One of the pure joys of writing about arts and entertainment is the chance to happen upon something or someone quite unexpected or new, to get a chance to see it/them develop, and then to watch as this new unexpected thing gets recognized by others. I suppose it's much like the feelings a parent has watching a child grow up. Without the tantrums and whatnot. Naturally. Anyhow. I bring this up because I have seen and watched Sean Patton perform stand-up this past year in a variety of alternative venues, alternative to alternative venues, rock clubs, dive bars, hip dive bars, and really, anywhere but in an actual comedy club, in front of crowds made up mostly of comedians and those that either label themselves "hipsters" or would eschew the term in a millisecond. I also saw Patton take part in a silly "dating" exercise with two other comedians for The Tyra Banks Show (those videos are available here and here). So even just seeing his name among the 2008 New Faces for Montreal's Just For Laughs Festival was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure how he'd translate on a big stage in front of hundreds of traditional comedy club patrons, many of them Canadians, plus the many industry folks lined up in the back of the club waiting to make a quick verdict on him. But Patton delivered, and several people were talking about his performance afterward. Of course, The Comic's Comic was on the scene and, after several other industry folks had congratulated Patton and he'd gotten some time to talk on the phone with loved ones, I got him to sit down for a few minutes early this morning to talk about what has to be considered the biggest performance in his stand-up comedy career so far...Note: A few profanities are uttered, so keep that in NSFW mind, please.
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