Sigmund Freud dissects the joke
In Sigmund Freud’s 1905 book Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious, the father of modern psychiatry claimed there are only seven jokes that have ever been written – and that includes dick jokes. Hey, it’s Freud. Of course he meant there are seven types of wit. The popular interpretation boils down to these: Absurdity, […]
Insane Clown Posse lives up to its name
Their reputation precedes them – but Insane Clown Posse is not so evil after all. The hundreds of Juggalos who turned up for the group’s first Edmonton show at Union Hall Saturday night aren’t about to run out and do any of the horrible things depicted in ICP songs, just as they wouldn’t go out […]
INTERVIEW: Don’t cross David Cross
If you’ve come to the point where you trust comedians more than you trust journalists to deliver the truth, you’re not alone. David Cross feels the same way – and he’s in the thick of it. “It’s kind of a symbiotic relationship,” the 52-year-old comedian observes. “I look to Wolf Blitzer as a source of […]
REVIEW: Stephanie Wolfe takes on Lily Tomlin
There are one-person shows that are linked to certain famous actors, such as Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain or, more recently, Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston as LBJ. In 1977, Lily Tomlin, then a recent grad from the television series Laugh In, brought her one-person show The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe […]
Music fest dips toe in comedy
The original Drunk Young Punk is coming back to the stompin’ grounds from whence he came – to perform at Edmonton’s biggest club-hopping music festival this fall. Kids in the Hall’s Bruce McCulloch, who went to Scona High in Edmonton (he says he doesn’t remember much), will return as one of the headliners at the […]
NEWS FLASH: Nerd culture now pop culture
It’s not surprising that a local nerd has taken it upon himself to catalogue the myriad of nerdy things in town – comic stores, gaming clubs, fantasy fiction, anime, cosplay, you name it. Some nerd was bound to do it. And it’s no shock that the Edmonton Nerd List has taken off so quickly – […]
The Night Before Wombat
‘Twas the night before wombat and all through the snerse, Not a weeful was starping, not even a cherse, The weppels were hung by the stabbage with hair, In the clam that snat eelix would carter the snare. And nox in her keppitch, and meal in my lap, Was flopping and keeling like mice in […]
Bill Maher brings political comedy to Edmonton
Why one of America’s greatest political comedians would spent even a moment away from his home country in the run-up to one of the most important elections in history is a mystery. But we’re still glad Bill Maher is finding the time for a short Canadian tour next summer. Maybe it’s his vacation. The outspoken […]
Kevin Hart to joke in Edmonton
Kevin Hart is now in that rare league of comedians who can perform in hockey arenas – and he’s coming to Edmonton’s arena, the old arena, that is, Rexall Place, on Nov. 22. Tickets are $49.50 to $125 and go on sale Friday. The 36-year-old actor and comic, who’s been just about everywhere and on […]
REVIEW: Edmonton Nerds love Weird Al
Weird Al has been funny for so long that people take it for granted. I remember hearing Another One Rides The Bus on K-97 all the time. In 1981. Every now and then I’d see one of his videos and was aware of his 1989 movie UHF, but I never really paid close attention until […]
Amber Nash puts a little ‘Pam’ in Fringe play
The name Amber Nash may not mean anything to you, but her voice undeniably will. The American actress voices the curvaceous, openly bi-sexual, hedonistic, human resources director Pam Poovey in FX’s hit adult-animated espionage satire cartoon Archer. Nash is in Edmonton for her one-woman show What’s Wrong With You? during Edmonton’s 34th International Fringe Theatre […]
The 8 Best Kids in the Hall characters
Most real comedians will admit – grudgingly – that great minds sometimes think alike. This is why the case against Saturday Night Live for allegedly ripping off This Hour Has 22 Minutes shouldn’t hold up. The bit is about the “Prophet Muhammad” being a particularly difficult Pictionary clue. This joke is obvious in light of […]
