A Trailer Park Boy & His Cheeseburgers @ El Corazon

If you are unfamiliar with the Canadian cult classic series “Trailer Park Boys,” thanks to Netflix, you can watch the entire series, spinoffs, movies, and their most recent animated series any time you want to. If you’re a die-hard fan, you also may already know about the extra content available on their website Swearnet, where you can watch some free stuff as well as subscribe for even more hilarious skits, podcasts and more. Rarely do people outside of Canada get to catch a glimpse of the characters from the show live on stage, but when they do, fans flock in droves to the events. Just such an event, or what is sometimes referred to as a “shitshow”, is “Randy’s Cheeseburger Picnic Tour,” (featuring the character, “Randy,” from the show), made a stop at El Corazon this weekend and nearly filled the room to capacity.

This tour gives fans a taste of what it’s like to be in front of and a part of one of the most beloved characters from the Trailer Park Boys. Patrick Roach (AKA “Randy”) brings the character to life with comedy and dance moves, a little bit of game show hosting (with prizes awarded for the winners), and singing capabilities, all while sporting not much more than his iconic white pants and Tighty-Whities. He even auctioned off one pair (worn) and gave one away (new) as a prize for winning a spatula-ring-toss game. Both were signed, and both fans were VERY excited to receive their pair.

Although fans had hoped to see him actually barbequing fresh “shit” burgers, (which he does in the series), Roach instead (purchased and) brought dozens of cheeseburgers to share with the audience “from that one clown place”.

They proved to be a hot commodity, as there were not enough to go around. He ultimately held back a few left from the bottom of the last bag and shared them with a few lucky fans in the front. Speaking of sharing, he also shared some pieces of “fan art” and gifts he’s been getting along the tour.

He also took time to make fun of fellow cast mates ( Ricky, Julian & Bubbles, J-Roc, Corey & Trevor, etc.) who are, as he says, probably “causing a shitstorm” back at the park, and to also pay tribute to his long time friend and partner in (fighting) crime over at Sunnyvale Trailer Park, “Mr. Lahey” (John Dunsworth), who passed away in 2017. He did use a “shit-ton” of Dunsworth’s iconic “shit” phrases from the series throughout the evening. You can hear many of them used in various episodes and movies, as they are more than frequently used in the dialogue when Randy & Lahey are on the screen. You can even purchase the collection in a hardback pocket “Dicshitnary,” that is available in limited quantities a few times a year for fans. It’s unknown when the next time we’ll get a chance to see any of the cast live at a show (other than in Canada), but Roach did let everyone know that Season Two of the animated series will premier this spring on Netflix and they are already writing Season Three!

Fans definitely embraced Roach’s antics and the “shitshow” from start to finish. For those lucky enough to purchase a meet & greet for after the show before they sold out, they even got a chance to “embrace” and be embraced by Roach, who remained in character til the very end of the night.

It was a fun and unique show to see at El Corazon, which is more known for hosting rock or metal bands that share the stage along with the venue’s iconic pole. Trailer Park Boys is filmed in Nova Scotia, so having this number of fans of all ages attend a show this far west, for Roach, is the opposite of anything “shitty.” You could tell that he was having fun playing “Randy” for the fans, and enjoyed seeing that fun was being had by all, with a few exceptions. Unfortunately, there were a couple of cheeseburger casualties in the end.