MONTREAL — Our coverage of the Just For Laughs comedy is almost done. But That didn’t stop me from shoving my camera in Todd Barry’s face at the airport here. He was kind enough to chat a bit about his fest experiences and his upcoming dates. Check out toddbarry.com for the specifics. For now, enjoy this horribly unprofessional (on my part) interview Todd.

MONTREAL — Though every year Andy Kindler tries to convince a room filled with a few hundred comedians and industry folks at the Just For Laughs comedy festival that he’s devastatingly underappreciated, clearly the man is loved. No other comedian would be afforded the time and space to deliver such a disjointed, poorly paced and uneven speech.

And all those adjectives are part of the reason Kindler’s speech each year – this was his 15th – is a must-see for every fest attendee; there’s something incredibly liberating to watch a comedian air out like that—good, bad, ugly. The other, and most important reason people watch, is that he says horrible things about other comedians— things other comedians think but can’t say.

And although Kindler’s targets are largely the same from year to year (Dane Cook, Larry the Cable Guy) or somewhat expected (Jeff Dunham, Robin Williams) there’s always some great eyebrow-raising moments. My favorite of this year’s hour-long address: “Can we all admit that Parks and Recreation is horrible?” Kindler tags it with, “Maybe everything shouldn’t be improvised,” referring to the show’s alleged liberal improvising, on which star Amy Poehler has denied.

I like this for a two reasons: no one ever says anything negative about anything Amy Poehler or Aziz Ansari are connected to. Secondly, the show is on NBC, the network currently employing him as a judge on Last Comic Standing. Biting the hand that feeds you is always awesome to watch.

And Kindler continued chomping on the hand of NBC, laying into The Office stars Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak for their quick rise to fame. “They really paid their dues in the trenches. They’re grizzled veterans,” Kindler said.

George Lopez, another comic that doesn’t get nearly enough shit, was also a target of Kindler’s. He calls the veteran comedian, actor and now talk-show host out for “always being on the verge of funny,” knocking him for punctuating his live jokes with hurried Spanish phrases and for this horrible pee-your-pants themed ad for Lopez Tonight.

Whether it was in good fun or pure hatred, all jabs were well placed. And that Jeffrey Ross, the Roastmaster himself, a veteran of taking the piss out of people – who was sitting a few chairs from me – was laughing like a mental patient throughout the address, is enough receipt of a job well done.

After the jump, check out an almost complete list of Andy’s targets from yesterday’s State of the Industry Address.

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MONTREAL — Earlier today, Doug Stanhope popped into the Hyatt’s lounge here, ground central for the Just For Laughs comedy festival. It’s noteworthy because Stanhope isn’t one of the many comics performing here. In fact, the road horse comedian trained it up to Montreal for two reasons: to throw a massive party at a car wash (which he did with great success, by many accounts) and to kick off his Canadian tour; you could check out the dates here.

Doug was kind enough to spend a few minutes chatting with me. So, you should check out how that went. Enjoy!

MONTREAL – When his show, My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend ended last night at the Gesu – Centre de Creativite, Mike Birbiglia received a standing ovation—because that’s what happens when a theater audience appreciates an amazing performance.

I point this out only to highlight the difference between loosely labeled “one-man shows” you might see in festival settings like Just For Laughs and what Birbiglia does, which is write and perform a theatrical piece, complete with through line and proper story structure.

If you’ve been following Birbiglia the last few years, you’ll know that the stand-up comedian has become well known as a storyteller; and with the great success of his off-Broadway show Sleepwalk with Me he’s become a respected theater performer. When Sleepwalk was in previews in New York two years ago, I reviewed the show, saying that it was about “a young man’s recursive, anxiety-soaked journey to proper adulthood.”

If I applied that description to My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, it wouldn’t not make sense— in part because, looking back, my summation was pretty darn general and in part, because this new show is also about the comedian’s evolution. The difference is in the former show, Birbiglia’s nearly debilitating sleepwalking disorder and near death experiences combine to create the vehicle that drives him to evolve; in the current show, it’s love behind the wheel— although, there are a pair of near-death scenes in this one, too.

