Jon Blair: Now More Than Ever

Over the past decade few people have emerged out of the Toronto sketch comedy scene with a style as genuine and cultivated as Jon Blair.

He did a stint as head writer for Comedy Bar’s house company The Sketchersons, and was part of the late 2010s infusion of young blood to the writing staff of CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

In the before times he was often seen playing nice with Fringe darlings Sex T-Rex, or being a good sport on Rapp Battlez, the community building linguistics fight club hosted by Miguel Rivas (CTV’s The Beaverton) and his brother Freddy. Blair also voiced a character in Winston Rowntree’s animated series People Watching. His solo show I’m Only One Man had a run at Just For Laughs in 2019.

Jon Blair is a solo sketch performer by nature. His latest endeavour is an episodic series of video sketches entitled Jon Blair: Now More Than Ever, which premiered July 24. 

The most distinctive quality of Blair’s overall approach to comedy is his ability to blend cultural references and political satire to arrive at an enjoyable place, not made unrecognizable by absurdity or founded in malice.

This is best demonstrated in sketches like “What Are You, Triggered?!” where a blow hard news commentator takes aim at just what is wrong with the avocado toast generation.

Yelling in sketch comedy is a task that requires building in a direction to warrant a reaction opposite to the one hard wired to your audience. Blair has always been masterful at this on stage. His control while “losing it” is just as hilarious in the digital medium.

Quarantine for all comedians has been a lesson in making the best of what is available. Keeping your skills sharp and learning what does and does not translate from stage to screen. Shot on green screen Now More Than Ever utilizes everything available to it technically speaking. It is sharp. The transitions are cohesive in a way that more than fills the place of a stage blackout.

A series of recurring bits entitled “Chris O'Dowd ASMR” in a stage show would have built laughter and continuity, a hallmark of well crafted solo sketch. Yet in the internet version Blair’s impressions of O’Dowd does not have his 1000 watt charm to sell it to the back of the room, and the impression itself is not spot on enough to be juxtaposed over an actual picture of O’Dowd. Still the premise is indicative of the type of ideas that would only occur to Blair.

Jon Blair: Now More Than Ever understands the tone in the times it was made for. Like a comedy platypus swimming in the canals of Venice. It is naturally strange and smooth to watch.

Now More Than Ever is a rare part of the new normal you want to see more of.

Now More Than Ever by Jon Blair