I've done an hour show before, my self promoted solo mini tour (yeah that was a thing) with Dave Rivers and Ross Brielrely was, well interesting... My 1st night of that was at the rubber chicken room in headingley, Leeds. That's the venues name, it's not a kinky late night spot for gimp fetish poultry, but sadly I think it no longer exists despite being a belting venue holding 40, a little air raid shelter of a venue that had skill fully avaded fire regs inspectors.
The one thing that really made that venue interesting was the lack of alcohol license, so the 2 nights of my solo effort were advertised as being you own booze
The 1st night was packed (yeah 40 is packed) absolute sell out, venue rammed with Jim Bayes fans.... By Jim Bayes fans I mean family, friends and people I could bully into coming, back then a great idea just ensure its full... Not something I'd do now, not least because they have all seen my show and.... Well I suspect they would rather go watch the go compere guy in concert than have to do that pretend laugh and then never talk about it again.
I actually though as they wouldn't be comedy fans as such that the 1st night of the show would be dreadful, muted and polite but not a proper gig but I was wrong it was actually a belter... So with that in mind, the second night, the one with actual comedy bookings, people I'd not forced to come... Possible comedy fans, that was going to be a night to remember.
Again sold out I wasn't wrong, it was a night I'll never ever ever forget. It started with the guests filtering in, each with a full box of beers and litre bottles of Bacardi , Smirnoff , Jack Daniels & Battery acid!!
They filtered in all 40 of them and they sat like the cast of Beverly hillbillies if it was set in Yorkshire, staring with empty faces, all 40 of them, the combined IQ of the room was 7!
Ross and Dave did well to get them to even understand that a joke is a thing intended to make one laugh and need not be taken literally! In fact given the was the night went, they smashed it... I think it's fair to describe their performances as 11 out of 10 given the circumstances with which they had to work.
By the time I was due on stage the room resembled the bar scene from Gremlins, an audience that you shouldn't get wet or feed after midnight.
I can't be sure if the picture is from the gig or a movie still from Gremlins!
The moment that really sticks with me is that one woman was so drunk; she fell off her chair and broke the chair in front with her face... Then got up and completely denied having fallen in the 1st place, she actually got angry with me for asking if she was ok!!
So that is the measure of solo hours I have to work with... Leicster, this should be a lot more normal and a little more funny!
I shall most likely report on how it went next week.
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