The hour-long performance opens in medias res; Birbiglia is having an argument with his now-wife, Jenny. Soon Birbiglia backs up to tell the audience about them first meeting in St. Louis and then their first date; from there, we travel back in time, to when our protagonist was a 12-year-old seventh grader. Desperate for his first kiss he convinces a neighborhood girl, Lisa to come with him to a carnival, snuggles up to her on the Scrambler ride and then proceeds to spew vomit. No first kiss.

Throughout the show, Birbiglia artfully bounces from these distant past love-inspired misadventures (a school dance with Sandra, his lying first girlfriend Amanda) to the near past (going to Bermuda with an ID-and-passport-less Jenny, learning that Jenny had been getting cozy with her former on/off again boyfriend, John) just years before he and Jenny – two people who at first agreed that marriage was silly – tied the knot.

Of course, the show ends happily and with a slightly more resolved and assured Birbiglia we saw at the end of Sleepwalk. But while Birbigs’ no doubt has found closure on a great many things surrounding love and relationships, there will always be room for growth, and therefore hopefully room for a third theatrical representation of this comedian’s progress.

My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend plays again tonight and tomorrow night. Get your tickets here.

A few hours ago at Variety’s reception for their 10 Comics to Watch, I got to chat with comedian Kyle Kinane, who was one of the comedians to receive the honor. Below is a video of that chat. Be sure to check out Kyle’s album, Death of the Party. You can get it here and read our review of it here.

Warning: vomit talk!

At about 8 a.m. today, director Kevin Smith was cuffed and detained by Canadian border patrol. According to Smith, they suspected he was traveling with drugs in his rock band-style tour bus. The bus was totally clean and Smith was eventually let go.

Smith told the story today in Montreal at the Just For Laughs comedy festival as part of a two hour live appearance at the Hyatt Regency.

“They were very polite,” Smith said of the patrolmen. “They cuffed me and brought me to a holding cell 10 feet away and once I was in the cell they uncuffed me.”

The capacity audience roared with laughter.

“They gave me the fucking hardcore frisk. He touched me in places my wife hasn’t touched in 12 years.”

He continued: “They lifted my gut and frisked my dick. The officer asked me, ‘What’s this?’ I had to be true to myself so I said, ‘That’s my dick.’”

“Oh, OK,” the officer responded.

MONTREAL – About a quarter of the way through Jamie Kilstein’s one-man show last night at Theatre Ste Catherine, I began thinking: this dude has the rhythm of a slam poet— the way he motors through monologues with precision, playing with intonation, being mindful of the mix of mono and multi-syllabic words, plain and fancy words, the word “fuck” and its variations, the concept of crescendos, respites and sweet release.

And then I remembered reading a line in his bio a few years ago explaining that he was, indeed, an award winning slam poetry champ.

I’d admittedly forgotten that piece of Kilstein history and instead held on not to the way he delivers but what he delivers. I think the reason for that is this: his album Zombie Jesus, released by Stand Up! Records last year (released in limited copy version in 2008 as Please Buy My Jokes) – it’s an album that landed him the title of Punchline Magazine’s comic to watch in 2009 – proved as shining proof of how Kilstein is breathing new life into socio-political-minded comedy.

But the album, as great as it is, didn’t quite have the raging heartbeat of Kilstein’s show last night. Indeed, the hour long No War, No God, No Nickelback is not for those looking for a light-hearted, knee slapping good time. Instead, it’s the kind of show that illicits hearty clapping – like the kind you’d find at a demonstration – and the occasional manly “YEAH!” from the crowd upon the comic nailing one of many arguments in support of gay marriage or atheism or women’s rights.

While No War is decidedly heavy on politics and religion, toward the end, before his final rant, in which he uses the rock band Nickelback as a symbol for all that is wrong with the arts, his pace slows and Kilstein gives us a clue as to where the 28-year-old is coming from. A story about how his younger brother Nick convinced the comic that their father, was, in fact, not the complete asshole Jamie thought he was is sobering, honest and shows Kilstein as a guy that, although has a lot of well-researched and expertly presented opinions, may not always be right or have the best judgment when it comes to emotional matters.

