If you ask me, Michael Balazo is one of the country’s greatest stand-up comedians. You might know him from his podcast “Evil Men”, which he hosts with two of the other greatest standups in the country: James Hartnett (who I’ve loved since I was a tween watching him on That’s So Weird!) and Chris Locke (Mr. D, Run the Burbs). From Toronto, Balazo is known for his international appeal: his two shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe were very successful (Michael Balazo: International Lover, Michael Balazo: Thanks For Murdering My Grandfather, The Mafia! Not.) and he often travels to and from the UK to perform and see his partner Sooz Kempner.
I’m always telling people to see Balazo when they can. He’s hilarious, and his silly, sometimes sassy material ranges from the mundane to the absurd. I brought friends to see Balazo at Little Mountain Gallery just a few weeks ago, and I was so glad I did: he was a shining light, and he wasn’t the only comedy icon in the room, Canadian comedy legend Brent Butt was also in attendance!
It’s almost universally accepted that there’s something special to Canadian comedy, Hartnett theorized once on an episode of Evil Men that Canadian comics are fearless because they ‘don’t have to worry’ about American eyes on their work. For Canadian audiences, this is a special privilege. We get weirder, more authentic material from people who only care about one thing: being funny.
So don’t sleep on Michael Balazo, get in while you can, before he’s the hottest name in the country, and stay tuned for the release of his new “comedy CD”, which one can imagine will be released at the beginning of next year.
Balazo’s new comedy album will be recorded at Comedy Bar Bloor in Toronto over the course of two shows on November 28th and 29th. Tickets are available at comedybar.ca.