The Comedy Tribune

2020 was shit. Not trying to blow anyone’s mind out the gates like that, but consider that bomb dropped. So far 2021 isn’t much better. Slightly more hope. Lots more lockdown!
Also, I’ll apologize now if this gets preachy at some point. It will. Sorry.

The pandemic has been hard on almost everyone, but few industries have been hit harder than bars and live entertainment. If you’re not familiar with either of these things, it’s important to know they both require people to gather in large groups to be a success. I, like many comics, saw months of work vanish overnight. Then more shows getting booked.... and canceled again. That sucks for sure, but I try to keep perspective, and find the silver linings.

Ever since I started standup comedy it’s occupied a certain portion of my brain. I don’t mean I have to be “on” all the time. Those people are insufferable twats, and should not be encouraged. I mean that a part of my mind is always reminding me that I could be doing more. If I don’t get on stage enough, or I haven’t been writing enough, there’s a little voice in the back of my head letting me know I’m a lazy piece of shit. But when the pandemic struck and everything shut down the voice went quiet. For the first time in 13 years that voice was silent, and let me embrace doing fuck all. It didn’t last long, but I welcomed the break. Eventually the wheels started turning, and I began writing again, figuring one day I’d see a live audience once more.

I had a few zoom shows during lockdown. They weren’t as bad I thought they’d be, but they’re just not the real thing. It’s the non-alcoholic beer of comedy. It’s kinda similar, but the fun part is missing. When things started to warm up I booked a few private backyard shows, and even with limited audiences it was great. Simply standing in front of humans and talkin shit again was the fix I needed. I wanted more of that sweet comedy heroin, but there wasn’t much to be had. That is until my good friend Phil Cacace reached out to me. Phil and his brother Tom own Tallboys Craft Beer House on Bloor West. I’m not just saying this because they’re friends of mine, (or because my picture is on the wall) but Tallboys is an incredible bar. Trust me, I’ve been in a few.

Phil asked me to come down to Tallboys for a beer, and discuss getting an outdoor patio show going. I let him know that I was happy to run a show, but absolute shit at promoting. That didn’t faze Phil in the slightest, and a week later “The Comedy Rebirth” was born.

A few things have kept me from running my own show in the past. For starters, someone once told me that good comics make terrible promoters, and that good promoters were terrible comics. That stuck in my head, and now I’ve probably wedged that into the mind of any comic reading this. Also running a show is a pain in the ass. On top of promoting and organizing you have to deal with comics. I say this with love when I say comics are the worst. We all hate ourselves, while at the same time thinking we’re better than everyone else. It’s a fucking roller coaster. Booking is a nightmare in a “normal” setting, but when you’re one of the only shows in the city it’s multiplied by a million. Then comedy clubs and indoor shows in Toronto shut down again, and my inbox exploded over the next 48 hours. I only booked 5 people per show, and only did the show once a week. Getting everyone on that I wanted to was an impossibility.

I didn’t want the show to just be average, so here comes the preachy part. In order for a comedy show to be successful it has to have good comics, it can’t be too long, and you have to be able to say no. There seems to be this attitude now that everyone should get to be on any show regardless of skill, and fuck that. When I was new to comedy I asked Jo-Anna Downey (R.I.P.) if I could get on her show at Spirits. Spirits was the best and longest running open mic in the city. It’s where the best comics in the city worked out, and where they all wound up hanging on Wednesday nights. Jo straight up told me, “you’re not ready to be on my show”, and I hated her for it. However, a couple years later when she let me on I realized that I WASN’T good enough when I had first asked. It wasn’t personal, Jo had just set the bar at a certain level and her audience expected that. When you put on everyone who asks, the quality dips, the show goes on too long, and no one comes back. It’s also ok to get denied. Good comics who get denied, work hard and get better to prove people wrong. Bad comics complain, never get better, and eventually fade away. Getting what you want without working for it doesn’t help anyone in any situation... ever.

I wanted to build something special with the Tallboys show. The setting was already perfect. The patio was almost built for a show. A wood fence back drop, with patio lights strung around the perimeter made for a welcoming, chill vibe. Arthur Simeon headlined my first show. He’s a good friend, but also happens to be one of the funniest people in the country. The other four comics were Sandra Battaglini, Alex Pavone, Patrick Hakeem and Chris Locke. All of whom are also headliners. If you don’t know their names, educate yourself. The first show was wild. It was crazy to see people again. To see comics again. It was crazy to see some of the funniest people I know, nervous to perform on a patio show for 24 people. We were all so excited to play a “full” house. Other comics came by just to hang in the alley and see one another. It was great, and even though we were all rusty, the show was fantastic. Funny people were being funny again. Phil was happy, and more importantly the audience loved it.

The next show sold out. Mike Wilmot headlined another group of killer comics and I thought it would be a cake-walk from there on. The next show it pissed rain all day, and the Raptors were playing. We had half a crowd. Show number four was cold and rainy, and we were competing with NFL kickoff. Again, half a crowd. At this point I really thought the weather, and my inadequacy as a promoter would kill the show. I had half given up, and accepted that I just wasn’t going to cut it as a producer. The next show, however, was sold out. We had some nice weather, and the buzz from the first couple weeks hadn’t died. That show went great and then the next one sold out, and the one after that. At one point a bunch of incredible comics were in town to do Just For Laughs tapings, and since nothing else was going on, Comedy Rebirth became the warm up show. So many comics came out to hang and watch this incredible show. It was such a fun night that even though we couldn’t hug or even stand close to each other, it almost let us feel normal. It almost felt like a night at Spirits.

We went on to sell out every single show. It got colder, and people brought blankets. It got even colder, and Phil bought heaters. We were selling out two weeks in advance. Comics were still coming just to hang. Just to feel kinda normal. We needed it. I needed it. Don’t get me wrong, there were nights that I was nervous to even do the show. Covid cases were on the rise, and I felt like I was putting myself and everyone else at a higher risk, even though we were outside and being safe. Some comics cancelled or just said no due to the growing number of cases, and I totally understood that, because at times I felt it too.

Sandra Battaglni performing at Tall Boys

In the end, it was the second lockdown that shut the show down, but we had a incredible run. We knew the weather would shut us down soon anyway, but it was a great run and it felt special while it was happening. It kept me going for a lot of this, and I can’t wait to bring the show back when we can. There weren’t a lot of bright spots in 2020, but at the risk of sounding cliche, I’ll never forget those shows, and the way the comedy community rallied around them.

Once more I want to say thanks to my regulars, and every audience member who supported us. Especially Ashley, Rahim, Michael and Jen. Thank you to the comics who brought it week after week. Thank you to Steve and Dan who slung drinks in the cold while a virus raged on around us. And of course a monumental thank you to Phil, for letting us do this at Tallboys. We’ll be back. Comedy will be reborn again.

Rob Bebenek - @ol_bebsie