My 4th gig as it would have been in was now my 5th after Saturdays last min entry to the Arc gong but this was more like the CSCDDC night in that it was an open mic comedy show so I had up to 10 mins to try my stuff. My experiences from Saturday had left me feeling no fear towards the audience anymore, if they don’t like me never mind I’ll just try be better and if they want to hurl abuse at someone who is simply trying to make them laugh it says more about them really….. But a new doubt had crept in, what if the other comedians think I’m a rubbish? They would never tell me as it may be considered rude, but I think I would rather be told, my feelings are not important at this stage so I need to know. All these thoughts had built up in my head on the drive to Newcastle, I just wanted to get there and go over my set and begin to relax, the thing is I arrived in Newcastle at rush hour missed my turning cos sat nav was having a nap and wound up stuck in city centre traffic for 35 mins trying to get back to where I should be.
I eventually got parked but I was worked up now, I walked through the sunshine to the Dog and Parrot pub which was hosting the long live comedy night but it’s a rock bar, kind of a biker joint, a little bit gothy maybe (I don’t think that’s a word) I was wearing white cotton shorts rolled up to the knees, a black vest and Toms…. Maybe I should not go in there as I’ll likely get my head kicked in!! stereotyping aside I just didn’t think I should go in yet, it was 6pm and the comedy night does not open til 9, so I went to the bar over the road (I did not see the rainbow flag flying proudly above the door) I got sat at a table and began to go over my materiel. I was still worked up slightly and as I read it I thought, god this is rubbish!! It was not remotely funny! I decided to totally re write, I’m sure that is never a good idea to re write just an few hours prior to going on but that’s what I did. As I was writing I sat inside, everyone else was outside but a bloke in hotpants and little else came over and asked why I was sitting inside and why I looked so stressed? I then realised where I was, could I make some kind of joke of this without sounding homophobic? I figured not, I told the bloke I needed the shade and to write, I figured it was better to say I was writing an essay for a course rather than comedy as he would like many others have possibly said, tell me a joke then, he 1st queried my accent, where are you from why you here ect then apologised for disturbing me offered me company with him and his friends if I wanted and went back outside. It was this little conversation that settled my mind a little, a simple distraction for a few seconds just giving me a little clarity and I knew how my set would go now.
I took some of my gong stuff about my grandparents and mixed it with an anecdote that I had twisted slightly to try and make it materiel and put a few asides in. With the re write sinking in I felt ready and I went over to the Dog and Parrot to get changed (I would not gig in shorts and toms, I brought jeans, boots and a shirt to go over the vest) when I changed I went up stairs to the room where the comedy is held and saw the stage. It was a nice set up, a good room with a chilled atmosphere. The guy running the night was a Greek chap called George, he was nice but talks very fast and as I had nerves I didn’t take in everything he said! My fault not his but it did no damage.
The gig itself was a lot smaller than Saturday, more my thing at the moment. There were only 12 ‘Neutrals’ in the audience and about another 8 or so who had come with an act plus the 6 acts. George warmed them up with banter and jokes and then explained the ‘newness’ of everyone bar the last act who was a pro with Telly experience just trying new stuff. I was due on 3rd but given the way the night was broken up I was 1st in section 2 of 3, up 1st was a guy from Middlesbrough doing his last gig before moving to Spain, he has been around for 2 years (i think he said 2 years, i cant recall now!) but was putting comedy on hold while he goes to do TEFL in Seville, his high energy fast paced set was a great start to the show, I liked him, his set not the funniest but the way he delivered it meant it didn’t need to be as the joke was essentially always on him, a good start. Up next a guy from Newcastle doing his 1st ever gig, he seemed at ease with it and started singing a pop song chorus before ending it with a great punch line. He went on to talk about living with students despite being 36 as his girlfriend had left him, he did well.
A short break then me, I had lost the nerves and just started to talk at the audience, I will try not to review myself as it could never be impartial and I need to remain firmly aware I am not a good comedian yet, but I was happy, a few jokes landed and got a laugh, a few did not and left a few awkward silences, I noted which ones failed and will see how they go on other nights before possibly dropping them from the set. I did 8 mins of my allotted 10 but was running out of rehearsed stuff so I thanked the audience and departed to a warm applause, they were supportive.
I stayed and watched the next 3 acts and the headline, 2 with experience trying new stuff, one from Leicester who lives in the North East now did 6 mins on how he has re named some alcoholic drinks, it was very clever and very funny. The Next from London (it wasn’t clear if he travelled just for tonight but I assumed not) he was also trying new stuff based on him becoming an advert writer, it involved posters with clever wordplay, some brilliant other not so but mostly it was good. Next on was another 1st time act, he was also from Newcastle, he only did 3 mins and was just building confidence really, he had a couple of jokes and did well. The final act or nights headline has just done TV work, I will break my own rule of not mentioning acts names as it is mainly to prevent me from offending anyone. Kai Humphries was up last, he has just filmed comedy store due to be screened in the next few months. Here he was trying new stuff, he talked about legal drugs, alcohol and illegal drugs, that makes his set sound like a junkie based rant but it was far more clever than that and more importantly was funny. He was excellent. Another gig down for me and another experience added. I chatted with a few of the other acts before leaving, I was fishing for a mini review but no one came forward as everyone wanted to discuss Kai’s set, but I did leave with some contacts for more stage time and that buzz I seem to be getting from every show. Back to gong action next with the Nottingham Maze… in Nottingham!
Wednesday 28 March 2012
Monday 26 March 2012
Saved by a French girl, gig No4
Friday 23rd March I am at home, I’m doing a little writing, tweaking really as that’s all I tend to do at the moment, I’m doing this to prepare for Tuesday’s trip to Newcastle for my 10 min open mic night slot at long live comedy. Periodically I was checking my e mail on my phone.. And facebook…I don’t know why?
I received an e mail from a chap in Teesside called Peter Vincent who runs comedy there, Peter is someone I’d struck up a brief conversation with on the North East comedy forum while seeking stage time, he sent me links and advice and although I was far too inexperienced for the night he was running at the time of the enquiry he was helpful and kept my details on file which is what lead to this e mail.
