a young woman at the beach

This dance form was new to me, with ornate pendulums. it was hyponotising to watch

the story of the tour continues

So, my enemies had pretty much characterized me as satan, but their problem was, I was a funny satan. So they needed a bad report to get me fired. So they got it. I made fun of some wheelchair athletes in the front row in Hamilton(what are you gonna do, walk out, run me down in the streets...), and although they loved it, (and bought my CD) they're was a bunch of wheelchair athletes staying at the hotel, and some able-bodied organizer complained. The only person there for the club was the ticket girl,(who left once I was onstage) but somehow a bad report went out. The fix was in, and the haters had they're report, (as cooked up as it was...)

So I was hanging from a thread. I was booked for three more weeks, Kingston and Ottawa as an emcee and finally to headline at the Super Club in Toronto. The haters goal was to have me fired before I got a chance to prove myself in the big room, and increase the turnover time at the club. (Several of Yuks top headliners had moved to England and so the headliner roster was a little soft... sorry, but that's why they brought me out, cause I was NEEDED). But I was told if anything goes wrong in the next three weeks I'm going home...

a friend of Leanne's from the world of poetry sends a review

What is your name? Jill Williams
What is the title of your website:
My name is Jill Williams and I'm a poet...
Type a quick description of your website:
Promotes ME!
How did you find this website?
It's on your CD
Where are you from?
Hartford, CT
Please enter your comments?
Richard?

I've waited a long, LONG time to see you perform. I've nagged and re-nagged Leanne to let me know when you'd be performing in town. Thank god for my persistence! You are fantastic. Your timing is rat-a-tat perfect and your delivery, right on the money. I particularly liked the way you wove that car voice character into many of your bits. ("You've gone to far.") Before coming to your performance, I saw "The Aristocrats." God knows what you would have done to/with that joke! You have the bite and insight of a George Carlin but you also have the humanness of a Seinfeld. Great work, Richard. Or should I call you Dick?

Thanks again,

Jill

Things got strange...

Kevin Foxx asked me what happened with the "bloggergate" controversy in Toronto when we were working together at Yuk Yuks in Vancouver last Saturday. So I told him what happened. I spit venom online, slammed a show, and took personal shots at some people, and the whole city got there panties in a knot, because, as Kev put it, "they don't speak Richard".
And I left it at that. Didn't bother telling him that I only had the thing on-line for 12 hours, but by that time, the ultra-pussified parts of the comedy community had made copies of it, and emailed it to everyone. Then the hate began. They were after blood. Everyone at yuk yuks got calls for my head. I had no idea anyone was reading it, but I learned that K.R. and D.F. had been reading it without leaving a message. (This is called, in the cyberworld, "lurking".) Anyway, these guys got what they needed that fateful sunday morning, as I feeling foul and hungover (low blood sugar)and cranked out my ire on an ill-advised blog. I don't have a copy of it, because I deleted it later that day, but I'm sure sveral TO comics have it saved.Anyway, the hate mail came in. Some of it I will copy here:

You are truly the most disgusting individual I have ever seen.It is a shame your child has to endure you.And for someone who is forever trying to be honest you need to turn it around and look at yourself.Half of your life is over(probably more)and you are still on couches and people will not even let you stay on them.No one cares that your grandmother beat you.If I was your grandmother I would have done worse than beat you.And look at Mr.Hack with a comment about everyone elses act.Funny people(like Brent Butt) have better things to do.If you were in fact secure with what you are doing on stage you wouldn't need to hack on other people or embelish yourself.And if your booker's were secure in your act you probably wouldn't be on couches would you?YOU KNOW YOU ARE A HACK!The last thing you willever be is original.And the only person who would refer to you as George Carlin is a deaf one.
signed co-worker

look at the old man trying to tread water in apool of his own shit.ha ha ha.You don't need anymore enemies you will always be your own worst enemy.have you considred suicide,that would be a lot more genuine than your empty apologies and your kid would be better off.It's a shame you don't have any life insurance she could use that when your gone.and please quit stand up you are an embarrassment to the scene.
signed yeah right

Wow how warm and friendly your comments on Hamilton are. Did you eat a Snickers bar before the show? (I’m just wondering how you got you blood sugar so high). Your saccharine comments are see through. We all know you are trying to save your own ass. Best of luck on the rest of your Ontario gigs, I have a feeling you’ll be seeing Vancouver quite soon.
go back out west fuckface

toodleloo

darren frost

www.comedywhore.com

now I can finally can go back and spend time on things that matter like new jokes and not begging patrons to buy my cds or trying to hide the truth


So my apologies, and attempts to make up didn't matter. Clearly they were threatened by my presence there, and so all I could do was keep my head low, and make sure my shows were good.

What I did was a mistake, but what those two cyber stalkers did was plain malicious. As Alanis says "I learned".

the launch

the girl in the green, Kiss Me I'm Irish Tshirt is Brandie Kelly, the promotions goddess for the launch. The staff there was a gas, and the launch went great as Fionn MacCool's had their biggest Wednesday ever. (2nd biggest...SHUT UP ALFRED)

Where it began...

This is where it all began. When I went to Toronto, I knew I was going to be working the clubs during the off-season, which meant fewer shows, and fewer outside gigs (ie less money). So I rushed the release of my new CD to have it available on the tour, to make some more $$ and also have something to do on the 4 or 5 days a week I had off. So I set up a CD Launch at an Irish pub in every big city I played at. The first was Toronto, and Fionn MacCool's Irish Pub. I enlisted the help of my friends and a woman who lived about Peter Anthony, named Brandie Kelly. She would help me get the word out through promotions and email and such. Glenn Millar, at the pub had already decided to have an open mic for stand-up, run by Brett Martin, so he was keen on the idea of the CD launch. Brett and I are close friend's, so we used his night to promote my CD launch, and my CD Launch to promote his new room, and Matty Billon made sure the night was a rockin' good time. The room was far enough away from Yuk Yuks, and the show was on an off night for Yuks, so we were not in competition (with ourselves, as it were, being that all three of us are rostered to Yuk Yuks.

This picture is one of my favourites, because it shows us in our natural surroundings - leaned up against the bar, ready to go on...

just on case you missed this photo of me and LB

Okay back to the tour (enough of the sights and sounds of Vancouver for a bit, I know my readers want to see pics of the "At Least There's Drinking" tour. This picture of me and Lewis was my last photo of the tour, and so I post it as a teaser that my adventure would end with hanging out at the world's biggest comedy fest, with one of the world's biggest comedians!

And now the fireworks photos!!

Celebration of Fire 2005

Every year since my daughter was born, I have taken her to the fire works. This year, we watched form a friends aprtment which sits right on English bay faces the fireworks barge. It could be a better place to watch. These photos show Bree in her new IHeart NewYork hat, and then all the boats in the bay on the way over, and then shots of the 300,000 plus people on the streets below.