Toronto based, Cape Breton raised comedian Ron James is excited to be back doing what he does best— making people laugh— after taking some well deserved time off.
“I’ve been checking things off my bucket list,” said James, who just returned from three weeks off visiting his daughter as well as hiking in Chile.
“ I went on a 130 mile hike. I was the only Canadian surrounded by American Republicans,” he quipped.
He has had a busy couple of years. In December, he filmed his most popular New Year’s Eve special and said good bye to his weekly television show on CBC.
He is back on the road for his Pedal to the Metal Tour, which brings him back to the Yates Theatre, Feb. 28.
“The New Years special was on a big stage at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. It was different. Because the other specials were regional based. This special was more life specific. There is a lot going on today, so this helped connect some of the dots for people to help them make things make more sense,” he said adding the tour’s material is similar.
He is not touring as hard as he used to earlier in his career.
This tour has shows every other day.
“I’m playing a lot of casinos on this tour. There’s 10 dates across Western Canada. And I’ve got days in between them,” he said.
Stepping back from heavy tour schedule and the rigours of putting together a weekly TV show has allowed James to recharge and work with charities like the Global Poverty Project.
“ It helps improve sanitary conditions in the third world like bringing them toilets,” he said.
While he enjoyed working on the TV show, he is glad to not have to answer to the executives.
He noted it is important to question the status quo and despite a few first world problems, Canadian comedians are fortunate to be able to talk topical.
“In Second City we never played to the lowest common denominator, we always played to the highest level of the audience’s intellect,” he said.
At age 57, James is at a stage in his life where he is looking back on his career.
“ I can’t see myself doing this when I’m 65 or 70,” said James who is also writing a book for Random House.
“ I was talking to my daughter who is in university and people are encouraging her not to get a bachelor’s degree. I’m fortunate to have a career after 30 years. Everybody I went to university with went into business and banking because they were more stable careers, but I’m the only one of them who hasn’t had to change careers five times,” he observed.
He noted the world has become a lot busier and it is more difficult to be a successful entertainer.
“ You can have a television show, but now it isn’t enough. You have to have another show about backstage of the television show. And you have Facebook and Twitter and Instagram. And you have to have content for all of them and you have to keep it interesting,” he said.
He noted his routine includes a lot about technology, politics and world events, but while there is a serious edge to his routine, it is all about making people laugh for two hours.
“I love how language trips off the tongue. I like to get an engineer and a plumber sitting next to each other laughing at the same thing. In a world that has become increasingly polarized, I can get 500 people together in the Yates Theatre and laughing at the same thing,” he said.
Ron James performs at the Yates Centre at 8 p.m., Feb. 28. Tickets are $55.
