Photographs by Dawn Hamilton.
Jay Leno needs no introduction. Literally. The 65-year-old former late night host casually strolled onto the stage at Massey Hall Thursday night so swiftly after the crew exited that the audience barely noticed. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to command an audience, because he does. While Leno monotonously paced the middle of the stage for his entire set, the older demographic who had made the journey out on a Thursday night were quietly engrossed and fixated the entire time.
The majority of Jay Leno’s hour and a half set was reminiscent of the opening monologues from his twenty-two years as host of The Tonight Show. Without the restraints of NBC’s legal department, Leno was more candid and colourful with certain topics, but mindful to never spill over to a crass or crude territory. As if running down a checklist of stereotypically included stand-up jokes, he hit on the following topics, however brief: religion, politics, terrorism, American’s fascination with food culture, the woes of travel, prescription side effects, LA culture, celebrities, and the age old acknowledgement of the relationship between men and women. While at times the jokes felt clinical and arguably predictable, the crowd didn’t seem to mind responding with equally clinical and arguably predictable laughter.
As his set surpassed the one hour mark, Leno pushed out of the confines of the invisible wall he’d created for himself and finally addressed the nearly sold out crowd with a bit of banter about cats and dogs. Asking questions directly to audience members, his off-the-cuff remarks were genuine and humourous in a way his scripted material wasn’t. As he transitioned into personal stories of growing up with a Scottish mother and Italian father the barrier that had existed between him and the crowd dissipated like a collective sigh of relief. If only the entire hour and a half had been this personal and loose.
Regardless of laugh factor, you cannot deny the fact that Jay Leno is a comedy legend. In an era that demands shock value, flash, and edginess it’s refreshing to peel back the layers and be left with a simple, yet effective, set-up and punch line. Leno brought classic comedy back to Toronto if only for one night.
(Also, an honourable mention goes out to Choir! Choir! Choir! who performed before Jay Leno took the stage, gaining two new members from the audience who hoisted themselves right up onto to the stage to join in on the fun.)
