Canadian comedy icon, Brent Butt made his Algonquin Commons Theatre debut Feb. 7 for a crowd of nearly 400 people.
Butt was welcomed to the stage by thunderous applause and comedian Graham Chittenden, who was the opening act.
“Opening for Brent is fun, he’s one of the funniest comedians offstage as well as onstage,” said Chittenden. “I don’t think he couldn’t be funny if he wanted to.”
Butt’s trademark Canadian-infused comedy was received very well by the similarly-aged audience, which was sprinkled with Algonquin students. “[It was] a good crowd, they were into it,” said Butt, who spoke with the Times after the show.
In fact, Butt humbly surprised the audience with a meet and greet afterwards.
Jacob Campbell, a former radio broadcasting student and wearing a Corner Gas shirt, was first in line. “He was absolutely hilarious, [it was] a great show,” said Campbell.
“Meeting him was spectacular,” Campbell said after shaking Butt’s hand. He got a poster autographed and his picture taken with Butt. “He’s a spot-on comedian, getting a chance to meet him is remarkable.” Campbell said, still smiling.
Born in Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Brent Butt discovered early that being funny was a good way to get attention. He honed his comedy in school and at the age of 20 moved to the city to pursue a career in stand-up.
Within months he was headlining top clubs in Toronto, and within a couple of years he was touring internationally and appearing at major festivals. He quickly secured his reputation as one of the funniest people in the country and today, 30 years later, he still is.
“I feel like the luckiest son of a bitch alive,” said Butt, whose dream it had been to be a comedian since he was 12 years old.
“My whole life was just killing time until I could do stand-up”
“When I’m on stage, that’s the only hour of the day that makes sense to me; the rest of the time is me trying to figure out what I’m supposed to be doing. Taxes? Writing scripts? Making a sandwich?” he said.
Butt claims he’s just a “middle-aged guy yacking’ (onstage),” but in fact, he is an award-winning comedian, actor, creator of “Canada’s #1 comedy,” Corner Gas and a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee honoree for his contributions to community and country.
And at age 51, there’s no sign of him slowing down.
The reboot of Corner Gas is coming to CTV on April 2. It will include 13 brand new episodes, but this time, animated.
“It’s fun seeing yourself animated,” said Butt. “The humour, the warmth, the antics and cast have all found their way into the new animated show. It feels like Corner Gas and I couldn’t be happier.”
“If you’re a fan of the original, you’ll love the new one.”
To keep up with Butt and all things Corner Gas, you can follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @BrentButt and subscribe to his YouTube channel, where he posts The Buttpod.
“It’s become my new favourite thing to do, especially on the road.” But be wary because “you have to be careful searching the word ‘butt’ on the internet,” Butt joked.
Having travelled from Vancouver, this performance marked the eighth leg of Butt’s Canada-wide tour.
Check out Brent’s Ottawa vlog here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57K08WpUaEU