Gig number 10 last week finally
took me into double figures although to a very small audience, gig 11 was of a similar
ilk, it was at Baby Jupiter in Leeds with the Howl Lads, those being the dark
and exceptionally funny Michael Sterret, Thom Milson and Si Finnigan, they are
guys i have seen in action but not performed at one of their gigs yet as i’m
not of that standard at the moment. Baby Jupiter however plays host to their
new material night CUT UP and i was invited to replace a drop out At this.
I got there to see
some familiar faces, Simon Gutherless and Jed Salisbury i had gigged with at
the unforgettable Arc gong and Jed along with Andy Woolston who i was meeting
for the 1st time tonight would be with me at Harrogate’s Vanilla bar
tomorrow (Thurs 26th Aril)
I was the newest there
at this stage although 2 guys from the audience of approx 8 (3 of which didn’t really
want to be there i would say) asked for 5 mins and were given thus.
Callum Scott MC’d (1st
time as mc i think??) and did a good job of getting to know the 3 lads who had
a comedy night descend around them even tho at 1st it was
uncomfortable and fake names were given. I guess it would be best to say the
night progressed into little more than a practice which is essentially what it
was intended for so to kind of review the night would not really be fair as no
one was giving their best 10 (well i tried).
I enjoyed my evening
and took from it a couple of things, jokes that worked elsewhere failed here
yet jokes that failed elsewhere worked here so my stuff depends on the audience
a little, and i got to know a few of the other acts all who seem to bring a lot
to the table, i look forward to gigging along side them again in the future.
Gig 12 was the very
next night, Dave McAndrew runs a monthly night at Vanilla cafe bar Harrogate
and i was invited to be one of the opens. Normally Dave would only book more
experienced opens such as the other 2 being Karl White and Andy Woolston but i
was given the opportunity and took up the offer.
I got to Harrogate at
7.15, over an hour early but i just wanted to get there and settle with a drink
and read through my act as i still have doubts about it. I trudged through the
rain to the venue and sat soaked to the bone with a red bull and went through
everything, i came to the realisation that re reading it would not make it any
funnier so i was just putting away my notes when Dave arrived, i got a warm
welcome and was swiftly bought a drink. Dave went about setting up and i
mooched about sort of nervously until he was done and we sat and had a chat
about comedy (standard) and also what to expect from the night.
Eventually the other
acts arrived, Jed, Andy from Hull and Karl who came by train from Keighley. But
the arrival of the acts was not followed by a mass of guests, the last 2 months
Dave had managed to get 70 in i’m told but the torrential rain must have put
the punters off tonight as there were only about 25 in. This did not bother me as
i had just done Bar 1;22 to 1 and Cut Up to 8 although as mentioned cut up is
more a rehearsal of comedy and it was the 1st time they had done it
so no complaints against that night.
The Gig began with
Dave warming up the crowd and getting to know who was in, he did about 10 mins
of nice audience banter and then got the show going
Jed opened the night
with his set that included some audience banter too, including telling a woman
in her late 40’s i’d say that she was a milf... which lead to her having to be
dragged away from Jed after he had finished by i think her fella as she had amorous
intentions!!!
Karl White followed
Jed with a odd but excellent set, it was self depredating and quirky and very
original, his attempted attempted suicide bit was brilliant.
There was a break and
during this 5 people from the audience were removed for their choice of
narcotic use and thankfully they were removed by the venue management who
accept no crap. This meant i was due on to an audience not distracted by their comments
that had come up during Jed and Karls sets.
I was less nervy than
in past, i still doubted my material but it was all i have so i went for it.
I did 7 mins (missed a
small chunk out that i forgot which would have made about another min and a
half... Doh!!!) it was a nice crowd, they listened and they laughed even at my
lame jokes so i enjoyed it. I came off feeling good.
Andy followed me, he
seemed to start slowly but built up his set, he was clearly more confident than
me and considerably younger as is Jed.
His set is cleverer
than it seems which sounds like a criticism i guess but it really isn’t. I think
he had had the best reception so far and everyone myself included seemed to
enjoy his set.
Our final act is a pro
who has been gigging for 14 years, but despite this he looked nervous too. I don’t
think he is used to small venues like vanilla maybe. His set relied heavily on
being from Manchester along with having a ‘silly name’.
He did 30 mins and had
some great moments but perhaps his apprehension of the room meant he did not
bring his A game, i would suggest he himself knew he will perform better.
That ended another
really enjoyable night doing stand up, next gig is over in Tyldesley
Manchester.
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