The e mail basically said Hi Jim, there is a slot at tomorrow nights Arc Gong Sat 24th would you like to have it? I responded with an emphatic yes after discussing with Vikki the logistics and as she was doing nothing if she’d like to come (she said no initially) and so the preparation I had been doing for Newcastle now became my Arc gong in Teesside preparation.
When Vik arrived home from her course that Saturday she had decided she was going to come with me which was nice as I barely ever see her. We grabbed a Mac Dee’s as there wasn’t much time to cook after I had just got in from footy and Vik as mentioned from her Masters course and off we went with no idea what was about to happen.
An hour and a half's drive later Sat Nav was telling us we had reached our destination, all I could see was a theatre, I thought to myself, one day I’ll play a theatre like that…. Turns out that day was today as this was the place!
I went and asked at box office where to go and I was shown to a sound booth where a lovely lady called Charlotte showed me to her daughter (also Charlotte) who knew where I was to be, Ma Charlotte kept Vikki company as Charlotte jnr took me to a small green room full of anxious comedians, they were anxious perhaps because like me they saw the auditorium on their way to the green room and realised this was for a lot of us the biggest crowd we’d tried to impress.
I was only on gig 4 but already there were a few familiar faces in the green room not least the MC who I met in Chester, he was Mc’ing again tonight, I liked him, he had a calm laid back almost don’t give a shit attitude but was clearly approachable and supportive. Among the others in the green room were 3 people I saw perform at Mr Bens when I was sitting in the audience trying to gauge if I could do it, plus 1 I was on the bill with at Mr Bens and a guy I was on the bill with at CSCSDC in York (who my family all enjoyed more than they enjoyed me!!)
The show would be a gong show much like the others I described with an opener who is a pro that did 20 mins after the Mc had warmed the crowd up, there were then to be 12 gong contestants. We all wrote our name down on a piece of paper and the running order was pulled from a hat.
Up 1st a local Teesider, he told me he had done 100+ gigs but hated gong shows although he would do one now and again, up next a lady who had also got a bit of experience and had done some paid work, then a guy I barely chatted with who seemed experienced but im not sure, then a young lad only 18 like me doing only his 4th gig followed by a past Mr Bens winner and eventual winner here who was the only one to get the audience on side (more on that in a moment) then me. A break followed and I lost track of the running order after me as I paid little attention to it trying to focus on my set.
The Show began and a few of us went to stand at the back of the auditorium to watch as the 2 porfessionals tried to get what was starting to prove a tough crowd warmed up. They were as far as i could see doing a great job but when it was over and 1st break due they came and sat in the green room and looked a little frustrated, before they had gone on there were jokes about how the crowd once assaulted a gong contestant for making a joke about Hummus and that there were chants of you’re shit get off, in fact one woman threw her colostomy bag on and said that’s how shit you are!!! This was all in jest…. But not a million miles from what was to happen. I must stress at this point that the organisers were clear that if the audience mis behave it wont be tolerated and that they were on our side ect, some people who were being disruptive in the 1st section were warned to be quiet and that security were watching, but there was 380 in and they were in no mood to behave.
It was almost time, I had had 3 pepsi Max’s from the rider that was provided for us and couldn’t figure out if that was why I suddenly needed to pee or nerves, Peter read the rules to us, No racism, no using blatant rip off materiel, don’t shit on the stage! Also no whimsy… I dint at this point know what whimsy meant so I kept quiet and asked Peter while I waited in the corridor to go on,basically talking badgers he said.. i twigged and felt stupid that i didnt know already! luckily no whimsy in my set.
So the 6 1st half acts were all stood in the corridor back stage, even the 3 experienced ones looked nervy, I wont mention anyone by name just to avoid offence ect that is deliberate I haven’t forgotten their names!
Up 1st and now looking more relaxed was the local guy, we all shuffled closer to listen, he started to talk about his army days, at 1st silence, then he was getting laughs…. But then it started! A card must have gone up as someone shouted, there’s a card!!! Thanks for the input but im sure he can see it, but there must have been another card up almost straight away as more shouts of Card were heard, but on he went, then someone shouted ‘you’re shit’ (he wasn’t shit) and some jeers and boo’s began, finally the 3rd card went up 3mins 30 in and he was off…. Harsh! I have seen utter shite survive gong shows and he was not utter shite!
Up next the lady who had done some small paid work, she seemed to be doing well, we could hear the laughs but again about 2.5 mins in a shout of ‘CAAARD… get off’ was heard, she carried on and a few more jeers followed but the audience seemed to have settled and thankfully she beat the gong.
Next the young lad, he was new and he was young so the crowd didn’t give him a chance, ha began to talk about how he didn’t understand porn and again the jeers and boo’s started. 3 cards went up but they never gave him a chance. Then the most chilled looking of all of us went on, again he survived the gong but amid jeers and the odd shout of ‘get off’ too which again was harsh.
5th act was preparing back stage, he put on some rubber gloves and picked up a shovel, there was only me and him in the corridor … should I be worried?? No it was part of his act, he went on stage and I heard the room change, the jeers to laughter, applause and cheers, he was nailing it….he glided through the 5 mins..a winner already?? Then it was me…. And the worse of the audience disapproval. I’m not as experienced as the guy I was following or as good (will I ever be??) I started well, its nice to hear a laugh from a crowd of 380 even though I think it was only half of them that enjoyed my 1st few jokes, I started with my weaker stuff, about where I am from in Otley and moving out, but as I got to my better stuff about half way through and 2 cards went up at the same time, and it began, Get off, you’re shit, booo, I carried on but the noise got louder and now with 90 seconds still to go it was drowning me out, I looked to the MC shall I just walk?? Gong me perhaps? But one card did not go up, a French girl had it, either she liked my jokes, she liked my Brereton style t shirt or she felt the abuse I was now getting was unnecessary but the card did not go up and the MC said carry on Jim fuck em, so I did, the final minute and a half was in audible to the jeers. I somehow survived the 5 mins.
I went back to the green room and all the 6 acts from the 1st half sat looking dishevelled and harrowed!!
