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Comedy Culture

Rockin’ laughs

Rating: NNNNN

Axis of awesome: the Giants of Rock Tour! featuring the Doo-Wops, Calcu-Lator & the Oral Presentation, the Williamson Playboys, the Rumoli Brothers, special guest DJ Fase and host Heino. Presented by the Shehori Brothers at the Tequila Lounge (794 Bathurst), Saturday (March 15) at 9 pm. $10. 416-536-0346.

ask a lot of male comics and they’ll tell you that what they really want to be is rock stars. Comedy’s a close second.”Sure, it’s one of the reasons why we do this,” admits John Catucci, one-half (with David Mesiano) of musical comedy duo the Doo-Wops.

“Part of me is always hoping somebody out there will think I’d be a good frontman for a band.”

Enis Esmer, stand-up and head noisemaker for the quasi-musical group Calcu-Lator & the Oral Presentation, agrees with a big rock-on sign.

“I could never afford turntables and I can’t rap,” he explains. “This is the closest I get to being a hiphop star.”

Now Catucci, Esmer and a bunch of other guy comics are getting their time in front of a mike — not in a comedy venue like the Tim Sims but in the Tequila Lounge, a legit club.

They’re part of Axis Of Awesome, a comic “giants of rock tour.”

No one on the bill is exactly a giant. And the term “rock” hardly covers acts that include the Rumoli Brothers’ soothing crooning, Cajun father-and-son duo the Williamson Playboys and the weird, politically questionable warblings of Germany’s Heino as impersonated by Second City alum Marc Hickox.

But they all have fans. The Doo-Wops, in fact, earned enough of a following on Mojo’s Humble And Fred show that a few years ago they played on the same bill as Nickelback, Big Sugar and 54-40. Some of the audience sang along to the songs.

“There were 4,000 people,” recalls Catucci. “I still get chills.”

And the beat-boxing Esmer is slotted for the DJ competition DMCs in the spring.

To add a note of authenticity to the show, DJ Fase is part of the Axis lineup.

As for the show’s testosterone quotient, Catucci says it’s a coincidence.

“After Avril Lavigne, I’m sure we’ll soon see a punk rock skater girl vibe coming on strong in the comedy clubs,” he laughs. “I’m thinking Laurie Elliott. Put a tie on her. She’ll do anything, and she won’t do it half-assed.”

When I ask if there will be a great big global musical love-in a la Tears Are Not Enough, Catucci laughs.

“That would be awesome. But Heino would have to bring us all up onstage and feed us beer.”

“All I know is that we’re gonna rock your asses off,” adds Esmer. “Literally. Fasten your ass belts.” glenns@nowtoronto.com

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