Gig101a: Magical Animals @ Sandbar, Manchester – 11th March 2013

March 13, 2013 Leave a comment

Due to, what I’m assuming was, the sudden onset of wintry weather, Magical Animals was pretty sparse last night.  In fact the whole of the usually bustling Sandbar was deader than the proverbial dead bird.  There were 10 acts in attendance and one audience member.  That’s enough people to go ahead, but it certainly doesn’t count as an official gig.  The night was quickly christened “The Magical Animals Workshop” and it proceeded very much with a workshoppy vibe.

Because it felt so low key, I decided to just go on and be weird when it was my turn to perform.  This involved some grunting into the microphone, the world’s worst and most confusing impression and, what I’m going to call, anti-delivery.  I didn’t go down particularly well, but this just made me enjoy being more awkward and stilted even more.  It’s not often that you get the opportunity to be completely intentionally bad and I made sure that I made the most of it.

Anyway, the material I had prepared was a “play” and a short story.  The play was a re-written version of Tony & Kim Have an Argument; something I dropped from last month’s M.A. (Gig 97) because I realised that despite the fact that I liked it, there was nothing funny in it.   I worked out that what I liked was the utter stupidness of the argument, so I just played this up in the new version.

The short story was called Harry Harrison and was just something that I wrote off the top of my head.  I don’t really know what it’s about because it’s not really about anything.  I don’t think that, technically, it’s actually a story.

Under the circumstances, I don’t know what I learned about either piece, but I’ll give it a go.  I think Tony & Kim might have something in it, especially if I actually, you know, tried to perform it.  Harry Harrison doesn’t really work in its current form, but I think there are some good ideas in it that might be teased out into a different form.

And that’s that.

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Gig 75: Bad Language @ The Castle Hotel, Manchester – 29th August 2012

September 12, 2012 1 Comment

Bad Language was a gig that I spotted someone else doing on Facebook.  Regular readers will know that I love doing a spoken word type night (ones where I’m still allowed to try and  be funny, at least), so I was eager to get an open spot.  And I got one.  The spots are 4-minutes, so I had a look through stuff that I’ve performed before and pulled together 10 or so pieces that I’d like to try again.  I settled on a slightly re-worked version of Dorian Gray & Frankenstein and Doug Up (previously only performed at Gig 64) as my primary bits, but had several other alternative should I need them.

I was surprisingly nervous before I went on, due to a combination of this being the first time I’d done it, and because the acts before me had gone down so well.  I enjoyed myself once I got on stage, though, and, fortunately, the audience seemed to enjoy the stories.  I’ve got a soft spot for the Dorian Gray story but it never seems to be as well received as I expect.  Doug Up worked really well, though, and it was nice to give it another run out after it had worked so well at Spotlight.  Although I had to leave before the end, it was a really enjoyable night, with a focus on prose that was really refreshing.

I feel like I should write more, but I don’t entirely know what to add.  It’s great having a gig diary, and it’s useful as a record of what material I’ve used if nothing else, but it seems to have become a but perfunctory over the last few months.  Some of the posts are really badly written, which feels a bit counter-productive, but I’m committed to continuing out of bloody mindedness, if nothing else.  Often the posts are a bit lacklustre because I write them on my dinner hour and I need to churn them out.  I had planned on this post being the one where I put a bit of effort in, but that’s not really worked out.  At the very least, I’ve been able to get all this off my chest.

 

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Gig 44: Mouthin’ Off @ The Nip and Tipple, Chorlton, Manchester – 1st April 2012

April 2, 2012 2 Comments

So, Mouthin’ Off was cancelled last night as the bar exploded and everyone in south Manchester was killed….haha! April Fool etc.

In case you didn’t get it, that was a joke.  Mouthin’ Off did actually happen and it had a comedic theme inspired by the 1st of April date, which is why, you know, I started with the April Fool thing.  I feel like I may have over-explained this.

Anyway, I didn’t go down that well at last month’s inaugural event – Gig 37 – but I decided to stick with the same format and hoped that the more light-hearted theme might help me out.  I started with another retrospective look at the previous month (which is going to be my regular thing at M.O.) called Stevie Price’s Let’s Talk About March, Baby (click it and you can read it).  I followed this up with a specially written poem (I was hedging my bets by throwing a bit of poetry in) called Bernard: A True Story\Poem.  I finished with a rendition of moving, erotic tale “Jacob’s Cob”, a story I used to try in straight stand up which hasn’t been seen since Gig 21.

In short, it all went down well, and I really enjoyed myself.  I know you prefer it when I die on my arse and something embarrassing happens, so sorry about that.  Overall, it was a terrific night of entertainment, with a stellar second half featuring Seymour Mace (doing a poetry set), Max Seymour and Marvin Cheeseman.  It looks like Mouthin’ Off could develop into a great night, and Andy, the organiser, is looking for all sorts of spoken word acts to give the night an eclectic feel.  If you fancy doing an open spot, his e-mail address is on the poster to my right…

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Gig 24: Word Up @ Platt Chapel, Manchester – 14th December 2011

December 20, 2011 1 Comment

When I first started the numbering system for my gig diary posts it was designed to be a rudimentary gauge for how I was progressing as a stand up (e.g. Gig 12 – semi-pro, Gig 21 – give up work to go full-time, Gig 30 – ready for Live At The Apollo etc etc).  It was only when I was at Word Up – a poetry night, other than me doing stupid stories – that I realised how few actual stand up gigs I do, and that I might have to reassess my figures.  Although I would like to do more straight stand up gigs (and more gigs in general), I don’t know that I’m that concerned about my current direction. The different types of gig that I’m doing not only feel like the natural thing to do, but that they’re also feeding into some nebulous idea of what I’m trying to develop into.