The word c*nts was used a lot!! The 6 waiting to go on looked casual but worried, I likened it to being hit in the face with a shovel several times… but perhaps that would have been nicer.
News had filtered through to us though that the big group who were cheerleading the abusive chants had been kicked out (again I stress that Peter and his team were not happy with the crowd and did everything to make the room more friendly)
This didn’t change the atmosphere in the room however, the momentum built by the act before me had been destroyed by my last minute and a half and a similar reception met the next 6 with only 2 beating the gong, perhaps my fault as i was not strong enough an act to end the 1st section. The survivors were the guy I gigged with at Bens who was gonged that night which just shows how different audiences react to different materiel, also a girl from north of the border who I thought was good, she talked about foxes and the newspaper coverage of a fox related incident.
The show came to an end and the 6 survivors all were paraded back out, prior to this I was chatting in the bar to a group of people who said they enjoyed my act and thought I was harshly treated, without my asking they decided to vote for me at the clap off, (as they were saying this a bloke walking past said ‘what u on about he was shit’) ha I was not at all bothered by this or offended i know i wasnt great but i'll improve.
During the clap off my new supporters plus Vikki and Charlotte snr could all be heard along with a few others (French girl included) it put a gloss on an odd evening but as suspected the man with the shovel won the £100 prize, he deserved it. I went back to the green room to say my goodbyes although a few from the 1st act had left already (they said bye but I was at the back watching the other acts and missed them)
A surreal experience had come to an end and all the way home driving at just after midnight in the fog I felt amazing, I had really really enjoyed it despite what was described as the worst crowd at the Arc ever (i'm not sure if thats true but it made us all feel better).
Looking forward to Newcastle tomorrow now, I no longer fear bombing either, even tho it would be awful to bomb when everyone else does well it seems I have thicker skin than I thought and I don’t fear it I just hope it doesn’t happen often.
I received an e mail from a chap in Teesside called Peter Vincent who runs comedy there, Peter is someone I’d struck up a brief conversation with on the North East comedy forum while seeking stage time, he sent me links and advice and although I was far too inexperienced for the night he was running at the time of the enquiry he was helpful and kept my details on file which is what lead to this e mail.
The e mail basically said Hi Jim, there is a slot at tomorrow nights Arc Gong Sat 24th would you like to have it? I responded with an emphatic yes after discussing with Vikki the logistics and as she was doing nothing if she’d like to come (she said no initially) and so the preparation I had been doing for Newcastle now became my Arc gong in Teesside preparation.
When Vik arrived home from her course that Saturday she had decided she was going to come with me which was nice as I barely ever see her. We grabbed a Mac Dee’s as there wasn’t much time to cook after I had just got in from footy and Vik as mentioned from her Masters course and off we went with no idea what was about to happen.
An hour and a half's drive later Sat Nav was telling us we had reached our destination, all I could see was a theatre, I thought to myself, one day I’ll play a theatre like that…. Turns out that day was today as this was the place!
I went and asked at box office where to go and I was shown to a sound booth where a lovely lady called Charlotte showed me to her daughter (also Charlotte) who knew where I was to be, Ma Charlotte kept Vikki company as Charlotte jnr took me to a small green room full of anxious comedians, they were anxious perhaps because like me they saw the auditorium on their way to the green room and realised this was for a lot of us the biggest crowd we’d tried to impress.
I was only on gig 4 but already there were a few familiar faces in the green room not least the MC who I met in Chester, he was Mc’ing again tonight, I liked him, he had a calm laid back almost don’t give a shit attitude but was clearly approachable and supportive. Among the others in the green room were 3 people I saw perform at Mr Bens when I was sitting in the audience trying to gauge if I could do it, plus 1 I was on the bill with at Mr Bens and a guy I was on the bill with at CSCSDC in York (who my family all enjoyed more than they enjoyed me!!)
The show would be a gong show much like the others I described with an opener who is a pro that did 20 mins after the Mc had warmed the crowd up, there were then to be 12 gong contestants. We all wrote our name down on a piece of paper and the running order was pulled from a hat.
Up 1st a local Teesider, he told me he had done 100+ gigs but hated gong shows although he would do one now and again, up next a lady who had also got a bit of experience and had done some paid work, then a guy I barely chatted with who seemed experienced but im not sure, then a young lad only 18 like me doing only his 4th gig followed by a past Mr Bens winner and eventual winner here who was the only one to get the audience on side (more on that in a moment) then me. A break followed and I lost track of the running order after me as I paid little attention to it trying to focus on my set.
The Show began and a few of us went to stand at the back of the auditorium to watch as the 2 porfessionals tried to get what was starting to prove a tough crowd warmed up. They were as far as i could see doing a great job but when it was over and 1st break due they came and sat in the green room and looked a little frustrated, before they had gone on there were jokes about how the crowd once assaulted a gong contestant for making a joke about Hummus and that there were chants of you’re shit get off, in fact one woman threw her colostomy bag on and said that’s how shit you are!!! This was all in jest…. But not a million miles from what was to happen. I must stress at this point that the organisers were clear that if the audience mis behave it wont be tolerated and that they were on our side ect, some people who were being disruptive in the 1st section were warned to be quiet and that security were watching, but there was 380 in and they were in no mood to behave.
It was almost time, I had had 3 pepsi Max’s from the rider that was provided for us and couldn’t figure out if that was why I suddenly needed to pee or nerves, Peter read the rules to us, No racism, no using blatant rip off materiel, don’t shit on the stage! Also no whimsy… I dint at this point know what whimsy meant so I kept quiet and asked Peter while I waited in the corridor to go on,basically talking badgers he said.. i twigged and felt stupid that i didnt know already! luckily no whimsy in my set.
So the 6 1st half acts were all stood in the corridor back stage, even the 3 experienced ones looked nervy, I wont mention anyone by name just to avoid offence ect that is deliberate I haven’t forgotten their names!
Up 1st and now looking more relaxed was the local guy, we all shuffled closer to listen, he started to talk about his army days, at 1st silence, then he was getting laughs…. But then it started! A card must have gone up as someone shouted, there’s a card!!! Thanks for the input but im sure he can see it, but there must have been another card up almost straight away as more shouts of Card were heard, but on he went, then someone shouted ‘you’re shit’ (he wasn’t shit) and some jeers and boo’s began, finally the 3rd card went up 3mins 30 in and he was off…. Harsh! I have seen utter shite survive gong shows and he was not utter shite!
