Yuk Yuks Comedy Club
by Ian Harding
I was one of the "never been to a comedy club" individuals before popping my cherry last night. I went (on what some would call a date, but what I call hanging out with a friend who happens to be female) to the local Yuk Yuks Comedy Club at the Blackfoot Inn here in Calgary. I had always seen stand-up on television and had a pretty good idea of what to expect. Be warned though; Comedians use anything and everything for content, even if that means using YOU. Excessive use of curse words and outrageous content were popular last night. They definitely have no limits when it comes to what they talk about. One guy said straight up, "Being a comedian is the best job in the world because you can call someone an asshole and they just laugh about it". That of course led into a whole skit about calling your boss an asshole at any other day job and how it wouldn't go over very well. Others talked about pregnancy and forms of contraception, what happens when you eat too much sushi, first dates, and the ever popular... Wal-Mart.
In the end, despite how smokey the place got, I really enjoyed it. There were about seven acts in a two hour period with a feature act taking up more time than the openers. Its also really interesting to see different comedians and how they go about making people laugh (or trying to). Some play purely on content while others, the ones I found I enjoyed more, played off of the way they look. One comedian was really animated and moving around a lot, taking advantage of his booming voice, while another (very funny) comedian was almost motionless with a very soft voice. You'll definitely get a variety of comedy when you go, just make sure you can stand listening to the "F" word being used about 5 million times and that when someone talks about having a clitoris tattooed to their forehead, it is purely for your entertainment. Would I go again? Absolutely. It's a great way to break up the work-week and its super cheap ($5/person... $15-20 on Fridays and weekends).
As a word of warning, one that I feel should be obvious is, never sit in the front row. Oh MAN did people in the front row get worked over. It's one thing to be drunk and vocal and making yourself a target, but its another to sit in the front row. You've been warned.