By Daniel Katz
College comedy shows are either reviled or revered by fans for being raunchy, nasty, and dirty. But on Sept. 17 a capacity crowd at the Ob was treated to comedians who didn’t hold back.
The show, presented by Yuk Yuk’s, brought two Montreal comedians — opener Tim Rabnett and headliner Derek Seguin — to Algonquin, and the two funnymen did not disappoint.
“I remember being a teen and smoking pot in the backseat of my friend’s mom’s new car and getting caught. That kid would later grow up to be Mayor Rob Ford,” joked Rabnett near the start of the show.
“The show was really good,” said Chamila Fernando, 29, from the hotel and restaurant management program. “The comedians talked about the school and got the crowd involved as well, so that was really nice.”
“I liked it a lot,” said Zack Wong, 20, from police foundations.
The comics’ subject matter featured topics as wide-ranging as shirtless volleyball and giving yourself haircuts, to family and personal moments in their lives.
“When you start out I think you’re a bit narrower about what you do,” said Rabnett about his comedy’s accessibility. “The longer you do it you learn to do what you do for everyone, and I feel like both of us are getting better at being super accessible to everyone.”
Getting the crowd involved was also a big part of the show, and audience members were not shy about becoming part of the show.
“At this show, they would volunteer, so we figured out quickly that we have to get them involved, and when they said something we would have to say something better than what they said,” joked Seguin on mixing with the audience during the show.
These moments were highlights and left many in the crowd in stitches as the comedians ripped good-naturedly into their classmates.
“This show was great. Nobody got out of hand and we got free beer,” Seguin cracked of performing at the Ob.
The comics also offered some advice to young, aspiring stand-ups.
“The most important thing for a young comedian to have is stage time,” said Seguin. “Just doing it as often as possible.”
“Just do it first, and don’t try to be prepared before you do it,” Rabnett added. “Find an open mic night and go out and try it. Just get the first time out of the way.”