Up next the lady who had done some small paid work, she seemed to be doing well, we could hear the laughs but again about 2.5 mins in a shout of ‘CAAARD… get off’ was heard, she carried on and a few more jeers followed but the audience seemed to have settled and thankfully she beat the gong.
Next the young lad, he was new and he was young so the crowd didn’t give him a chance, ha began to talk about how he didn’t understand porn and again the jeers and boo’s started. 3 cards went up but they never gave him a chance. Then the most chilled looking of all of us went on, again he survived the gong but amid jeers and the odd shout of ‘get off’ too which again was harsh.
5th act was preparing back stage, he put on some rubber gloves and picked up a shovel, there was only me and him in the corridor … should I be worried?? No it was part of his act, he went on stage and I heard the room change, the jeers to laughter, applause and cheers, he was nailing it….he glided through the 5 mins..a winner already?? Then it was me…. And the worse of the audience disapproval. I’m not as experienced as the guy I was following or as good (will I ever be??) I started well, its nice to hear a laugh from a crowd of 380 even though I think it was only half of them that enjoyed my 1st few jokes, I started with my weaker stuff, about where I am from in Otley and moving out, but as I got to my better stuff about half way through and 2 cards went up at the same time, and it began, Get off, you’re shit, booo, I carried on but the noise got louder and now with 90 seconds still to go it was drowning me out, I looked to the MC shall I just walk?? Gong me perhaps? But one card did not go up, a French girl had it, either she liked my jokes, she liked my Brereton style t shirt or she felt the abuse I was now getting was unnecessary but the card did not go up and the MC said carry on Jim fuck em, so I did, the final minute and a half was in audible to the jeers. I somehow survived the 5 mins.
I went back to the green room and all the 6 acts from the 1st half sat looking dishevelled and harrowed!!
The word c*nts was used a lot!! The 6 waiting to go on looked casual but worried, I likened it to being hit in the face with a shovel several times… but perhaps that would have been nicer.
News had filtered through to us though that the big group who were cheerleading the abusive chants had been kicked out (again I stress that Peter and his team were not happy with the crowd and did everything to make the room more friendly)
This didn’t change the atmosphere in the room however, the momentum built by the act before me had been destroyed by my last minute and a half and a similar reception met the next 6 with only 2 beating the gong, perhaps my fault as i was not strong enough an act to end the 1st section. The survivors were the guy I gigged with at Bens who was gonged that night which just shows how different audiences react to different materiel, also a girl from north of the border who I thought was good, she talked about foxes and the newspaper coverage of a fox related incident.
The show came to an end and the 6 survivors all were paraded back out, prior to this I was chatting in the bar to a group of people who said they enjoyed my act and thought I was harshly treated, without my asking they decided to vote for me at the clap off, (as they were saying this a bloke walking past said ‘what u on about he was shit’) ha I was not at all bothered by this or offended i know i wasnt great but i'll improve.
During the clap off my new supporters plus Vikki and Charlotte snr could all be heard along with a few others (French girl included) it put a gloss on an odd evening but as suspected the man with the shovel won the £100 prize, he deserved it. I went back to the green room to say my goodbyes although a few from the 1st act had left already (they said bye but I was at the back watching the other acts and missed them)
A surreal experience had come to an end and all the way home driving at just after midnight in the fog I felt amazing, I had really really enjoyed it despite what was described as the worst crowd at the Arc ever (i'm not sure if thats true but it made us all feel better).
Looking forward to Newcastle tomorrow now, I no longer fear bombing either, even tho it would be awful to bomb when everyone else does well it seems I have thicker skin than I thought and I don’t fear it I just hope it doesn’t happen often.
Thursday 22 March 2012
Fed to the lions, gig numbers 2 and 3
Well having tried a gong show at Mr Bens I had 2 more imminent gigs booked, the 1st was an open mic night in a pub in York, that was an odd experience, only 3 of the 8 people on the bill turned up myself being on of them.
The gig was in a small pub backroom, there was background noise from the pub including the tv, jukebox (which was turned off when they realised) and fruit machine, now I’m not criticising this as it was a great opportunity to get some stage time and a friendly audience but I felt that it was never going to be as professional as the Mr Bens Show, that said I will do it again (if they would have me back) because it is an audience, it is a chance to practice and it is a well supported gig run by a group that seem to know what they are doing.
My parents came to support me which was nice but I was more nervous knowing they were there so I only did 5 mins of an 8 min set, there were muted laughs (and a groan) but the MC tried hard to enjoy my act and im grateful to him. I would say I struggled a little bit here as the other 2 guys were good and I enjoyed their acts. It was worth doing but my next gig was the one I enjoyed the most so far.
I applied to be here via the Yorkshire comedy forum but this gig was a fair drive from Yorkshire, it was in fact in Chester at a club owned by Jason Manford called the Laugh Inn
It was another gong show called Fed to the Lions so yes I drove for 3 hours there to potentially only do 1 minute (shorter grace period than mr Bens at the Fed to the lions night)
Why??? Well oddly I had enough confidence in my material to believe I would not be gonged off and I wanted to be at a gig where it was not possible to know who I was so I could risk a bit more of my true story materiel.
I arrived and walked into the club, it was a dark room with velvet lining and nicely arranged tables that was kind of like a strip club or so I have heard ;-)
The stage was a proper raised stage, the 1st time I would be on one as neither Mr Bens or the York gig had one.
I signed in and sat with my notes as customers began filtering in, a guy caught my eye and nodded hello, he was obviously another act, I nodded hello back but turned back to my notes as I wanted to get this right and needed more time.
A customer came over from the audience seating and introduced himself as Connor, I asked if he was the organiser and he told me no he was a regular and he noticed I must be an act and wanted to say hi, I tried to continue reading my set but then another guy came and sat next to me and introduced himself as another act so I put down my notes and looked over to the guy who 1st nodded hello that was sat on his own to come over, he didn’t look up so I turned my attention to my 2 new friends.
