HUGH
PHUKOVSKY: The punk rock custodian of comedy has been mopping up this
shitty excuse for humor since 1996. Compelled on to the stage out his
huge disgust in the lost art of stand up, his plans we’re simply
to stir up the drones that frequented comedy clubs. Dubbed an Anti-comedy
hero he took his show on the road. Not because he had a growing legion
of fans, but because he ran out of places to play in town. At the beginning
there were very few places that would let him back a second time. . It’s
not that he was that offensive; most comedy clubs just don’t know
how to take him. He wasn’t really telling “jokes”, he
was more playing with the idea of humor. Maybe they felt him
making fun of their chosen profession and didn’t think it was funny.
When people don’t understand something, when they don’t have
words, sometimes they get pretty violent. As when Hugh was “banned
from Calgary” or physically pushed off the stage at the Urban
Well (Kitsilano’s yuppie central) three years ago never to be allowed
back again.
HUGH PHUKOVSKY
Hugh has always been way more appreciated playing rock or art shows. When
asked ‘why do you even bother begging the owners to play comedy
clubs?’ He said “It’s way more fun to knock people out
of there comfort zone, and comedy clubs are filled with the most stagnate
demographic imaginable. I love the
contrast too. For an audience member I would rather see me sandwiched
between two Jerry Seinfeld clones than anything else. To me that’s
comedy. More than jokes, it’s the whole experience.”
But those were the old days. Recently humor has been making a comeback
in Vancouver. Hip cats that would never think of going to a comedy club
have started coming out. Mostly because the stigma of “comedy clubs”
is changing. Places like “The
Laugh Gallery” are welcoming people to experiment with the notion
of humor.
In between your average stand up acts, you can see some really interesting
and hilarious comedy. And judging by the amount of email & phone calls
we’ve been getting for Mr. Phukovsky, there seems to be more and
more rooms like that opening up in town. Stand-up just might get the evolutionary
kick in the ass it’s been begging for, for the last 20 years.
When
asked how he felt about finally being accepted Hugh had mixed feelings.
“In one way it’s great cause I get to headline and have more
time to play with but on the downside people start expecting a certain
thing. They are ready for me to take them for a ride and they don’t
bite as easily. That’s when I usually revert to doing straight stand
up. They assume I’m gonna pull the rug from under them so I don’t
and then I have pulled the rug from under them. I guess it’s all
the same thing.”
Check Upcoming Events page for more
info on HUGH PHUKOVSKY and other 1*2*3 projects.
RANDOM
HUGH STORIES
The Billboard Series
Hugh
has been performing on top of billboards during rush hour. Have you looked
at a billboard lately? One-foot metal gate, a spot light shinning down,
complete with colorful backdrops. Well Hugh Phukovsky has and decided
it was the right place to commence a citywide tour. "I wanted to
give the common folk something new to look at on drive home from work."
Banned in Calgary
Well this happened right around the same time Marylin Manson and KD Lang
were also banned from performance. They said she was unwelcome to perform
because of her anti-beef stance but I'm sure her lesbian status didn't
help her either. Hugh was performing in early 98 just after the Alberta
premier refused to honor the National Vegetarian week. He was showing
a slide show of really cute animals and going "ahhhh". Then
it came to the cow "ahhhll beef patties special sauce, lettuce cheese,
pickles onions on a sesame seed bun". The slides went in a slow motion
sequence through the slaughterhouse. Cow in line for
execution, strung up as the throat is slit, all the way to a smiling child
eating a burger from a McDonalds ad. Did I mention that Hugh was performing
in a "saloon" which was trying it's first ever 'open mic comedy
night'?
When he started to repeat the same slide routine in it's entirety the
cowboys got antsy. As he started the 3rd time through an ashtray was thrown
at him narrowly missing his head. Then someone called him a "faggot".
The bouncer came up to get him off the stage so Hugh kissed him right
on the lips which brought the crowd to a frenzy, not to mention the bouncer
who very roughly bounced him out of the saloon. As Hugh was pushed to
the door he saw his slide machine being stomped on by cowboy boots. When
Hugh was outside the big burley bouncer yelled " You'll never play
in Calgary again!"
And that's how Hugh Phukovsky was unofficially banned from Calgary.
The Bathroom Show
On
September 8th, 2001 Hugh was asked to entertain at a warehouse party and
instead of playing the designated stage area he chose to perform in the
small one-person bathroom. Two monitor stacks were erected and the space
was cut in half. The sound was so loud that ear plugs were handed out
at the door. Tickets were also handed out in the main room, they were
free but some of them were purposely printed up as fakes. People trying
to gain entry with these fraudulent tickets were bounced out of the area.
Hugh performed on the sink in what he claimed to be "27 jokes in
under 2 minutes!" people were hanging from pipes and perched on each
others body parts. We managed to raise the illegal capacity to 13 people
in the excruciatingly small space. The show was huge success and was held
over for a slightly anti-climatic second show. Management was a little
disappointed with 10 under capacity.
Jail Break
Through some narrow escapes from the law (with the "Billboard
Series"), plans are in the works to record the next album from
jail. The only problem is getting the necessary recording gear into the
cell. The only ideas we could come up with would result in a lot of bum
jokes. Retrieving the gear and putting it back together would probably
occupy tracks 1 though 12. The al-Bum is tentatively titled "Live
from death row: 'A' holes are better than no holes."
HUGH MEDIA
The Media has spoken:
“Hot and Innovative….
Vancouver’s best comedian.”
- Robert Dayton, Terminal city
“His live
show is …ridiculous, but in that are sparks of artistic brilliance.”
- Shelby Kelly, Owen Sound Sun Times
“He just
may be Andy Kaufman’s bastard son”
- Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight
“Shut up,
they’re only jokes!”
- Hugh Phukovsky, 123 presents
A young fan expresses her accolades
after a RARE set in a DayCare
in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 1998