Imagine someone laughing so hard that it registers as exercise on their Fitbit. After witnessing Hannibal Buress’ live show at the Royal Theatre on Saturday, October 22, I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened to some audience members that night.
Having recently watched some of Buress’ comedy specials on Netflix, I was hyped to be seeing him live. I was also a bit tired after a long day, but I found my second wind after some food and a couple of pints of beer. And good thing I got that second wind: I was going to need it before the night was out, because my lungs were about to get a workout.
Buress’ DJ Toni Trimm warmed up the crowd with funny videos set to hip hop as people took their seats. He introduced opening act Al Jackson, who got the crowd laughing with some jokes about the local weather, Victoria’s “diversity,” and tacos. His set included stories about his days as a middle-school science teacher, being a student at an all-black college, and winning his way into an Ivy League school. I wasn’t the only one trying for air as he finished his short set and welcomed Buress to the stage.
In a little over an hour, Buress riffed on topics like setting the Canadian border patrol’s priorities straight, local explorer James Cook, Airbnb, rappers, and death. Also, there were ballerinas.
Buress effortlessly rolls from one joke to another like he’s speaking to a friend over beers at the pub.
He left the stage at one point to go to the washroom; when he returned, he went right back into the act like the interruption was part of the routine. Maybe it was. Somehow, Hannibal pulls this off, with the same effortless aplomb that makes him so likeable. His observational humour and story style blend together so well, and across so many lines, that it’s not hard to understand why Chris Rock praises him as one of the best comics performing today. I have to agree; at the end of the show, my wrist tech thought I’d been jogging for an hour.