A Night of Comedy in Vancouver

If you haven't noticed or picked up on it yet from my blog... I like laughing. A good, hearty laugh is the best way to accessorize whatever the hell else you're wearing, as far as I'm concerned. Like, if you have a good laugh stashed away in your purse, you can basically just throw away your Chanel sunglasses, because you don't need them. They're overkill.

My love for laughing means that stand-up comedians are as valuable, to me, as gold. It blows me away that someone's chosen career path is to make people laugh. Um. Sweet job.

Last Wednesday I was trolling Facebook (you were, too) and noticed that one of my FAAAAAAVORITE stand-up comedians, Ted Alexandro, had posted this status update:

To which I promptly commented, "Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!"

In other words... I approved.

My siblings and I have been huge fans of Ted Alexandro since we first saw his half-hour special on Comedy Central years and years ago. Not only is his material hysterical, but his delivery and mannerisms just compound all the funny things he's saying. I'm pretty sure I laugh at every single thing that comes out of his mouth. (I'm sitting here right now laughing to myself as I type this, thinking of his "I believe this macaroni necklace is for you" joke. I'd share it with you, but it's not on YouTube. You'll have to just use your imagination to fill in the blanks.)

Looking into it further, I discovered that Ted was going to be performing not once, not twice, but THREE FREAKING TIMES while he was in Vancouver. IS IT MY BIRTHDAY OR SOMETHING? Oh, wait, no it's not my birthday. Although 2 years ago on my birthday I did get to see him perform in Boston and meet him briefly after the show. Magic.

So tickets were reserved for Ted's Saturday night show in Vancouver at The Comedy Mix - a venue in the basement of the Century Plaza Hotel - and I was El Pumped.

On Saturday evening, I practically danced to The Comedy Mix with bells on. Dave just walked beside me, normally. He was excited, too, he just doesn't dance when he walks places.

Arriving at The Comedy Mix, the two of us were offered front row seats... which I boldly declined. Neither Dave nor the man seating us could believe it, but I've been to enough comedy shows to know that the front row is a fahkin awkward place to sit. ESPECIALLY if any of the comedians are in a pissy mood that night and want to turn the heat on the people in the crowd. {Turns out I made a good decision - the guy who performed before Ted was kind of a dick. When he thought he was losing the crowd, he started picking on the women in the front row and making fun of their laughs. Class act. I won't even bother sharing his name here, because #PSHT, but suffice to say it solidified my anxiety over ever sitting front row at a comedy show.}

The MC for the evening was a local Vancouver guy named Ivan Decker and he had some really great jokes. He had the whole room laughing and warmed up for the first act, who - as indicated - wasn't the highlight of the evening.

Ted's set didn't disappoint - some older stuff, some new. There was a terrific new-to-me bit that used Netflix in a great metaphorical joke about marrying too young. (Dave found this joke especially hysterical.) Another, more familiar joke was a tale about Ted giving an innocent ride home to a woman half his age who startles him by inviting him back to her place for beer and coke. ("Don't let her know you think that's insane..... Don't let her know your first thought was Coca Cola.")

Here's some of his material, since I can't give you a play-by-play of all of his jokes:





He does shows all over the place, including many in the NYC area, so I hope that you can check him out someday in a venue near you :)

Here's a short trailer for his upcoming Teacher's Lounge webseries, which looks hysterical to me...



My sister Mallory saw Ted perform in Pittsfield, MA a couple of years ago and was so insanely excited to meet him after the show and take a picture with him:

.  she may have had a few  .

After I met him at his November 2011 show in Boston, I kicked myself for not asking to take a picture with him. Mallory was also unimpressed that I hadn't scored a photo shoot with Mr. Alexandro. Well get ready to be unimpressed again, Mal, because I once again forgot to ask him for a picture when we chatted with him briefly after his Vancouver show. #oops

The moral of this story is... we should all laugh as much as possible. And take pictures often.

Who is your favorite comedian??