Gigs 34 and 35 were both going to be gong shows, one a long trip to Telford for Roger Swifts gong and
the other closer to home at Mr Bens. Telford should have been only 2.5 hrs drive but the rain
and flooding coupled with Friday traffic meant that my drive time was doubled, but at least i was able
to drive this time and not have to sit on a coach for hours.I will only briefly cover the Roger Swift gong
as i have sad;y not had time to blog in as much detail as i would have liked.
The room was large and had been set up by Roger in an auditorium style with the acts asked to sit at
the back forcing the audience forward (a good idea) but the main problem with the room in my humble opinion
is that it is too light. Every other gong show i have done the audience are in dimly lit areas making 2
things happen, 1 they feel less concious about carding an act as the acts can clearly see them and 2 they are less self concious about laughing, but i don't wish to criticise as Roger seems like a really top guy he was very efficient giving us the info for the night and welcoming when we arrived. Acts that i knew who were there included Dave Tomlinson and Janie Huxx. Dave was second act of the night
and he went about it with his usual casual delivery, but he performed a lot better tonight than the 1st 2 times i saw him, i could be wrong but maybe it was confidence? he beat the gong comfortably in the end with some slick jokes. Janie had done well both times i had seen her but again tonight she was on best form so far with a cheeky smile as she delivered each line, i'd say she nailed it. my own performance was way below what i would expect myself to deliver, i went on 12th of 14 and by then we all knew who the top 2 or 3 acts were or maybe had decided the winner and also the excellent Frankie Peoples as mc had struggled to read my name as he was introducing me which i allowed to set me back as i re introduced myself an error i wont make again.
I beat the gong just about but it was a very poor performance lacking my usual energy and i felt pretty bad after the gig that i had allowed that to happen. I must mention Steven Dodd who won but was run very close by Tash Bartlett Who had a great hackler put down for the moron who though he would get a gong at a gong show!! that put down being as she is bi sexual when he heckled she said i like licking twats not talking to them!! awesome. Steve did a lot of Self depreciating one liners about his being a large guy and was very funny. i look forward to a better performance when i return to Telford in October.
35
Mr Bens again and why not it is after all my local gig. before i go on i must mention the gong show i watched about 2Weeks ago, on that night some excellent acts such as Jed Salisbury, Andy Woolston, Simon Gutherless, Jon Newell and Michael Sterrett but they were all blown away by a perfect performance from Thom Milson. Thom just nailed it, as good as i have ever seen at Mr Bens and the only time the clap off has been crystal clear at the 1st time of asking.
The relevance of this will be revealed shortly.
8 spots tonight were Adam Rushton and Ross Brieley who was joint winner with myself last time i did the gong. Adam coolly talked the audience though a great story of one-upmanship filled with little side jokes, he looked natural on stage and later told me he loves gigging so it was clear why he looked so at ease, it was a great set. Ross went the new material route, he didn't have all the confidence in the material he normally has but it did not show as he just went out there and was
Ross, funny, relaxed, engaging and sometimes a bit cringy (in a good way) he was brave to do full 8 mins new as given how packed the place was (at least 60 in maybe more) i had bottled doing new stuff and opted for tried and tested.
I was on 2nd tonight following Matt Forde who did well for his 3rd gig beating the gong with only a brief moment where he forgot a line but recovered it well. I decided to just go for it, to just hammer the audience with my stuff and hope they went with it, they did thankfully but i was lucky as a 4th red card was handed out just before i went on to a guy with a flashing t.shirt and a new line/joke popped in there to tr get him onside early, it worked and i was off. my set slowed towards the back end
of the 5 but i could feel i had done ok. George Phillips followed me and although 3 red cards did go up it was missed and he survived which was good i guess as his best joke by some way was his closer. Casey Borgan (i hope i have the name right) went next and had some
great lines doing his set about his trip to the gum clinic. Jon Newell was last before the break, to be honest he stood no chance as the audience were ready for the bar and toilet and no one was gonged yet, this was proven as the gong rang and we went to break
2nd section Mike Morris kicked it off with his set of lovely jokes and observations delivered with a nice pace to the set, he beat the gong too making now 5 in the final.
Thom Milson was next, he did pretty much the same set that he kicked ass with not long ago, but this time he was gonged??? this just proves further the subjective nature to what is perceived as funny from one person to the next. Thom is a great act as is Jon Newell yet they were not to the taste of tonight's audience despite their talent.
Daniel Carmichael was next, his set was story based and delivered with coolness one minute and then an almost geeky quirk the next which made the set not just funny but entertaining, through he went.
the penultimate act was the only act who's name i missed (sorry) but his clever opener and 2nd joke were brilliant and they alone could have been enough to see him through but as it was there was a great set for the whole 5.
Mark 'the legend' Hayden was the final act, i had discussed with other acts Marks commitment to his squirty materiel and filth laden style and everyone says they admire him for staying true to what he believes, i agree. that said tonight he was going clean(ish) and telling jokes with no squirty!! it did not suit him and the audience were just as confused by the out of the box thinking! bring back
squirty pls Mr Hayden!!!
So that completed the gong show and after a very close clap off 2 acts were selected, Daniel Carmicheal and amazingly myself!!
it was very tight between us and i thought Daniel had done it but the superbly entertaining Sully heard a slight louder cheer for me apparently, it was a great feeling to win outright and to now have 2 Mr Bens gong show wins but i'm Sure Daniel was close enough for a draw.
That said i am very pleased to do well and i now see the value in confident delivery.
i'll enjoy my small moment and hopefully kick on from here.
Birmingham next as MC for band night!!
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