The comedian said he had been gigging for 18 months, I said it was my 3rd and Connor gulped… why the gulp? I asked, Connor told me it would be tough to win them over and explained how 5 of 8 acts last week died on their arses… now I gulped.
He saw the look on my face and said don’t worry im sure you will be fine, just words I thought but the 3 of us chatted about comedy for the next 20 mins and my nerves were gone.
A pretty young girl walked up to us with a clip board, Jim Bayes she asked, yes i was expecting her to try and sell me something but instead she had the running order, I’m on 1st… nerves were back!
Connor went to go join the audience and I sat at the back with the other comedian and we watched as the opening pro act struggled to get a laugh from the audience, he was talking about how rough Manchester is and the audience didn’t seem into it but im sure that it would have gone down well in other rooms, he did 20 mins as there was a bit of extra room for the opener here given that they only have 8 newbie’s unlike Mr Bens that has 10.
It came to gong time, but as the red cards were handed out I saw Connor get one and thought that was good as he would be supportive of me given our chat earlier.
My name was called and up into the spotlight I was again, but no nerves…. I was ready for this.
My 1st joke was a new one, it has no punch line which is kind of the joke, people realised it was a joke with no punch line and were laughing, good they get it, I began to talk about living in Otley and growing up, there were a few giggles but it didn’t get the room in hysterics, I then moved on to the material I used at Mr Bens…. Joke after joke went down a storm, they loved it!!! Wow I was doing well. I knew my delivery was better this time I could just sense it and the fact that I didn’t care if I failed as I was miles from home and no one was there to support me or be let down.
Before I knew it 5 mins had passed and I had survived another gong show, I was buzzing again and leaving the stage to applause be it polite or not was lovely. My new comedian friend who is from Liverpool shook my hand and congratulated me on a ‘nice delivery’ I thanked him and sat feeling somewhat euphoric.
The 2nd act was a guy from Chester and he had come 2nd in this show last week, he was good, he talked about office antics but it wasn’t hack it was quite original, he also talked about being asked for the big issue and not knowing where he could buy one, I suspect we may have a winner??
My friend from Liverpool was next, he began with a reference to Fresh prince of bel air, half the room got it half didn’t but it was a good start I thought, his set was nice but punch lines were limited and I rather think he would do better on a night where he has more than 5 mins, he survived and the show went to a break with all 3 of us from the 1st act making it without a single red card raised.
Connor came to congratulate me and tell me his favourite part from my set, then a lady who had been talking the whole way through the 1st half came over and apologised if I thought she was talking she didn’t mean to but I was the best in the 1st act in her opinion, nice compliment but was she really listening?
Part 2 began with another local Chester boy who was doing his 18th gig, it was the guy who nodded hello to me at the beginning, he struggled…. He really struggled and I was not surprised to see him gonged off, I felt bad for him, one day that will be me that bombs, I’m glad it hasn’t happened yet but it will.
The next 2 guys did ok with red cards going up but not all 3 so they survived, the final act was an older gentleman, I’d say about 45. He was talking about cheesy smells, flaccid members and bad farts, he didn’t last long unsurprisingly and the show was complete.
As suspected the chap on after me won, there was no mention of 2nd or 3rd it was just a case of whittling it down so on that basis i gues i was 3rd but that means nothing.
what did mean something was that I was now a 3 show veteran and the drive back to Leeds was a good time to reflect on the gig that I enjoyed most so far.
Newcastle next on March 27th at Long live Comedy, another pub open mic night... cant wait
The gig was in a small pub backroom, there was background noise from the pub including the tv, jukebox (which was turned off when they realised) and fruit machine, now I’m not criticising this as it was a great opportunity to get some stage time and a friendly audience but I felt that it was never going to be as professional as the Mr Bens Show, that said I will do it again (if they would have me back) because it is an audience, it is a chance to practice and it is a well supported gig run by a group that seem to know what they are doing.
My parents came to support me which was nice but I was more nervous knowing they were there so I only did 5 mins of an 8 min set, there were muted laughs (and a groan) but the MC tried hard to enjoy my act and im grateful to him. I would say I struggled a little bit here as the other 2 guys were good and I enjoyed their acts. It was worth doing but my next gig was the one I enjoyed the most so far.
I applied to be here via the Yorkshire comedy forum but this gig was a fair drive from Yorkshire, it was in fact in Chester at a club owned by Jason Manford called the Laugh Inn
It was another gong show called Fed to the Lions so yes I drove for 3 hours there to potentially only do 1 minute (shorter grace period than mr Bens at the Fed to the lions night)
Why??? Well oddly I had enough confidence in my material to believe I would not be gonged off and I wanted to be at a gig where it was not possible to know who I was so I could risk a bit more of my true story materiel.
I arrived and walked into the club, it was a dark room with velvet lining and nicely arranged tables that was kind of like a strip club or so I have heard ;-)
The stage was a proper raised stage, the 1st time I would be on one as neither Mr Bens or the York gig had one.
I signed in and sat with my notes as customers began filtering in, a guy caught my eye and nodded hello, he was obviously another act, I nodded hello back but turned back to my notes as I wanted to get this right and needed more time.
A customer came over from the audience seating and introduced himself as Connor, I asked if he was the organiser and he told me no he was a regular and he noticed I must be an act and wanted to say hi, I tried to continue reading my set but then another guy came and sat next to me and introduced himself as another act so I put down my notes and looked over to the guy who 1st nodded hello that was sat on his own to come over, he didn’t look up so I turned my attention to my 2 new friends.
The comedian said he had been gigging for 18 months, I said it was my 3rd and Connor gulped… why the gulp? I asked, Connor told me it would be tough to win them over and explained how 5 of 8 acts last week died on their arses… now I gulped.
He saw the look on my face and said don’t worry im sure you will be fine, just words I thought but the 3 of us chatted about comedy for the next 20 mins and my nerves were gone.
A pretty young girl walked up to us with a clip board, Jim Bayes she asked, yes i was expecting her to try and sell me something but instead she had the running order, I’m on 1st… nerves were back!
