Although there are usually no jokers used in the game of blackjack, in the case of one comedy tour coming to a town near you, you’ll get a pair of them.
Called the Blackjack Comedy Tour because it originally featured 21 shows in 21 towns, funnymen Matt Billon and Mike MacDonald are back on the road, and stop to perform in Vernon and Armstrong Friday and Saturday, respectively.
“This is our fourth tour together. It works out that every four-to-six months we are able to tour together. So far we have managed to conquer Winnipeg on west, and we are hoping to book a tour out east soon. Next stop, the Maritimes,” said Billon, who jokingly refers to MacDonald as his “male” order bride.
“Mike is in California but is still patriotic to Canada so he’s willing to come up here anytime I suggest we do another tour.”
Billon is back in familiar territory this week as the tour winds up through the B.C. Interior. He grew up in Penticton, and left while in middle school to live in Nelson.
After leaving B.C. after high school to make it as a comedian in Toronto, he briefly returned to live in Nelson two years ago before deciding on a new home –– this one on wheels –– in the form of a 20-foot RV he shares with his very tolerant girlfriend.
“We’ve put 30,000 kilometres on it since October with trips to L.A., Vegas, Winnipeg and the Yukon,” said Billon. “Some people think I’ve retired now and will go to work later. My thinking is that if I don’t do it now, I’ve got a long road ahead.”
With all this road travel, Billon has an “ace” in his pocket when it comes to using local, insider knowledge to make people laugh.
“It doesn’t hurt to open with a few local observations you have of the lifestyle of the area,” he said. “Sometimes when you can get a chunk of material from a location, it makes it all that more exciting, like with my taxicab joke that I use out east. I notice everyone in the Maritimes always sits in the front seat. What’s with that?”
Billon is especially happy to be back on the road with the “King of Canadian Comedy,” MacDonald.
With appearances on a number of late-night talk shows and comedy specials both here and across the border, as well as hosting gigs for the Gemini Awards and the Just For Laughs 10th Anniversary Special, MacDonald holds the distinction of being the only comedian to perform at each and every Just For Laughs gala show since its inception.
It’s at the famed Montreal comedy festival where Billon first met MacDonald in 2003.
“He came up to me after the show and gave me a compliment, and then later booked a show where I opened for him,” said Billon. “Mike has paved the way for many of us. The guy’s been on Letterman, but he’s still doing most of his work up here.”
Although he’s yet to break onto the comedy scene down south, although he’d like to try, Billon has done pretty well in his home country.
He’s appeared on CBC’s Madly Off in all Directions and The Debaters, as well as MuchMusic’s Video on Trial, and XM Satellite Radio’s Laugh Attack.
He also hosted his own one-hour, jam-packed special on The Comedy Network, and has been a finalist/winner in The Great Canadian Laugh Off, Stand Up & BITE Me and the Seattle International Comedy Competition.
However, despite the distinctions, Billon says his main job is to make everyday people laugh –– and it’s a tough job, up there with those ice road truckers and deep-sea fishermen.
“I’ll be at the back of a room at a big show, and think ‘this is the career I had to choose. Why do this to myself?’ But for the most part, I love what I do. My job is to make you laugh and if I don’t do it well, I’m ruining 300 people’s night,” he said. “Comics are usually blown away when people appreciate how hard it is up there. You can also get comfortable with silence. Mostly it’s terrifying for a little while and intense with live shows, but again it’s the profession I’ve chosen, so I roll with it.”
And it seems that the smaller the community, the more love comics are shown. Billon has noticed that on this Blackjack tour, people in smaller towns are grateful to greet someone with the stature of one Mike MacDonald.
“It’s funny when I’m touring with Mike, and people come up to him and ask ‘why are you here?’ And his reply is ‘your money is as good as anyone else’s’.”
The Blackjack Comedy Tour rolls through Vernon Friday with a performance at Checkers Bar & Grill in the Best Western Vernon Lodge. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 at Checkers or at the Vernon Lodge front desk. Call 250-541-2653 for info. On Saturday, Asparagus Community Theatre presents Billon and MacDonald at Armstrong’s Centennial Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20, available at the door. For more info call 1-250-838-0230.
