After a scrumptious meal at the new Savoy restaurant on Victoria Street Friday evening (what makes the béarnaise sauce so irresistible? DUCK FAT!) the lovely Mark and Chelsea surprised the Robeau and I with a belated gift for the Robeau's birthday - tickets to Jon Stewart's stand up show at Massey Hall.
How I managed to get a gift for his birthday I'm not sure. Is this what happens when you're part of a couple? You get presents on your S.O.'s birthday too? Could that be true? Had I known this all along I would have settled down a lot earlier!
The filled to capacity crowd was an eclectic one, and part of me couldn't help but imagine everyone from the college kids in the balcony to the business men in the front row curled up in their jammies every night before bed watching Jon Stewart's particular take on today's current events. If I favour yoga pants, fluffy slippers and Starbucks tazo mint tea how does everyone else watch The Daily Show?
Something about Jon Stewart: he makes everyone feel like the smartest guy in the room. It's like you're clever and smart by association. It's similar to the phenomenon of Dennis Miller and Bill Maher - just "getting" the references makes you intelligent. Of course just knowing what "Quinn Martin" means gets you half way there with Miller, but I digress.
I've been a fan of Stewart's since his MTV days when New York Magazine dubbed him "The Man Who Should Be Conan" and he was still trying to have a movie career. Dare I say that I'm not the only girl out there who found him dreamy in "Playing by Heart"?
Stewart's set began with the expected Bush bashing, some SARS jokes and the typical "Americans are ignorant" fodder. A favourite bit of mine are his thoughts on a gay marriage: Everyone was so upset about this, he thought it was "MANDATORY".
Gems that were new to me included a bit on the medical community's pre-occupation with curing E.D.: "We're hard, move on to cancer" and some thoughts on pop culture co-opting of black urban slang: "You might as well talk like a pirate."
He ended the night with an encore that drew humour from his home life: wife, baby and vomiting dog included. It was fun to see him do some non-political humour again - it's been years!
An over zealous frat boy type yelled out from the balcony "Mention us on your show," as Stewart prepared to take his final bow. "What should I say about you?" Stewart asks, amused. "Toronto rocks," he replied. Stewart retorted "that strikes me as a relatively insecure request. I think Winnipeg knows."
The Generous Duo - Mark and Chelsea, with the Robeau on his Faux Birthday
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