Album Notes

What better way to celebrate 25 years of The Comedy Nest, the Montreal comedy club owned and operated by Ernie Butler, than to allow you to take home the stand-up comics, funny jokes, and atmosphere by releasing a 25th Anniversary CD. This is an excellent comedy CD featuring the who's who of Montreal comedy (and, logically enough, some of the best Canadian stand-up comics around).

After a brief introduction by Ernie Butler The Comedy Nest 25th Anniversary CD opens and closes with the great Bowser and Blue, a great funny song comedy duo. The first track is about being Canadian, the closing track is a 5-minute skit featuring comedy and a funny song about being a goy. Track 3 features David Pryde and a really interesting funny bit about the ways French makes everything sound so much better, eating at the buffet, Americans, mad cow disease, and a killer bit about sing language on Sesame Street.
Heidi Foss, a Montreal comedy staple, has a very solid set on track 4. Her take on being a twin, owning a police dog, and living alone. The great Joey Elias (where's your comedy CD Joey?) of Eric Lindros jokes fame has a solid set about the Olympics and hockey. Interestingly enough, Jock Alston follows by stating he doesn't enjoy hockey and rather prefers to watch golf on TV with a Jamaican commentator. Russell Peters dropped in on recording night and does his usual very funny material about being an Indian-Canadian from the Maritimes.
The rare non-Canadian and non-Montreal comic on this excellent comedy CD is Greg Morton with an unfortunately too short set that still manages to make a funny joke or two about the weather.
The Comedy Nest 25th Anniversary CD would not be complete without Scott Faulconbridge, another great Montreal comic who does observation comedy with a very absurd take. J.P. Bonnet is one of many French comics working in English and he uses both languages to funny effects. Track 13 is Phil Schuchat who does a very absurd stand-up set on plane doors opening mid-flight, sports comedy (if chess is a sport) including a really funny short bit about the Jewish curling team.
No Montreal comedy CD would be complete without someone doing a Toronto versus Montreal joke or two and Jim Sarrino delivers in the opening seconds of his set. This then evolves in a very funny set about French Montreal cops giving tickets in English before changing into being a Jew in a Catholic school -and a very funny pun that elicits a great communal groan from the audience. Neil Janna is a screaming comic: it's a matter of taste, although Celine Dion material is very funny. Sketch comedy troupe The Bionic Yahoos has a great set about crossing the American border and is the only studio set on this live from The Comedy Nest 25th Anniversary CD
If you know a Montreal ex-pat, someone who comes to Montreal on a regular basis for the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, or someone who enjoys good solid stand-up comedy and comedy CDs featuring a buffet of comics, The Comedy Nest 25th Anniversary CD is definitely a comedy CD you must