Comedy Lottery at La Luncheonette

Tweet

St. Henri’s lovely new retro-esque cafe-eatery, La Luncheonette, has stepped up its hours and its drink offerings on Thursdays and Fridays. Proving itself more than just a place to get a good meal or snack, Keith Waterfield and Bianca Yates bring a pot-luck of comedy with the Lottery Comedy Show on Thursday evenings.

The premise is that comedians enter their name into a hat (and a proper hat at that!) and Yates and Waterfield draw the name of each performer. Given the sheer randomness of the hat lottery, an opening and closing act are also booked.

For the first night of the Lottery Comedy Show, La Luncheonette was full and patrons were happily drinking bottles of ale and eating as the show began to take shape. A make shift stage created in the window and Waterfield and Yates came forward to begin their banter. We found out that Yates had a vamprish incident with a wrangler for Weird Al Yankovic and the first comedian came to the stage, Peter Wheeland. Wheeland shared his take on the struggles of learning about gender in French (the clitoris is masculine!).

Then the hat picks began.

Kris Dulgar of Biftek’s weekly Danger Dulgar comedy night talked about facing racism and the specific sound it makes.

Erica Taddeo, who recently appeared at the women’s comedy night Open Michelle, discussed the finer points of being Italian.

Then things took a weirder turn as Alon Azimov (the great nephew of Isaac) came forward with his impromptu, highly interactive set that focused on sandwiches, maps, and ended with a rap.

Yates herself came back and reminded us that every now and then, you do something that makes you look like Harry Potter speaking to snakes in front of a horrified Gryffindor audience.

Last draw was Eoin (no idea if I’ve spelled that correctly — he claimed three vowels in his name!) who danced and flowed as he brought us through an extended metaphor comparing a summer lover to the beach itself.

Finally, the lottery done, the endlessly funny Daniel Carin of The Ladies and Gentlemen Comedy Hour was on stage, flirting with everyone and just being baaaaaad.

Overall, the Comedy Lottery seems like a hit for the west side of St. Henri if the first show is anything to go on. Comedians tried new material out and the audience was slightly shy, but certainly willing to be entertained. As the sun set and the room grew darker, everyone had a second beer, everyone loosened up more.

The Comedy Lottery show takes place Thursday nights, show starting at 7:30 p.m. at La Luncheonette. La Luncheonette is located at 4271 St. Jacques W. and open Monday-Wednesday from 7:30 a.m. –  7 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closest metro is Station Place St. Henri.