Connor went to go join the audience and I sat at the back with the other comedian and we watched as the opening pro act struggled to get a laugh from the audience, he was talking about how rough Manchester is and the audience didn’t seem into it but im sure that it would have gone down well in other rooms, he did 20 mins as there was a bit of extra room for the opener here given that they only have 8 newbie’s unlike Mr Bens that has 10.
It came to gong time, but as the red cards were handed out I saw Connor get one and thought that was good as he would be supportive of me given our chat earlier.
My name was called and up into the spotlight I was again, but no nerves…. I was ready for this.
My 1st joke was a new one, it has no punch line which is kind of the joke, people realised it was a joke with no punch line and were laughing, good they get it, I began to talk about living in Otley and growing up, there were a few giggles but it didn’t get the room in hysterics, I then moved on to the material I used at Mr Bens…. Joke after joke went down a storm, they loved it!!! Wow I was doing well. I knew my delivery was better this time I could just sense it and the fact that I didn’t care if I failed as I was miles from home and no one was there to support me or be let down.
Before I knew it 5 mins had passed and I had survived another gong show, I was buzzing again and leaving the stage to applause be it polite or not was lovely. My new comedian friend who is from Liverpool shook my hand and congratulated me on a ‘nice delivery’ I thanked him and sat feeling somewhat euphoric.
The 2nd act was a guy from Chester and he had come 2nd in this show last week, he was good, he talked about office antics but it wasn’t hack it was quite original, he also talked about being asked for the big issue and not knowing where he could buy one, I suspect we may have a winner??
My friend from Liverpool was next, he began with a reference to Fresh prince of bel air, half the room got it half didn’t but it was a good start I thought, his set was nice but punch lines were limited and I rather think he would do better on a night where he has more than 5 mins, he survived and the show went to a break with all 3 of us from the 1st act making it without a single red card raised.
Connor came to congratulate me and tell me his favourite part from my set, then a lady who had been talking the whole way through the 1st half came over and apologised if I thought she was talking she didn’t mean to but I was the best in the 1st act in her opinion, nice compliment but was she really listening?
Part 2 began with another local Chester boy who was doing his 18th gig, it was the guy who nodded hello to me at the beginning, he struggled…. He really struggled and I was not surprised to see him gonged off, I felt bad for him, one day that will be me that bombs, I’m glad it hasn’t happened yet but it will.
The next 2 guys did ok with red cards going up but not all 3 so they survived, the final act was an older gentleman, I’d say about 45. He was talking about cheesy smells, flaccid members and bad farts, he didn’t last long unsurprisingly and the show was complete.
As suspected the chap on after me won, there was no mention of 2nd or 3rd it was just a case of whittling it down so on that basis i gues i was 3rd but that means nothing.
what did mean something was that I was now a 3 show veteran and the drive back to Leeds was a good time to reflect on the gig that I enjoyed most so far.
Newcastle next on March 27th at Long live Comedy, another pub open mic night... cant wait
Monday 19 March 2012
My stage debut 5/3/12
In my 1st blog I talked about my 1st comedy stage appearance, I’ll go back in time a little 1st.
In 2006 I started running comedy nights at my family’s pub. I always liked comedy, the sillyness and the cleverness of the comics, the atmosphere in the room, the buzz of a great show all furthered me opinion that comedy is a great art. I watched each comedian and how they worked with the audience and delivered some great lines and thought wow, the way he or she has people hanging on his every word… I have to have a go at this. One problem, I’m shy and quiet normally, I only open up in groups of people that either I don’t care about and therefore don’t care what they think of me or that I know well and trust so even though I decided in 2007 I would do comedy it took me until after the pub had become a victim of the recession and I had take a window cleaning job to decide I needed to explore my desire to be a comedian a bit more, hopefully one day I can earn a wage doing stand up?
I booked myself on a course in Nottingham run by a working comedian that covers how to generate material, this was paid for as a present for my 32nd birthday by my girlfriend Vikki which was a bonus because it meant not only would she support me but she was encouraging enough to pay for the course, trust me if you know her you’d know that this kind of show of support is rare although she always means well.
So I took the course and while it was worth doing I don’t feel I came away with anything I couldn’t have gained from a book but the one thing I did get was to meet people in the same position as me and thankfully of a similar age.
The idea behind the course is that we would re convene in a month or 2 to showcase the set we have written in front of an audience and family members who were coming to support. I took the decision that I would book myself on a few more open mic comedy nights so that I was able to recover if I bombed and gain momentum if I did well, unfortunately the showcase gig was cancelled which meant my 1st gig was to be at Mr Bens in Leeds.
Mr Bens runs a gong show for newbie’s which is basically a night where a compare warms up the audience then a guest slot goes on 1st (usually a previous gong show winner or a pro comic working on new stuff)
After the guest slot 10 newbie’s are given 5 mins maximum to impress the audience, you get 2 mins ‘grace’ then after that you can be voted or gonged off if the audience don’t like you. 3 audience members are given red cards and all 3 must go up for you to be gonged, if you are not gonged within 5 mins then at the end of the show all survivors are paraded in front of the audience and a winner is decided by way of a clap off.
I decided to adjust my set slightly having watched 3 previous gong shows at Mr Bens meaning that my story telling set went a little more punch line heavy.
March the 5th was the date of my debut, I went about my day as normal even playing football 6 til 7 in Yeadon despite needing to be at Mr Bens for 8, I got there on time signed in and got a drink, I felt relaxed at 1st but as the crowd filtered in my nerves began to kick in. I could not sit still, Vikki was with me but she was ok with me pacing about and suggested I mingle with the other guys which I did. It quickly became apparent that I was the only 1st timer and that most of the guys had a lot of experience of gong shows some having done as many as 30, this made me feel more nervous, the standard would be good and I have just learnt I’m on last too!!
