A night of filthy comedy with Troy Bond
Bond charmed Montreal with his wicked humour
On Feb. 6, comedy lovers braved the harsh winter weather and headed to see Troy Bond live at Montreal’s Fairmount Theatre.
Bond is a popular comedian from the United States, with over three million followers across platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. As Montrealers waited for Bond to take the stage, attendees had the chance to order a drink while chitchatting.
Audience member Christy Verville had seen Bond before in New York and jumped at the chance to see him again.
“He’s really blunt and shocking, like his humour,” Verville said. “It's entertaining.”
Montreal comedian Mike Carrozza opened the night with a good old fart joke that made the audience laugh from the get-go. As he jumped from one topic to the next—from a strong impression of a Quebecois speaking English to possible Ouija board errors—Carrozza firmly kept the attention of his crowd from beginning to end.
“I'm the warm-up guy, so obviously people are gonna be a little bit like, what am I doing?” Carrozza told The Link. “When you're the first act, you have to get people used to making noise when they laugh, you know, remind them that you're not in a living room, you signal to everybody in the room that you're laughing.”
Carrozza was followed by Joey Rinaldi, a comedian and friend of Bond. His self-deprecating humour dove fearlessly into hardcore subjects including suicide and depression. While he did lose the audience at times, Rinaldi ended his set with a bang, setting the stage for Bond himself.
It quickly became obvious that Bond’s comedy is not for the faint of heart.
His humour is crude and crass, mixing elements of lived experience, audience interaction and, at times, political commentary. His ability to seamlessly move from one joke to another while incorporating information learned from the public captivated the crowd.
Bond fed off his audience’s energy, improvising fresh jokes based on the attendees. His quick wit allowed him to take even the smallest audience reaction and weave it into his act, turning it into comedic gold. He effortlessly blended personal anecdotes with his sharp observations, making the audience laugh, relate and sometimes gasp in surprise at his unapologetic honesty.
Front row attendees Christopher Craig and his son, Finnegan Armstrong Craig, were proud to be the target of Bond’s various jokes, such as jokes about their sexuality and lifestyle.
“I got the front row tickets because [of] the stuff I watch about them. He’s always talking to people and it’s so funny,” the younger Craig said. “I wanted to be right up at the front to get the most out of that, ‘cause that’s really what I came for.”
Performing for over an hour, Bond also understood the importance of silence and letting the audience breathe to really take in the joke. He used this prowess for longer bits like The Micheal Jackson family gag, where he implied that violent parents create successful kids. His comedy was immersive and bold, engaging the audience in a way that kept the experience dynamic and unpredictable.
“The more I'm doing, the more committed to the bit I am or how absurd it is,” Bond said. “It looks like I'm going, ‘Look at me, look at me, look at me.’ What I'm really doing is, I'm going, ‘Stop looking at me. Laugh at the craziness of the bit.’”
