Toronto based comic Fraser Young has just released his stand-up album, Food, Medicine & a Surprising Amount of Math.
Anyone who has been to a Strombo recording will know who Fraser Young is. He warms up the crowd with his goofy and energetic stand-up before the cameras roll. Young has also written for Almost Heroes, The Genie Awards, The NHL Awards, and The Latest Buzz, which earned him a Writer’s Guild Award nomination.
His material is quite classicaly observational, yet his delivery and persona is modernly unreserved and eccentric.
Most of the album is recounting the absurdities of everyday events and interactions, such as the store who had no change for his cash purchase, “maybe you’re not ready to be a store!” or the guy he met who claimed to speak over five languages, “you mean 6?”
There are a couple of dark punchlines during the album which work great as they’re totally unexpected when juxtaposed against the rest of his lighter-hearted subject matter.
Young’s performance style is upbeat and fun. It’s clear why this is utilized to loosen up the Strombo audience and get them feeling fun and receptive.
One complaint is there are a lot of superfluous ad libs which, were they coming from a greener comic, would sound like nervousness. Someone might excuse this as “that’s just his style,” which wouldn’t be completely incorrect. It is congruent with his bouncy “HEY. YEAH. WOAH. HO!!!” energy. But I would be curious to hear how it sounds trimmed.