My Edfringe – 15th August 2012

August 31, 2012 1 Comment

Before I begin, I will make two points. Firstly, this post is clearly no longer relevant because the Fringe has now finished. Secondly, I know I keep mentioning that these posts are no longer relevant and that it’s annoying, but I’m going to do it anyway. With that out of the way, let’s take a fascinating look at what shows I went to see over two weeks ago.

Funkrocket 5000 @ The Caves: 12:55

Rachel and her therapist, Dr Benoit, have decided to form a band. That band is called Funkrocket 5000. Funkrocket 5000 are awesome. I have to declare that I know both the performers in FR5K – Rachel Lancaster and Lee Fenwick – but me being biased didn’t stop this being an excellent show.

Wil Hodgson: Care Bear Punk @ Canons’ Gait (Free): 14:25

I’d seen Wil Hodgson supporting Mark Thomas back in 2009 – see here – and had really wanted to see him doing a solo show. A mere three years later and I got that chance, with an, incredibly, free show. Care Bear Punk was a kind of ‘greatest hits’ package from previous Edinburgh shows, which seems an excellent way of making use of lots of excellent material that might not otherwise see the light of day. Doing a free show is also a good way of advertising his main show – this year being Kidnapped by Catwoman – which I really wanted to see but, sadly, couldn’t fit in. Hopefully he’ll get to tour it.

Fresh Faces at The Free Fringe @ The Southsider (Free): 16:30 – I performed at this, see Gig 73

Seymour Mace: Squeg! @ Stand 2: 19:00

Another performer who I know, but also another performer who I know who did an excellent show. Seymour had a show planned for the Fringe, but decided to throw it away to try and get back to the kind of natural comedy he’d make before he was a comedian. This involved the audience writing down questions/statements/suggestions and Seymour going through them and ‘riffing’ off them. In lesser hands this could have been a travesty, but the hands were not lesser, so it was great. Seymour’s spontaneous material was a lot stronger than many comedians I’ve seen, which added to lovely inclusive atmosphere made for a stand out show.

Jo Caufield: Thinking Bad Thoughts @ Stand 1: 20:15

We were over at the Stand side of town with an hour to kill in between shows and some dodgy weather looming, so it only seemed sensible to go and see another show. The most convenient show was Jo Caufield, so we picked that. She’s not the kind of comic that I’d normally go and see, but in many ways that made it more interesting. She’s clearly very good at her job. Her job is comedy.

Geoff the Entertainer @ Stand 4: 21:20

Geoff is a tramp. Geoff is a tramp who likes to entertain. Geoff is an entertainer. Geoff the Entertainer. Another show from Lee Fenwick, this was a lot of fun, with the unscheduled ghost tour of the building being a highlight.

Simon Donald’s School of Swearing @ Stand 2: 22:30

I’ve sort of lost the point of what these posts are supposed to be. I don’t want to ‘review’ any of the shows, but I sort of semi-half heartedly seem to be doing that. It doesn’t feel right. Anyway, Simon Donald’s show featured lots of swearing and was funny and good.

Set List @ The Caves: 23:59

Some comedians turn up and have to improvise a set based on a set list that they’ve never seen before but have to act as if it’s their usual set. Hilarity literally ensued.

That’s it. I’m done. I’m not even going to bother proof reading this, so there.

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Gig 63: Comedy Night @ The Beech Inn, Chorlton – 12th June 2012

June 13, 2012 1 Comment

Some of you may remember that a few weeks ago, one of my gigs got cancelled due to lack of audience (NOT Gig 59), and subsequently all comedy gigs were abandoned at that venue.  Well, local impressario, Sir David Turquoise, is not a man to be deterred by such setbacks and last night’s gig was the first in the night’s new home at The Beech Inn in Chorlton.

The original gig was going to be my first performing a 15-minute spot, so it was great to be asked to do the replacement gig to give me chance to finally break that particular duck.  Luckily, this already meant that I had a set list that I could use, all with existing material, so it would take relatively little practice to get prepared which was useful when I had done two gigs of completely new material in the previous few days (Gig 61 and Gig 62).  Somewhat surprisingly, this was going to be my first straight stand up gig for just over a month (Gig 55), but I’ve been performing pretty regularly, so I didn’t feel too worried about being rusty.  For a free night, the line up was amazingly strong: Rob Hallam, Eddie Hoo and Seymour Mace headlining.  I guess I could have found this a bit intimidating, but I was more focused on seeing if I could pull off a 15-minute spot.  My set list was:

“This really shifty bloke came up to me…” followed by joke book variant: “these are definitely jokes” – This is a combination I first tried at Gig 53, where it felt like it really worked.   The joke book bit really benefits from this particular conceit as it allows me to do really strong asides, which get better laughs than the actual jokes.  I went with 8 jokes – I usually do 5 – basically in an attempt to use up a bit more time (I wasn’t sure I would have 15 minutes when I first put the set together).  I should probably have stuck with 5 jokes.

