Absolute Comedy - Jason Blanchard & Mike Paterson

From February 25th to March 1st, Ottawans looking for something a little different can spend a night in stitches, busting a gut with Montreal native Mike Paterson and Toronto resident Jason Blanchard.

For as little as $5, patrons at Absolute Comedy on Preston get a night of pure laughs with these two gentlemen, with the usual commentary of everything from relationships to family.

What makes both men so successful in their acts is their ability to engage the audience. While Paterson chooses to make a personal connection with members close to the stage, Blanchard opts to avoid the one liners and tell a story that most would believe could never possibly happen to one man.

With what he dubs "power comedy", Paterson is a barrel of laughs, often using himself or the lucky patrons at the front of the stage for his jokes. Although the evening started off slow, it was long before the audience grew comfortable with the night's host (Wednesday is also ProAm Night) and accepting that his style of comedy stayed away from the typically offensive themes that can often be heard in a comedy club.

And this seem to be the theme of the night for the pros as Blanchard took the stage. When the ex-wife came up, it was surely on the minds of everyone in the room that it was time to hear the revenge of the comedian ex-husband. Instead, Blanchard chose to speak about his cats, which surprisingly kept the audience going for the length of his routine and proving that Blanchard was truly capable of living up to the title headliner.

While the amateurs varied from the extremely funny to the not-so-entertaining, the mix was enough to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, not from suspense but from the sheer fact that its hard to keep your seat, rolling on the floor.