If my confidence was
low from my recent run of gigs the last thing I needed really would be a bad
performance at a gong show, but conversely if i did well it might just be the
trigger to return to form.
I have 3 gigs this
week (well 4 actually but due to family issues in flooding York I would have to
miss out on one) This week would take me to 63 gigs, a healthy number in just
over 6months? I don’t know but my material still is not solid enough. I talked of
ditching it all in my last blog, I most probably will but for now I don’t have
enough good stuff so only a small new bit would be worked in.
Gig 61
The Nottingham Maze
gong show was one of Spikey Mike’s and i wanted to do it to try and get myself
in front of Mike for 10 spot bookings... well being gonged off on Saturday
meant that it did not matter what i did tonight I would not be impressing
really. Dave Mac joined me on the line up with the other names I knew being Raj
Chowdry, Matt Forde and Martin Hastie.....yes this means it is a fight for 2nd...
gong shows suit 1 liner comics but even so Martin’s jokes are excellent and
therefore he is virtually invincible! I would be last of the 1st
section, the mild compliment of being regarded one of the stronger acts? Im not
sure. The audience were very forgiving this evening with some fairly ropey
performances somehow surviving the gong all night. It was a strange one really
as my performance on Saturday was better than some who made it through tonight
(i sound bitter but just frustrated really as that gonging had set me back 6
months with Spikey Mike for certain)
A subdued start to the
night with some good jokes and some less so left me feeling nervous about how
nice the audience were as i went on and i started nervously but once I got my 1st
laugh I was off, I felt in control again and was able to confidently try my new
bit which killed it a little but I was back on form. I had only one act to
worry about if i was to pick up the winners money.... and he nailed it...,
Martin the joke machine Hastie had them in the palm of his hand, another great
performance.
Dave Mac was also back
in top form with the story telling type comedy not getting as many laughs but
getting the biggest as he told his tale of getting older and waking upto a deep
voice! I’d love to review all the acts but there were 16 so too many to mention
but for me beating the gong was nice again but the final minute was never going
to get me the win as my 1 joke not enough to beat Martins 3 belters!! Similarly
Dave Mac was unable to produce enough and Martin won comfortably
Gig62
Portion of quips is my
very own night running at the lovely Bojangles bar in Pudsey. I was strating it
up again at this venue after a hiatus from previous venue the Royalty following
the 2009 closure (bloody recessions eh!!) Jay Hampson would open and what a
great job he did, I really enjoy watching him in action this now the 4th
time i had seen him. His carpenter joke i have mentioned before is great. Steve
Goodall was next up and he did what he does best, light up the audience with
clever jokes and an amiable approach. Dean Mavros followed with a 7 minute
comedy assault!! His material beautifully crafted and the audience lapped it
up. Tom O Dair closed the second section with some nice wordplay, he struggled
to make an impact on the audience with it but that because they were a low brow
crowd i would guess. Paul Savage headlined, his material was nicely structured
and it was fun to watch how he told his stories, he really built up the set and
the crowd really looked to be enjoying every minute. It was nice for me to see
a more experienced comic going through his set and pacings with which he did
so. My Mcing was up and down, I knew most of the audience and tried to make a
joke of asking them where they worked etc despite knowing the answers but this
did not work as it was suggested to me I don’t do that by another act. I did
however do a bit of crowd work with the few people i knew little about and the
ones i did know a bit about i tried to get additional facts from. I also tested
a lot of new material.... an awful liot!!... in that there was lots... and some
of it was awful!!! Ha but i did enjoy it. I was pleased with the support from
the venue too and the low drinks prices so this could be nice moving forward
although i need to make sure this gig does not adversely affect Sam Brady’s gig
in Pudsey. I would be happy to promote his gig to my crowd though as i believe
it could be beneficial.
Gig63
I was invited to the
lescar in Sheffield to do a gig for Steven Evetts on Friday 28th. I
knew little about the gig but figured stage time is required for my confidence
to rise. Rich Hodkin was also participating in what turned out to be a support
role for Steven’s 90 minute show ‘burning in hell with the easter bunny’. The Boro
born comedian has been doing comedy for 4 years and spent most of that time in
the usa gigging in some major US venue’s i’m told. This show was all new
material and was meant to be myself and Rich in the 1st section I
think with steve’s show all in the second section. But I was having problems, I
was going to need to get the train originally but Vik would lend me the car
although she was late getting it to me, then there was no fuel in it and the
battery charger on the sat nav stopped working so i used my phone.... which
then ran out of battery!! So i was lost low on fuel and without communication
but i eventually got there as Rich was beginning his set. He was having Mic
troubles but cracked on to a fairly quiet unresponsive crowd despite Rich’s
jokes being good quality... the reason i found out was there was no MC so it
was supposed to be me who warmed them up.. oops! I felt bad. There was also no
mic stand!! Rich had to walk on to the stage with no introduction pic the mic
up off the floor and try get them laughing!! Steve decided to do the 1st
half of his show although i was now here and to get me to start the second
section. His show was very wordy and although some really nice ideas there were
not a lot of punchlines really making
the pace slow. Steve did 45 mins but the audience were unresponsive and despite
the £6 entry fee 7 people did not return for the second section unfortunately.
I was of the belief the room just needed a bit of energy and a few silly jokes
so i went on and tried to MC it for a while. I got a few laughs with my 1st
few lines and then chatted to the audience getting some of them to even make
their own jokes. There was load laughter and i was really enjoying it, i went
into my set but referenced the audience as much as i could referring to a
teacher that there may be 15 year old girls in the next room telling an Texan guy
that Texas Pete offof superted was the only Texan i knew etc.
I was having a ball up
there and although i was meant to do 10 mins i did just shy of 20, and it was deffo
my best performance ever! I am not arrogant enough to say i stormed it but i
was certainly applauded off which was nice. Steve went back on and i had a good
feeling he would now pick up the pace but sadly this stuff was clearly all very
new and he really struggled, he actually got in a very awkward argument with a Christian
audience member who even shouted none of this has been funny it should at least
be factual!! I felt for Steve now as he is a lovely guy but he seemed unphased
and carried on. The show came to an end with the full 90minute rendition
completed. I’m not sure if I would ever attempt this, I think Steve has talent
but his writing needs a lot more jokes or funny bits but who am I to say? I
wish him well with the tour, personally i stayed around for a few minutes and
milked the audience compliments as they filtered out past me. I was buzzing
again and my Mojo is back.
Next up it’s Mr Bens
gong show with 100% new stuff so lets see if it beats the gong!!!
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