But, that’s enough about my existential angst.  As I mentioned, I was the only non-poet to perform at an extremely cold Platt Chapel. I read a couple of my short stories: my Dorian Gray and Frankenstein epic, that I’ve done a couple of times before, and a brand new one about Father Christmas’s home life.  I seemed to get a good reaction, especially for the new story.

I wasn’t entirely happy with my performance, as I seemed to stumble over my words a bit.  Part of this was down to being perishing, but also because I’d had a really busy week and hadn’t even had chance to have a dry run.  Practice makes perfect.

This looks to be my final gig of the year (boo hoo).  Next year, I really need to ramp up the number of gigs that I’m doing.  So, you know, offer me some, please.

 

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Gig 19: Magical Animals @ Sandbar, Manchester – 14th November 2011

November 16, 2011 2 Comments

Ornate Cuban door knocker

Image via Wikipedia

It seems hard to believe that it has been nearly 4 weeks since my last gig, so it was nice to be back behind the mic.  I’d been ill all last week, so I didn’t really have time to prepare very much.  Luckily, the night was Magical Animals, the spoken word\poetry\comedy\genreless oddness night, so I would at least be able to read from paper, and it was only 4 minutes.

I started with a few jokes from my “joke book”, which is becoming a mainstay of my performances.  I like the way that by using the book as a device, it makes it possible to tailor the bit to the gig.  This time I chose to work around the “intellectual” jokes from the book.  I like this bit the more that I do it and I’m banishing all thoughts of actually learning the gags.

Next up, I read out a short story.  I had wanted to read one from my book, as I felt it was stronger, but that one was a little too long.  The only other one I had printed out was “The Door Knocker“, which I wasn’t really happy with (follow the link and find out why).  I didn’t really have much of a choice, though, so I thought I’d give it a go.

It didn’t really work, but then I knew that it wouldn’t.  In a weird way, it was good that it didn’t work because I didn’t think it would and so it left me feeling like I at least I had some judgement. (Did that make sense to anybody but me?)

I finished with a short poem, not because it’s particularly funny, I just quite like it.

Overall, it didn’t go brilliantly, but it was just good to get back on stage.

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Danny Butler: Poet – “Toast Me”

June 19, 2011 4 Comments

Pour Some Gravy On Me\Sherby57 Productions are proud to announce an exciting new series of videos featuring top poet, Danny Butler: Poet.

In these videos Danny Butler: Poet will share his love of all things poetical, be that poems, poetry or even verse. In this first clip, Danny Butler: Poet reads his powerful piece “Toast Me”. It’s about toast…or is it?

Watch it, you might just learn something

The poem “Toast Me” first appeared here.

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Perfect Christmas Presents

December 17, 2010 Leave a comment

Are you struggling to think of the ideal Christmas gifts for your nearest and dearest?  Why not purchase them some officially-sanctioned Sherby57 merchandise?

For the measly sum of just £8.27, you could own your own copy of the fantastic book, The Best of The World of Sherby57: Volume 1.  It’s brilliant.  I know that I might be a bit biased because I wrote it, but I once read it and pretended that I wasn’t me, and I thought it was amazing.  Anyway, I assume that you’ve already got a copy of it, but why not get another for Sunday best?

When I asked an imaginary friend what they thought of it, they immediately said, “This is perhaps the best book that I’ve ever read.  It’s literally changed me as a man, a woman, a mother, a father and a homunculus forever.  I can’t thank you enough for bringing this wonderful work of literature, not only into my life, but giving it as a gift to the world.  In the words of David Cassidy, ‘I think I love your book.’ (I’m paraphrasing).”

Remember, they’re not my words.  They’re the words of an imaginary friend.

Perhaps reading isn’t enough for you.  Maybe you like wearing clothes too.  Sure, clothing is often frowned upon in today’s dog-eat-cat-eat-mouse world, but I’m not here to judge you and your fashionistic decisions.

If you do decide to plough on and wear stuff, why not look uber-chic-cool while you do it, and wear one of these t-shirts.

Team Extreme - Group Shot - MENS tee by sherby57. Available from MySoti.com.

The Rutter tee by sherby57. Available from MySoti.com.

They’re pretty special, aren’t they?  Who wouldn’t want to have Team Extreme or The Rutter emblazoned on their chest?  Only morons and cretins, that’s who.

Anyway, I think there’s some kind of law in which you have to buy one or all of these products.  Don’t blame me, I’m not the government (yet).  So, you might as well get them as presents.  Sure, it’s virtually guaranteed that they won’t arrive before Christmas, but you can always give the recipient a slip of paper detailing what they’ll be getting.  They won’t mind waiting.

Happy shopping!

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