Live Performance Review
Show: Gerry Dee: The Next Chapter
Venue: Jack Singer Concert Hall
Where: Calgary, Alberta
When: November 21, 2009

Reviewed by Pamela Giborski (Calgary)

There are two types of people in this world: you've either never heard of Gerry Dee, or you're so excited to see him that you can't keep it in. Gerry has currently been touring Canada with his Gerry Dee: The Next Chapter tour, sponsored by 7-Up, and wraps up in Fredericton at the end of this week.

Even before Gerry took the stage, the crowd couldn't hold back their anticipation for him. As he came on stage for a moment to tell us to play a joke on one of the opening acts, the crowd eagerly cheered for Gerry.

Taking the stage first was Calgarian Steven Ditata (who you may have seen in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, making ridiculous raptor noises). He definitely kept the audience laughing with his incredible impressions and current jokes. Next up was comedian Trent McClellan, who also resides in Calgary. His humor commented on Canadian winters and he gave us some amusing tips about living with women. After the intermission, Gerry came on stage, and handled inebriated crowd members in a classy way by saying, "See, this is why I don't like intermissions!" I would have to second that motion, Gerry.

If you've ever watched Gerry Dee: Sports Reporter on the Score, or his stint on Last Comic Standing, you would be expecting a combination of the two characters in his live stand-up. I was pleasantly surprised when Gerry started his routine. You could tell he has really come into his own in the stand-up world since these appearances. He commanded the stage, the attention of the audience, and you could tell everyone was waiting for what he would say next.

His performance was a mix of his older, yet still hilarious jokes, and what I found to be a lot of new material about his current life, specifically joking about his wife and daughter. I was in tears from laughter from his many jokes about his past as a teacher. He mentioned that he shot a pilot for CBC, based on his time as a teacher. I can only hope this show gets picked up, because his impressions and stories about his former students are enough to make anyone die from laughter.

He did mention that Dane Cook was also performing last night, but this did not intimidate him at all, and he proved this by doing an excellent set. He demonstrated himself to be one of the best stand-up comedians out there, because of his ability go with the flow and his many relatable stories.

Having watched Gerry Dee on the Score and YouTube, I was tremendously excited to see him live. I haven't laughed as much or as hard as I did last night during Gerry's routine. I cannot wait for him to come back to Calgary in April, as he will be performing at Yuk Yuk's. You can be sure I will be in the front row, crying my eyes out from laughter.

Written by :

Pamela Giborski

 

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