It makes the heady comic more human and likable, and gives you another reason to check out his show, which runs again tonight and Saturday. Info and tickets here.

MONTREAL – The early New Faces show last night at the Cabaret Lounge hosted by comedian Michael Kosta showcased, by and large, a group of skilled up-and-coming comics, highlighted by a trio of strong sets by Jesse Case, Adrienne Iapalucci and Mike Vecchione. So let’s get to it, shall we?

LA-by-way-of-Seattle Fahim Anwar kicked things off, breaking the ice by referencing his hair cut, explaining that he told the hairdresser to give him the “Afghan Jerry Seinfeld”; makes sense. Anwar does resemble the famous comic. From there, Anwar employed a series of bits based in physical humor – lots of character voices, pop-and-lock dance moves, rapping – which ended with a story about him auditioning for American Idol a few years ago. To warm his voice up during auditions, he explained, he sang the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song, which, of course, he did for the audience last night. Far too often, it seemed like Anwar was in a rush to get to his next novelty move. The crowd was pleased, however, and Anwar exited the stage to hearty applause.

The aforementioned Case took the stage next, looking unkempt and topped with a trucker cap. The Nashville comic explained to the audience the he almost didn’t make it to the show, “because my mom was on the pill”—a hilariously dark way to open up an early show set. Case fast-paced his set for sure, but his jokes are well constructed and his theories, original. “Going crazy is just going public” with who you really are, he opined, explaining that we’ve all sat around the house and decided to smell our buttholes, right? It’s just that we have a home to hide in; we’re all crazy. We think hobos are the crazy ones simply because they don’t have a house to conceal their actions.

Toward the end of this set, Case took a well-tread stand-up topic – Don’t ask your girlfriend how many guys she’s slept with; it’ll only lead to disaster – and made it his own, illustrating to his historically busy girlfriend that 34 is quite a high number. In his story he splays out 34 hot dogs on a platter. Gross, funny, and dare I say, smart. (I’d drop a video of Case below here if I could find one online that wasn’t him doing one joke on a Last Comic Standing commercial).

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MONTREAL — Hey, all. I just wanted to post this quick video I shot a few minutes ago. Bo Burnham (who’s doing a series of headlining shows this week) and Chelsea Peretti (who was just named one of 10 Comics to Watch by Variety) just hanging out chatting outside the Hyatt — comedian central for the next few days — at the Just For Laughs festival. I think it’s fun to get glimpse of our favorite comics off stage in mundane situations. So here that is. Enjoy!

Victor, the Just For Laughs official mascot

MONTREAL — Hey, comedy fans. I just arrived in this great city to check out the 2010 installment of Just For Laughs, the longest running comedy festival in the world. Most comedy elite would also call it the most important of the fests, since it has been known for decades to give great pushes to comedians’ careers.

To that end, the plan is to check out two New Faces shows tonight. The title says it all. These are the group of comedians that the fest deems young and worth taking a second look at. So we’ll see.

After that, I’m planning on checking out Jamie Kilstein’s one-man show No God, No War, No Nickleback. In 2008, we actually singled Jamie out (scroll down once you’re at the page) as the comic to watch the following year. So I’m not surprised he’s here this year headlining his own show. Looking forward to it.

One of my favorite things about the festival here in Montreal is that most of the comics stay at the same hotel, and when you walk through the lobby at any given time, it’s like walking through comedy fantasy camp. In the first 10 minutes of my arriving, I’ve already spotted Bo Burnham, Reggie Watts, Paul Provenza and had quick chats with Hannibal Buress and Michael Ian Black.

I also got a free bottle of water just for standing around the lobby. Thank you, Hyatt!

That’s all for now. Keep checking Punchline Magazine’s Twitter feed (@punchlinemag) as I’ll be posting for the next four days. And for longer, more analytical coverage of the shows, come back here.