The 1st 3 acts all survive 5 mins so the compare keen for blood handed out a 4th red card to the mostly student crowd, now it was 3 from 4 cards up and you are off and this had an immediate effect as acts 4 and 5 were gonged with material no worse than the shaky 1st act. The guy who was on 2nd I had seen before when I was in the audience, he was gonged off that night but tonight the exact same materiel went down a treat as he talked about his distain for his kids. There was a break after the 1st 5 and I really began to get nervy now. The 2 acts that were gonged were sat grumbling about it being a poor crowd and a bad show, I told them I thought they were unlucky and they thanked me and said not to worry when I go on I’ll be fine which was nice, in fact all the acts said upon hearing it was my 1st I would be fine just go for it ect.
The 3rd section began and a guy who was doing his 31st gong show stepped up, he was very good in his delivery and twisted take on one of life’s bad guys the paedophile, his set went down a storm and I knew we had a winner already, he was my winner so far, all of the next 3 were gonged off. 2 had weak materiel but one who was on just before me was unlucky, his stuff was ok but just not well delivered.
Shit…. Its my turn! I was up and the compare who wasn’t the usual Sully o Sullivan (who is excellent) called my name.
Then before I knew it I was stood on stage with lights in my face and everyone’s eyes on me, I nervously delivered my 1st joke which was met by silence…. Oh no! this meant my 2nd joke was not delivered properly as I nervously tried to make it sound better but a few giggles followed and I thought ok just go for it, I cracked my next joke having delivered the feeder line better and this got a good laugh, I felt good now and began to tell my set with a little more confidence, although a red card went up and I lost my way slightly, why did she not like me?? never mind I was on to my favourite joke and it went down a treat with the whole room belting out a laugh.
I never thought I was going to make it but before I knew it 5 mins were u and I survived. I felt great but was put down by the compare who had insulted most of the acts so I should not have taken it personally.
So 5 people were paraded in front of the audience to decide the winner, the 1st 3 got a nice cheer then it was the eventual winners go, he was loudly cheered, I was pleased for him, he seemed a nice guy and had done well, it was my turn, only a couple of supporters from work and Vikki cheered for me and I was again put down by the MC but the audience applauded me and I was happy, I had clearly not won but I had my 1st gig down and the buzz was immense!
Next blog will involve a bit about how I faired at Jason Manfords club the Laugh inn in Chester
In 2006 I started running comedy nights at my family’s pub. I always liked comedy, the sillyness and the cleverness of the comics, the atmosphere in the room, the buzz of a great show all furthered me opinion that comedy is a great art. I watched each comedian and how they worked with the audience and delivered some great lines and thought wow, the way he or she has people hanging on his every word… I have to have a go at this. One problem, I’m shy and quiet normally, I only open up in groups of people that either I don’t care about and therefore don’t care what they think of me or that I know well and trust so even though I decided in 2007 I would do comedy it took me until after the pub had become a victim of the recession and I had take a window cleaning job to decide I needed to explore my desire to be a comedian a bit more, hopefully one day I can earn a wage doing stand up?
I booked myself on a course in Nottingham run by a working comedian that covers how to generate material, this was paid for as a present for my 32nd birthday by my girlfriend Vikki which was a bonus because it meant not only would she support me but she was encouraging enough to pay for the course, trust me if you know her you’d know that this kind of show of support is rare although she always means well.
So I took the course and while it was worth doing I don’t feel I came away with anything I couldn’t have gained from a book but the one thing I did get was to meet people in the same position as me and thankfully of a similar age.
The idea behind the course is that we would re convene in a month or 2 to showcase the set we have written in front of an audience and family members who were coming to support. I took the decision that I would book myself on a few more open mic comedy nights so that I was able to recover if I bombed and gain momentum if I did well, unfortunately the showcase gig was cancelled which meant my 1st gig was to be at Mr Bens in Leeds.
Mr Bens runs a gong show for newbie’s which is basically a night where a compare warms up the audience then a guest slot goes on 1st (usually a previous gong show winner or a pro comic working on new stuff)
After the guest slot 10 newbie’s are given 5 mins maximum to impress the audience, you get 2 mins ‘grace’ then after that you can be voted or gonged off if the audience don’t like you. 3 audience members are given red cards and all 3 must go up for you to be gonged, if you are not gonged within 5 mins then at the end of the show all survivors are paraded in front of the audience and a winner is decided by way of a clap off.
I decided to adjust my set slightly having watched 3 previous gong shows at Mr Bens meaning that my story telling set went a little more punch line heavy.
March the 5th was the date of my debut, I went about my day as normal even playing football 6 til 7 in Yeadon despite needing to be at Mr Bens for 8, I got there on time signed in and got a drink, I felt relaxed at 1st but as the crowd filtered in my nerves began to kick in. I could not sit still, Vikki was with me but she was ok with me pacing about and suggested I mingle with the other guys which I did. It quickly became apparent that I was the only 1st timer and that most of the guys had a lot of experience of gong shows some having done as many as 30, this made me feel more nervous, the standard would be good and I have just learnt I’m on last too!!
The 1st 3 acts all survive 5 mins so the compare keen for blood handed out a 4th red card to the mostly student crowd, now it was 3 from 4 cards up and you are off and this had an immediate effect as acts 4 and 5 were gonged with material no worse than the shaky 1st act. The guy who was on 2nd I had seen before when I was in the audience, he was gonged off that night but tonight the exact same materiel went down a treat as he talked about his distain for his kids. There was a break after the 1st 5 and I really began to get nervy now. The 2 acts that were gonged were sat grumbling about it being a poor crowd and a bad show, I told them I thought they were unlucky and they thanked me and said not to worry when I go on I’ll be fine which was nice, in fact all the acts said upon hearing it was my 1st I would be fine just go for it ect.
The 3rd section began and a guy who was doing his 31st gong show stepped up, he was very good in his delivery and twisted take on one of life’s bad guys the paedophile, his set went down a storm and I knew we had a winner already, he was my winner so far, all of the next 3 were gonged off. 2 had weak materiel but one who was on just before me was unlucky, his stuff was ok but just not well delivered.
Shit…. Its my turn! I was up and the compare who wasn’t the usual Sully o Sullivan (who is excellent) called my name.
