I Wanted To Be A Dinosaur

Ivan Decker approaches mundane domestic irritation with the obsessive logic of someone who refuses to let mild social friction slide. The premise that gives the set its name hinges on childhood ambition meeting adult reality: nobody warns a five-year-old wanting to be a dinosaur about the lack of pension plans or transferable skills. Rather than working blue or chasing easy provocations, Decker builds momentum out of the exact mechanics of being mildly annoyed.

Recorded live at The Comedy MIX in Vancouver, the 46-minute audio album caught Decker at the peak of his run on the Canadian circuit. At the time, he was a regular on CBC Radio’s The Debaters and a familiar presence at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, refining a style of clean observational stand-up before making his American television debut on Conan the following year.

Much of the set picks over domestic indignities: landlords posting glorified hallways on Craigslist, the paralysis of choosing something to watch on streaming platforms, and awkward encounters at the gym.

The album won the Juno Award for Comedy Album of the Year in 2018, the year the category returned after a decades-long hiatus.