworthy sexual exploits. By the time we left, one hour early, they were talking about adult male circumcision. Oy. 2.5 Laughs.
Apparently, Ron Funches showed up after we left. I don't even have the energy to care. I'm too damn tired.
...
Took another afternoon nap. No more shows stretching into the wee hours for the remainder of our 48 hours in Montreal.
It's a beautiful afternoon so I think we'll take a walk and stretch our legs. Perhaps we'll run into more comedians in the wild.
We decided to take a walk into Old Montreal because it's rather close by. We didn't stay too long because there were lots of bugs flying around. I'm guessing because of its proximity to the water...? I really don't know. They've got a bug problem around here!
We had dinner at one of the food trucks again. We've had so few sit-down meals while in town here. It just hasn't been a priority. We've had consistently good food though.
Show 1: Trevor Noah
Unsurprisingly, Trevor Noah was superb. We saw him do stand-up two or three years ago, just a couple of months before he was named the new host of The Daily Show. We liked him then but he's definitely grown and gotten even better since. He really is the consummate professional. I don't know how he finds the time to do a television show and then travel around the world in his off time to do stand-up. It's nothing short of amazing. He's polished, well-prepared, intelligent, relatable, and hilarious. Sometimes his political commentary/worldview can hurt because it hits close to home - he was pretty harsh about racism in America - but the truth hurts, doesn't it? We all need to take a hard look at ourselves and our country. 4.75 Laughs.
Show 2: Katherine Ryan: Glitter Room
I have to say, I was pretty disappointed with Katherine Ryan's performance. I saw her Netflix special and as soon as I saw that she would be appearing at the festival, jumped at the chance to see her live. As Evan said, it's possible that she was testing out material and that's why her set lacked cohesion but, what if that was just her set? It was all over the place and kind of a mess. The theme was female empowerment/independence but it inched over into man-hating territory, which seemed more bitter than funny. I also felt like a lot of her stories were middles without defined beginnings or ends. There were funny/clever moments but I didn't feel like it was up to her standard. 3 Laughs.
Evan and I both thought that her warm-up, Andrew Johnston, was great! I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for him. I like diversity in comedy and I believe he's the only gay comedian we've seen perform during the festival. I'm disappointed overall with the lack of women represented in the festival, too. We saw so few women in general and only one was a headliner - Katherine Ryan. I hope there will be more women performing next year.
Some more comedians we saw in the wild this evening:
Bryan Callen
Jimmy Shubert
Kyle Ayers
Jake & Amir (separately)
Langston Kerman (I knew I recognized him but I didn't know from where until I just looked it up - Insecure on HBO)
Saturday, July 29
It's our final day in Montreal and attending the Just For Laughs Festival! It's been fun, intense, and kind of exhausting but we're going to end with a bang. We've got two great solo acts to close out our time here and an afternoon podcast that we're attending for free.
We took a long walk to Mont Royal and then climbed a bunch of steps to get to the Chalet du Mont Royal, where I remember sitting in Adirondack chairs the last time we were in town. They were all occupied this time so we didn't stick around for long.
Some stuff along the way:
Evan said he overheard someone saying this piece of art is "hideous". Can't handle a woman with curves, huh?
This is the first time during the trip that I felt like I earned a meal. I definitely worked up a sweat and some body odor. By the time we reached the food trucks again, I was full on hangry!
We also saw a few more comedians in the wild:
Seann Walsh
Kurt Braunohler and Lauren Cook (with their baby)
I guess we can't skip their podcast now - we have the same taste in dessert.
Show 1: Wedlock with Kurt and Lauren
Hosts: Kurt Braunohler and Lauren Cook
Guests: Cameron Esposito, Rhea Butcher, and Ron Funches
This turned out to be way more fun and professionally produced than we were expecting. Everyone on the panel was fantastic particularly, Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher. I actually think they'd be great as a regular foursome. Lots of chemistry and a natural conversational flow. 4.5 Laughs.
Show 2: Judd Apatow
The positives: Great, intimate venue and we feel very fortunate to be part of his upcoming Netflix special. Good comedic material overall.
The negatives: I felt very self-conscious the entire time because I could feel the cameras and see the production happening all around me. I forced myself to fake-laugh throughout the special because if the camera's going to be on me then I figured I better look like I'm having fun. As much as I love comedy it takes a very special person to make me really giggle. A lot of the time I'm just there for good storytelling and if I laugh, it's a plus not a requirement.
Judd Apatow must be a bit of a control-freak because production was pretty tight. It was suggested to us/the audience more than a few times that we could (should) give him a standing ovation when he entered the stage. I was always under the impression that an ovation is earned. Also, as soon as he came out he essentially ordered a woman sitting next to us to remove her orange cardigan sweater because he found it distracting. I feel like a seasoned stand-up wouldn't let a colorful garment throw him off his game.
His delivery is still kind of stilted/unnatural. Honestly, I think it's too soon for him to have a Netflix special or any kind of special for that matter. Just because he's a successful producer, director, and writer doesn't mean that he can skip the steps he needs to take to be a great stand-up comedian. I don't think he's earned his keep yet. He should still be hitting small clubs and working his way up. This foray into stand-up comedy 20+ years after he started out seems like a quest for perfectionism and/or a mid-life crisis. I guess it's a good thing my opinion doesn't matter. 3 Laughs.
We loved Judd Apatow's opener, Wayne Federman. He should get a special!
While getting in line for our next show we saw Jim O'Heir who played Jerry on Parks and Recreation.
Show 3: Craig Ferguson: The New Deal Tour
Like Trevor Noah, Craig Ferguson is a master at his craft. He came out on stage with such natural charisma and perfect delivery. He looked like he was having so much fun, too. His enthusiasm is infectious. I never watched him when he was doing late night so I was kind of on the fence about seeing his stand-up. I'd say he's a got two new fans! A strong finish for our festival experience. 4.75 Laughs.
This will also be turned into a Netflix special but I doubt we'll be visible because we were seated all the way up in the balcony. No biggie.
...
We laughed, we cried, we name-dropped. It was a great time! I can't think of another comedy-related experience where you get the chance to meet so many legends by accident. All we had to do was sit on a bench or stand somewhere on the festival grounds for a few minutes before we spotted someone. I would say that that alone gives Montreal the edge over Toronto. JFL42's lineup last year was stronger but we didn't meet any of the participating comedians nor was there a central location where everyone could run into each other. The majority of comedians here in Montreal have been put up in the Hyatt hotel right in the center of the festival district and within blocks of most of the venues. It's crazy cool!
We probably did a little too much and we definitely overspent and even wasted money but next time we'll be better prepared. I think we'll tentatively plan to go every year unless something comes up or the lineup is terrible (unlikely). Perhaps next time we'll be more equipped to face our idols so we're not terrified to talk to them or ask for pictures.
We didn't get to enjoy Montreal much because we were so busy with the festival. It's OK. We'll be back. I do wish the anti-smoking campaign would make an impact here. I hate hate hate all of the smoking. I know it messed with my sinuses and dried out my throat. No bueno. They need to start treating smokers like second-class citizens as we do in the U.S. It works!
In summary: I called it on the first day but our favorites of the festival remain Mike Birbiglia and Arj Barker followed closely by David Baddiel, Tom Segura, Trevor Noah, and Craig Ferguson. Our favorite atypical festival experiences were Bumping Mics, I'm Dying up Here panel (Jim Carrey), and Wedlock the podcast.
Now we'll bide our time until next year's festival.
