The 'Travel-Ways Guide to Canada' describes Canadians as "A calm,
peaceful and friendly people". Travel-Ways does not know its arse from its
elbow. Let me explain....
Any illusion you may have had
that the Canadians are a quiet and peaceful nation are smashed the moment Phil Nicol
comes on stage. The man's energy is incredible. The start of his set
puts the pace of an already fast paced show up a notch. It's like driving
flat-out on the motorway then looking down and finding a new gear that you
didn't know was there.
You can look around and see the fear in the audiences eyes as the loud and
obnoxious Canadian storms around the stage shouting and yelling. However
the humour in Phil's energetic comedy cuts through this Canadian equivalent of
'Shock and Awe' very well.
The most memorable aspect of Phil's set is of course his songs. As a
former member of comedy group Corky and The Juice Pigs, Phil does not disappoint
with his surreal and irreverent songs, such as the classic "Only Gay Eskimo",
which included the participation on-stage of an audience member (who, by pure
chance, turned out to be slightly scarier than Phil himself).