Stretched Cat – It felt a bit weird not doing this as my opener, but I was able to tie it into the first two bits in a way that I liked.

Arnie

“Can’t fight the Moonlight”

Personal Bit + Personal Bit 2 – As I mentioned in my NOT Gig 59, I’d tweaked this section quite a bit as it’s been an inconsistent performer.  Unfortunately, there was a particularly chatty audience member on the front row and she spoiled one of the early (and usually most successful) punchlines.   I struggled a bit to think how to continue, and I eventually said outright that she’d ruined the joke, and then kind of moved over it.  She continued to pipe up throughout this section and it put my timing off.  I’ve not really had to deal with anyone being so disruptive before, and I tried to handle it by not having a go at her, as it’s not my style and really wouldn’t help me in getting back onto my material.  I think I perhaps just about got away with dealing with it, but it certainly affected the rest of my performance.  It also meant that I still don’t have a handle on this bit of material and still think it needs re-writing.

Telephone Books – I checked my watch after this bit (yes, I’d remembered to start it…but only after I had already got on stage), and had already done 12-13 minutes.  I decided to go with…

Jacob’s Cob – I like reading these sort of stories out, to give a different feel to the set, but it didn’t really work tonight.  With hindsight, the performance of them really has to be spot on to get the laughs, and I think the earlier encounter had thrown me off just enough that I didn’t emphasise in the right places, and didn’t do enough asides.  By the time I had finished it, I was 15 minutes in, meaning that I had to skip some bits.

Fergie Swap + “So she lost her job…” + Political Poem + Peter Andre – All skipped for time.

One Day in Liverpool – Even though I was over my time, I didn’t want to end on the slight damp squib of the story, so went with the short play.  It seemed to work, except that the girl on the front row again messed up my punchline at the very end, leaving me with a slightly odd feeling at the conclusion.

In the end, I did 18 minutes, and it generally went OK.  I got some good feedback afterwards, so at least I wasn’t completely out of my depth.  It felt like a big deal to finally do a longer set, and hopefully I’ll get chance to do it again soon.

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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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My Edfringe – 17th August 2011

August 20, 2011 1 Comment

And so my Edinburgh diary limps over the finish line with a list of the shows that I saw on Wednesday 17th. These are not intended as reviews.

1. Him and Me TV – Espionage, 12:00.

I’ve appeared on the same bill as zeitgeisty sketch duo Him and Me TV a couple of times before (Gig 1 and Gig 8, fact fans), and seen them on a couple of other occasions. Since I’ve seen quite a few of their sketches in this show before, it’s a testament to them that I was still really drawn into their show. Their run has ended now, but look out for them on YouTube.

2. Seymour Mace: Happypotamus – Stand 2, 14:20.

I was lucky enough to see a preview of this show in Manchester and loved it then, so it was a delight to see how much it has come together over the run. It’s about Seymour’s depression and his attempts to be happy and is silly and uplifting and very funny. Make sure that you go and see it if you can.

3. Simon Munnery: Hats Off For The 101ers, and Other Material – Stand 1, 15:40.

Considering the type of stand up that I’ve been performing, this was inspirational. A complete ragbag of different stuff, in the best possible way.

4. Stewart Lee: Flickwerk – Stand 1, 17:15.

This was the first time I’d seen Stewart Lee live and it was worth the wait. Absolutely amazing, but he said that I laughed like a pig. I don’t. I laugh like a seal.

5. Phill Jupitus: Stand Down – Stand 1, 20:25.

Another show which I saw in preview and another that really came together. It’s been 10 years since Phill has performed stand up, but you’d never know it. The show was only enhanced when one of the audience members did the world’s loudest fart.

6. Tim Key: Masterslut – Pleasance Dome, 21:45.

I’ll be honest, I’m getting a bit tired of writing this post, so I don’t think I’m going to do Tim Key justice. I know that I’m getting a bit boring, but this was another fantastic show and is highly recommended. I also got a kiss off Tim, so that was lovely.

7. Wilfredo: Erecto! – Underbelly, 23:30.

The final show that I saw and the end of this turgid post. Wilfredo is one Spain’s leading singers and lotharios (*wink* he’s actually a character act, but sshhhhhh). I’ve been singing one of Wilfredo’s songs ever since, what more do I need to say?

Right, I’m off. See you next year, Edinburgh. (Hopefully)

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