At Yuk Yuk’s and the Comedy MIX on Friday, February 13, and Saturday, February 14

The element of surprise. That’s the trick in comedy. Whether it’s an original turn of phrase or a zig instead of an anticipated zag, the laughs are always greater when you least expect them. Couple the material up with a previously unseen comedian, and the payoff is even better.

The Northwest Comedy Fest’s opening weekend introduced me to the standup of Ali Wong. I’d seen two clips of the L.A.–based comic online before but nothing that had me chomping at the bit to go see her. Let that be a lesson to everyone that there’s a world of difference between live and Memorex.

The tiny Wong’s stage presence at Yuk Yuk’s on Friday’s late show was huge, her timing impeccable and jokes clever, even when crass. Others have played the conniving seductress before, or gone down the Asian-stereotypes route, but none with such conviction and creativity.

The evening was hosted by a local (by way of Saskatchewan), Garrett Quinton, another newbie to my eyes, who entertained with unique material about the Kingsgate Mall, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and the imagined odor at orgies. Stefan MacNeil was interrupted repeatedly by an overly eager punter but handled it with aplomb. And the always delightful Katie-Ellen Humphries had the best set I’d ever seen from her.

Andy Kindler is no stranger to Vancouver. Despite his numerous credits, I had never seen him do particularly well. Comics love him; audiences only sometimes. Thankfully the smallish crowd at the Comedy MIX on Thursday was with him the entire night, even through references ripped right out of the headlines of rapidly yellowing newspapers: Harvey with James Stewart, Shelley Berman, Kevin Eubanks, Boris Becker, and In Living Color. His favourite joke might have been mine, too: a rip on a fellow entertainer (his specialty), “Jim Belushi—who died and made him a big star?”

It was another solid night, with Kevin Banner hosting. He has such an easygoing charisma bolstered with strong jokes about fat-guy discrimination and dating out of his league. It’s hard to separate Dino Archie’s act from his riffs, that’s how naturally funny he is. And Chris James’s set just keeps getting stronger and stronger.

Banner, Archie, and James also opened for former Simpsons writer and producer Dana Gould on Saturday at the MIX. Gould’s humour skews both dark and absurd, ranging from how his father processes grief (complete with act-out on Dad spitting into his palm) to a too-long bit about John Lennon fucking a cicada.

Recently divorced, and still stinging, Gould presented the backhanded optimism that life isn’t fair. And he’s such a master that he’s able to bring things down to a whisper, so that the crowd is hanging on his every word knowing that even if it’s starting to get a little too real or sentimental, a killer punchline is on its way.

It was a great start to the festival that’s just amping up for its final week.