Published on April 26th, 2013 | by Sharilyn Johnson

Sklarbro Country live recording: Osbaldiston!

The Sklar Brothers fulfilled a dream on Thursday night. And it wasn’t just the dream of having both of them perform live, in person, on the Comedy Bar stage (although in the wake of Randy’s “passport flap” last year, this was still a much-discussed accomplishment).

No, Jason and Randy Sklar’s Toronto visit was punctuated with a Sklarbro Country podcast appearance by Paul Osbaldison of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. For those not in the know, Osbaldison’s name is something of a rallying cry for the hardest of the hardcore Sklarbro Country podcast listeners (“Henderson” is so pedestrian). Yup, this was big.

But before the man himself graced the stage, the Sklars – still energized after two back-to-back standup shows earlier in the evening – welcomed a slate of hilarious individuals, starting with audience plants Allison Dore and J.P. Manoux as “huge” sports fans who turned out to have very specific tastes. A bit about Jon Dore’s friend’s kid Brandon followed, a must-be-heard-to-be-appreciated piece featuring the kid’s “doctors” and ending with a PSA-style plea by Dave Foley.

TSN’s Jay Onrait occupied the first guest chair, decked out in a spiffy Jays/Leafs ensemble. The wide-ranging banter covered everything from SportCentre co-anchor Dan O’Toole’s latest First Choice Haircutters ‘do, to the Playtex feminine wipes ads in Comedy Bar’s men’s washroom, to almost getting the beat up by a Sherlock Holmes impersonator after a shoot in London.

Osbaldison was given a welcome befitting a living, breathing meme. A funny guy in his own right, the Sklars led him down memory lane through his football career, including being cut by the Tiger-Cats after a particularly stellar performance. Randy asked the question of the night: “has kicking gotten you laid?”, the answer to which is best heard when the podcast drops (via iTunes and the show’s website).

The night concluded with a brief conversation with “Mark Wahlberg” (Dan Van Kirk) via Skype – a most serendipitous use of technology to end the Sklars’ visit.