Then before I knew it I was stood on stage with lights in my face and everyone’s eyes on me, I nervously delivered my 1st joke which was met by silence…. Oh no! this meant my 2nd joke was not delivered properly as I nervously tried to make it sound better but a few giggles followed and I thought ok just go for it, I cracked my next joke having delivered the feeder line better and this got a good laugh, I felt good now and began to tell my set with a little more confidence, although a red card went up and I lost my way slightly, why did she not like me?? never mind I was on to my favourite joke and it went down a treat with the whole room belting out a laugh.
I never thought I was going to make it but before I knew it 5 mins were u and I survived. I felt great but was put down by the compare who had insulted most of the acts so I should not have taken it personally.
So 5 people were paraded in front of the audience to decide the winner, the 1st 3 got a nice cheer then it was the eventual winners go, he was loudly cheered, I was pleased for him, he seemed a nice guy and had done well, it was my turn, only a couple of supporters from work and Vikki cheered for me and I was again put down by the MC but the audience applauded me and I was happy, I had clearly not won but I had my 1st gig down and the buzz was immense!
Next blog will involve a bit about how I faired at Jason Manfords club the Laugh inn in Chester
Thursday 15 March 2012
Just a quickie!
I'm still new to blogging, no doubt I will repeat that again at some point. I just wanted to put a brief 2nd blog up as a way of taking a break from writing and adjusting comedy materiel that I have been over so many times it seems a bout of swine flu would be funnier, they say writing comedy is hard.... They are right, hats off to the people who make it look easy, I'm going to bed frustrated.... But tomorrow will be epiphany day, I hope.
Intro to my Blogging
I have decided as I am at the beginning of something new, namely being an attempt to become a comedian, I say attempt as I will not call myself a comedian until I am being paid for my comedy but digression aside I am now also going to write a blog, i chose to call it Jim's journey as i thought that sounds good... it sounds daft! but the journey in question is more my journey through life, cheesy i know.
Being 32 I am possible just getting my mid life crisis out of the way early and as I can’t afford a Porche and chasing teenage girls is just wrong for someone my age I have turned to becoming a blogger, tweeter and I phone app user.
These things may not help me in my journey through life but perhaps they will through my journey into comedy.
I will largely blog about this I imagine, but to be honest I have no idea what I’ll feel the need to share in the future, the difference between now and a few months ago is I am going to share my thoughts rather than be the quiet shy guy that struggles to impose myself in social situations,
I would 1stly like to talk about becoming a comedian,…. Why?? I have no political agenda, I have no brilliant stories I feel must be shared, I am not told repeatedly that im funny.. In fact im often told im not funny and should stop trying!!
The reason I want to try comedy is innocent maybe naive in that I just want to make people laugh and for them to like me.
It sounds quite pathetic really…LIKE ME LIKE ME LIKE ME, not everyone will like you whoever you are but if you are a person who does not take yourself too seriously and can make someone else laugh and smile then great, being liked iis hopefully a by-product I’m more concerned the people that count, family ect, love me than the general public but being liked is quite key for being a comedian otherwise you wont go far. the fact that I can lie in till midday if I was a pro comedian (I think) also appeals.
I took a writing course, it was a Day course and was as much about attitude and confidence as it was generating materiel. It was a one day course and at the end we got to present to the rest of the group some of the days work as a set, I was truly woeful but the buzz of being up there was amazing even if I was in front of only 6 people!
I had to follow this up, I had to write and get back on stage ASAP, I began thinking about things in life that I had dismissed as embarrassing and weather or not I could make a set out of them??
I was so looking forward to 26th Feb 2012 when the people of the course would re convene and showcase what they had written in front of an audience of friends and family, sadly this was postponed.
I had written my set to be fairly cheesy punch line heavy, just as a start to build confidence… but I had nowhere to perform it, well I did I just didn’t realise at 1st, it was at a place called Mr Bens comedy club in Leeds, they run a gong show which is for new acts to try and last 5 mins in front of an audience that have the power to gong them off if the act is bad… I mean really bad as some quite bad acts have survived the gong when I have been in the audience. I managed to get on the bill for Monday 5th March, excitement much!!!!
More on that to follow
Being 32 I am possible just getting my mid life crisis out of the way early and as I can’t afford a Porche and chasing teenage girls is just wrong for someone my age I have turned to becoming a blogger, tweeter and I phone app user.
These things may not help me in my journey through life but perhaps they will through my journey into comedy.
I will largely blog about this I imagine, but to be honest I have no idea what I’ll feel the need to share in the future, the difference between now and a few months ago is I am going to share my thoughts rather than be the quiet shy guy that struggles to impose myself in social situations,
I would 1stly like to talk about becoming a comedian,…. Why?? I have no political agenda, I have no brilliant stories I feel must be shared, I am not told repeatedly that im funny.. In fact im often told im not funny and should stop trying!!
The reason I want to try comedy is innocent maybe naive in that I just want to make people laugh and for them to like me.
It sounds quite pathetic really…LIKE ME LIKE ME LIKE ME, not everyone will like you whoever you are but if you are a person who does not take yourself too seriously and can make someone else laugh and smile then great, being liked iis hopefully a by-product I’m more concerned the people that count, family ect, love me than the general public but being liked is quite key for being a comedian otherwise you wont go far. the fact that I can lie in till midday if I was a pro comedian (I think) also appeals.
I took a writing course, it was a Day course and was as much about attitude and confidence as it was generating materiel. It was a one day course and at the end we got to present to the rest of the group some of the days work as a set, I was truly woeful but the buzz of being up there was amazing even if I was in front of only 6 people!
I had to follow this up, I had to write and get back on stage ASAP, I began thinking about things in life that I had dismissed as embarrassing and weather or not I could make a set out of them??
I was so looking forward to 26th Feb 2012 when the people of the course would re convene and showcase what they had written in front of an audience of friends and family, sadly this was postponed.
I had written my set to be fairly cheesy punch line heavy, just as a start to build confidence… but I had nowhere to perform it, well I did I just didn’t realise at 1st, it was at a place called Mr Bens comedy club in Leeds, they run a gong show which is for new acts to try and last 5 mins in front of an audience that have the power to gong them off if the act is bad… I mean really bad as some quite bad acts have survived the gong when I have been in the audience. I managed to get on the bill for Monday 5th March, excitement much!!!!
More on that to follow
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