Jon Dore Headlines As Tig Notaro Cancels Last Minute

By Matt Byrne in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 8, 2013 4:20PM

"Yeah, I'm disappointed too," comedian Jon Dore remarked half-jokingly at the top of his closing set at Second City's UP Comedy Club last night. Dore was supposed to be the penultimate act, opening for the wildly popular Tig Notaro, but, citing "an emergency," Notaro had to cancel her appearance at the last minute. While all tickets were refunded, the show went on, and roughly 75 percent of the sold out audience rightly stuck around.

Dore was more than qualified to step into the role as headliner, with several awards and television appearances under his belt, including his own Jon Dore Television Show which aired in his native country of Canada from 2007 to 2009. He is an intensely silly performer, with an easygoing charm and eye for the absurd that have made his appearances on Conan some of the most memorable late night TV standup sets in ages.

Dore's set last night was strong and spontaneous, destroying in front of an initially bummed out crowd, though to be fair, they'd been been warmed up by local standups Ever Mainard and Adam Burke, two versatile, likable performers who both did extremely well adapting to the show's new energy. Watching Dore work through new material and goof around with UP's unique stage decor during his unexpectedly extended set was exemplary of standup comedy at it's most thrilling and spontaneous.

For those who are familiar with Notaro's recent past, which she has discussed with surprising levity and openness in various interviews and on the "instantly legendary" Live recording released through Louis CK's website, she spent a hellish year facing down breast cancer, pneumonia, a bacterial infection called C. diff., and the death of her mother. Though all health problems appear to be behind her, the audience, while lined up outside the venue for over 40 minutes after the announced seating time, couldn't help but gossip nervously about what might have caused this last-minute cancellation.

There's no word yet from anyone about the cause of the cancellation; Notaro was passing through town shooting a tour documentary with Showtime, filming her performing standup in nontraditional venues like living rooms and offices, so perhaps shooting went long. Regardless of the cause of last night's unfortunate circumstances, Dore, along with Mainard and Burke, rolled with the punches, making a memorable, if slightly melancholy, night for all involved.