The Slayton List: The Nasty Show Plus 5 Other Things To Do at Just For Laughs Montreal
WHAT! You’re not in Montreal? Get there! Right now the godfather of comedy festivals is happening, and its going on all month. Because the festival so big, with so many shows, so you might feel a bit overwhelmed about heading up there. But don’t worry, we tracked down the Bobby Slayton — the Pitbull of comedy — and asked him to tell us where to go, what to see, and even what to eat. Bobby’s been hitting up the Montreal fest for 26 years, and nobody knows the ins and outs better than he does.
So we created The Slayton List. The Six Things You Absolutely Have to Do at the Montreal Just for Laughs festival this year:
Bobby Slayton Picks What You Absolutely Have to Do at Just For Laughs Montreal: #1 The Nasty Show
The Nasty Show has been one of the strongest and longest running traditions at Montreal’s Just For Laugh festival, and there’s no question that Bobby Slayton has been at the heart of it all. The Nasty Show has been running for 27 years now, and Slayton started hosting 26 years ago. It’s such a popular part of the Just for Laughs Tradition that this year they gave The Nasty Show its own week, before the rest of the festival begins. “This week we’re doing 9 or 10 shows I think,” Slayton told us. This year the show is featuring some amazing names– Nick DiPaolo, Kurt Metzger, Ari Shaffir, Haley Boyle, and Derek Seguin.
I always try to use the word c*nt right off the bat.
Even though Slayton says the show isn’t particularly nasty or dirty, you will hear the world c*nt and probably within the first five minutes.
“I always try to use the word c*nt right off the bat because its going to be used in the show by somebody sometime. and once its used once, its not funny anymore. I have some great c*nt material and if the other comics ruin it first, it’s useless. Plus i like to start the show off by saying c*nt within the first 5 minutes. and its interesting that the word N- is not really as funny, but the word c*nt can be really funny and offensive if used the right way.”The Nasty Show still tells a lot of tickets. This week we’re doing 10 shows I think, 9 or 10 and this week Club Soda has 500 seats. Not quite sold out but when your article comes out that should finish things. Then we come back to a bigger club, 1000 seats, six shows at Metropolis.
Bobby Slayton Picks What You Absolutely Have to Do at Just For Laughs Montreal: #2 and #3 and #4 and #5: Don Rickles, Bill Burr, Lewis Black and Andy Kindler
Bobby Slayton is like the Mayor of the Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. Having spent the last 26 years visiting the city, Slayton knows what to do. Between his schedule, and his inability to sit still for more than 5 minutes, Bobby doesn’t hit up a lot of shows, but if he goes to any shows this year, here’s what he’s going to see: the Don Rickles headlining gala has to be the top choice. Slayton also picked Bill Burr who is also headlining and receiving an award as the 2014 Stand Up Performer of the year, as “probably the greatest …or at least top 2 or 3 comics working today.” Slayton said if he isn’t working and is in town, he will always catch any Lewis Black show.
But the one thing Slayton never misses at the Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival is Andy Kindler’s annual State of the Industry Address. Andy talks for an hour. Some rambling nonsense, sure, but he also says some brilliantly funny things. “Everybody loves to go see it, he does it every year to a packed room, 300-400 people,” Slayton said. “He actually made fun of me last year. You had to be there, but we were doing a show one night, and you know, the guy driving us around in a van wouldn’t put on the air conditioning while he was waiting for the other comics and I was letting him have it and Kindler was talking about how uncomfortable it was to be stuck with me in a van yelling at the driver.”
Bobby Slayton Picks What You Absolutely Have to Do at Just For Laughs Montreal: #6 Steak, Pickles and Coleslaw at Moishe’s Steak House
You gotta eat while you are in Montreal so you might as well eat good. While many other road comics choose to eat at the fastest and most familiar place they can find (cough, Applebees, cough Big Jay Oakerson), Bobby Slayton knows better. He likes to walk around the cities he is working in. And he always makes sure to hit a few of the old school, real deal restaurants. And after 26 years of visiting the city, he has his favorite spots. “I’m not tuned in to the hottest hippest restaurants. I go to my old standbys.” So we asked him for his two favorite places to go when he’s in Montreal, and they were Moishe’s Steakhouse, and Moishe’s Steakhouse.
“I’ve been in Montreal for two nights, I’ve already gone there twice. It’s Moishe’s Steakhouse. Cause Moishe’s is a place, if you google it, Moishe opened it in the 1930’s and his two sons run it now who are really close friends of mine. That’s been a staple. When I tell people that Moishe’s has the best coleslaw and pickles in the world–better than the Carnegie, (or as good as the Carnegie Deli in NYC). That to me, is how I judge a deli, by the pickles. Italian restaurants by the red sauce. Two simple things which nobody seems to get right. But for some reason in Canada, I dont know if every other steakhouse does this because I don’t go to other steak houses. They serve these glistening, these big things of the best sour pickels I ever had, and the best coleslaw.”
It’s not your typical Zagat’s style recommendation, but you can definitely trust Slayton. Lewis Black does:
“I took Lewis Black there a couple of years ago, because Lewis is a big pickle man. He went somewhere and he took some deli’s pickles with him on his tour bus, and I said, you want the best pickles ever, you gotta go to Moishe’s.”
Slayton also got around to talking about the steak. “The steak is charcoal grilled and prime. It’s the best steak you’re ever gonna have. But that’s secondary because a good steak, you can get those anywhere. A prime steak is a prime steak. Charcoal is charcoal. But pickles and coleslaw….” The one thing Bobby doesn’t have for you is the proper wine pairing to go with those pickles. He went to Moishe’s Tuesday night with the festival organizers. “We have 3 or 4 nice bottles of wine, about 100 bucks a bottle, it’s so weird to have really great wine with pickles. You read about food pairings, if you have lamb, have a Pino! If you have Chardonnay with a salmon! What kind of wine do you have with pickles? There’s no way that any sommelier would tell you… you know…i dont know if any wine goes with pickles but at Moishe’s its all great.”
If you’re going to Montreal make sure you check out all of Bobby Slayton’s picks. The Nasty Show is running every night this week, tonight, through Saturday night you can catch The Nasty Show at Club Soda Thursday July 10th at 7pm and 9:30pm, Friday July 11th at 7pm and 9:30pm, Saturday July 12th at 7pm, 9:30pm and 11:45pm, and Sunday July 13th at 7pm.
You can also catch The Nasty Show later this month at Metropolis July 24th, July 25th and July 26th.
**And thanks Bobby for using your “real voice” instead of your “radio voice” to talk to us while you were relaxing with your Pomeranian, and watching America’s Got Talent. We always knew you had a soft cuddly side.
Go to HaHaHa.com for tickets and information.
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