Given he’s been performing Zoom comedy shows from his mom’s basement for the past two years due to pandemic restrictions, Hamilton comedian Eric Johnston is happy to be back out on the road again.
He's in Timmins with an hour-long stand-up show at Club 147 tonight (Feb. 25) at 9 p.m.
The show is a part of his Run with the Bull comedy tour of Canada and the United States.
From tales of his childhood in Canadian elementary schools to stories about his father, “Bullwhip Johnson,” who was a professional wrestler in the ‘80s to ‘90s, join Johnston for a fun night out.
“I would describe my hour as taking myself and my personality — the best and worst moments of my life — and firing them out of a cannon,” Johnston said.
The Canadian stand-up comedian is excited to stand before an audience after two years of being stripped of those privileges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think people obviously have had enough — not to get too political about it — but people have had enough about everything,” he said.
“My schedule for the last two years has been written in pencil with the option to erase but I was like, ‘You know what? I'm doing pen to paper. I'm going to put down as many towns as I possibly can.’ Wrote the whole thing out, reached out, and everyone was like, ‘Yes, let's do it.’”
Johnston is a Canadian actor, stand-up comedian and M.C. He’s opened for renowned fellow Canadian comedians Russell Peters and Sebastian Maniscalo, and was booked regularly for a YTV show called “Splatalot.”
He started his stand-up career 11 years ago in Vancouver, where he was attending film school at the time.
“I started at a greasy basement open mic in Vancouver. And I literally haven't stopped since,” Johnston said as he recalled his first set.
“I just wanted to get some stage time. I just moved to Vancouver at the time and the (basement joint owner) is like, ‘Sure, come back next week.’ And I did my first set ever. I did seven minutes, which is long for a set because he thought I was already a comedian. And I was just hooked from that point.”
The comedian’s thirst for an on-stage moment has been anticipated all throughout the pandemic. Despite the restrictions and roadblocks to performing, Johnston found other ways to safely make people laugh.
“Like I've been finding ways to do Zoom comedy, people's backyards. I was doing cideries, wineries and breweries because they were all building these extravagant patios during the pandemic so they could have some business and I was doing shows there.
“I sold 150 tickets to an apple orchard once and built a stage out of literal apple boxes and put a piece of plywood on top of it. Put up a backdrop, hung a spotlight out of a tree and told people to show up and just bring a lawn chair and I sold 150 like that on a field.
“So I kind of just did whatever I could to work during the pandemic and just not stop moving,” Johnston said.
With a busy schedule ahead of him in the comedy industry, what Johnston is looking forward to most is the human interaction.
“I've been doing Zoom comedy shows in my mom's basement next to where we keep the extra paper towels for the last two years,” Johnston said.
“The biggest thing I miss is just the human interaction. There's two shows at the Eric Johnson Show. There's the show, the hour-long one I do on stage, and then the hanging out and shooting s*** after the show, which I like equally as much.”
Tickets for the Timmins show are available at Club 147 or Casa Bliss. The doors open at 7 p.m., with the show at 9 p.m.
