Hot comedy in cool room

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/07/2019 (2351 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BE the best host in town. This column is written with you, your summer visitors and the hot weather in mind.

Get ready for a few laughs with hot comic Kevin Bozeman in the AC-cooled Rumor’s Comedy Club, Aug. 6 to 10. No one is funnier on the subject of crazy love and relationships. Bozeman is racy, but doesn’t work blue, so you can take all your visitors, even Aunt Maude.

Evening shows start at 7:45 p.m. with additional weekend shows on Friday at 10:30 p.m. and Saturday at 10 p.m. Check Bozeman out doing his famous Crazy In Love set online on YouTube. Call 204-488-4520 for tickets ASAP, as tickets in the summer go fast.

PERFECT PLACE FOR MUSIC LOVERS: You can impress visiting relatives aged 18 to 80 at Times Change(d) High & Lonesome Club, 234 Main St., with a variety of live music. Check out Bobby Dove with Sgt. Bilco, and Danny Z and the Riff Raff on Aug. 2, followed by Justin Aron and Dirty Pool with Groove Pirates the next night. On Aug. 4, the fun starts at 10 p.m. with Surf ‘n Turf and Vince-Tones.

Your guests want to play, too? On Sunday, it’s the famous blues jam with Big Dave McLean, now in its 30th year with a new start time of 9 p.m. It’s a smart idea to get there way before the jam to get up close to the band in the long, narrow room. McLean and his band play from 9 to 10 p.m. and you’ll see musicians steadily toting their instruments into the club during the set.

The jam, where McLean invites other musicians up to play, gets underway at 10 p.m., and the night loosens up and howls. People dance in the aisles and music snakes its way outside, where some people huddle under a darkening sky to smoke.

GOOD WILL SOCIAL CLUB: Want something a little brainier? Jeff Sinclair’s Monday Night Mountain of Trivia happens tonight from 8 to 11 p.m. at the The Good Will Social Club, and then it’s back to music with Super Karaoke on Wednesday starting at 9 p.m.

TAKE ME TO THE CASBAH DAHLINK! Ricky Bogart and the Casbah Band promised ballroom dancing in the street, and they delivered all that, along with some modern songs for the crowd who took in the show on July 20 as part of the Corydon Avenue Concert Series, organized by the Corydon Avenue BIZ.

Talented dancers of all ages showed up, including senior dance king Ciro Barracano in his blue-mirrored aviator glasses. “Other people can dance the steps, but Ciro still has “the moves,” his dance partner Alicia Ferrante said, as he led her around the street.

“I am in heaven when I dance,” Ferrante says. “I dance everywhere because I have such a passion for it.”

People of all ages joined in after Girl From Ipanema was sung by Michele Wood in a shimmering silver micro mini. The band consists of about a dozen players, including a female quartet and a horn section, who disappeared after the first set. “Could somebody go into the bar and haul the horn section out so we can start the next step?” band leader Bogart joked.

Comedian/artist Jon Ljungberg did caricatures at the back of the crowd, and the weather was a sunny 22 C and heavenly, right to the end.

The next street dance is Friday with dance outfit the BMW Band, and Saturday with country act, the Goods.

MANITOBA DERBY DAY: The Manitoba Derby is on Aug. 5 and features a hat contest that has grown in popularity over the years as participants show up wearing big, fancy concoctions with giant flowers, shiny fabrics and ribbons.

This year, there’s a $100 prize for each category: best original handmade, most elegant and best fascinator. Children’s prizes are also awarded and entries close at 2:30 p.m. Family fun includes pony rides, a petting farm, face painting, bouncy castles, and for racing lovers, a free Derby history collector card to the first 1,000 people. There is also a history display by track historian Bob Gates. The first race is at 1:35 p.m.

And here’s a gift no one will ever forget: on any race day, you can have a race in a program named for your guest or group, watch the race from the winner’s circle, make a presentation to the winning horse owner and receive a framed photograph of this unique experience. The cost is $125. Call 204-885-3330, ext. 277, for more information.

DOWNTOWN PATIO CRAWL: Grab your girlfriends and boyfriends, friends, relatives and visitors, soak up the sun and sip your favourite drinks on Friday during a walking tour that includes delicious appetizers and beverage samplings at three to four patio stops. The tour stars at 5:30 p.m. and ends about 10 p.m. Each tour has a unique combination of stops. To pick what suits you and purchase tickets, go to the Downtown Winnipeg Tours website at downtownwinnipegtours.com. Tickets are $40 per person.

BELGIAN CLUB BLAST: One of the most talented, friendly and accepting open-mic nights for older musicians is at the Belgian Club on Provencher Boulevard on Thursday nights starting at 9:30 p.m. with a short performance by host band Beg, Borrow and Steel. Last Thursday, the band included Beaver Harrisko, guitarist George Walichnowski, new bassist Grant Milliner (who used to play for Jann Arden) and others who kept joining the group.

Well-known singer Rae Anne Paxton dropped in and sang Bring It On Home To Me. Carpenter and sax player Richard Malo wailed out The Thrill is Gone. (He takes a short nap between his full-time job and gigs). Long-distance runners Vern Coot Bird and his wife, Gwen Bird, hit the dance floor early; architect Jim Kacki played the bongos; and J.P. Marcoux — a former teacher recovering well from a brain injury — sang several songs as lead. All you have to do is bring your own instrument (a drum set is provided) and sign up between 9 and 10 p.m. The party goes on until midnight.

Got tips? Cool events happening in your world. Been rubbing shoulders with the stars? Emails Maureen’s Tips @ mscurf@shaw.ca.