Dying for comedy Gigs 92-93

I had had a full week off from comedy for the 1st time since starting out so there has not been a blog for a while, but I was back in action in the week prior to Christmas with gigs 92 and 93

Gig 93 Denbeigh NorthWales

I often hear people say I am one of the hardest working open spot acts there is, well one guy works much harder and that is Adam Rushton and it is he who had booked me for his gig in North Wales. This would be my 1^st outside of England as I did not venture to Edinburgh in August. I thought long and hard about whether or not it was worth the long trip from Leeds on a Tuesday night in December, but I had agreed ... no actually asked to do the gig so I would not drop out it is hardly fair. I am glad I didn’t drop out, I have only missed 3 gigs this year that I had said I would do and all 3 due to circumstances out of my control, stage time is hard to come by and letting people down because its a long drive on a Tuesday night is not my thing. Another reason that I was glad I did not drop out was the gig itself... it was a lovely gig and well worth doing. Adam has built up a regular following at the gig and it is a nice intimate setting. Pete Phillipson would open with myself and Rachel Fairburn as middle opens and the wonderful Wes Zahurak headlining. I arrived after a nice traffic free drive although a Polish lorry driver did try and kill me by cutting into my lane forcing me onto the hard shoulder!! I nearly died in the name of comedy!. The room was empty other than Adam Pete and Rachel the latter 2 sat with their notes and Adam stood to greet me and Wes who arrived at the same time as I did. I had a nice catch up with Adam and he shuffled off to buy the acts a drink as I said my hello’s to the other guys before going to get changed. It was a tiny loo area that I was getting changed in and Adam came in to chat to me while I got sorted, he studies comedy and seems intrigued by every angle and approach and is very respectful of what every brings to the comedy table. I was glad to be doing this gig.

I found out as people were filtering in it was a tenner for a ticket and they get a buffet thrown in, given how close it is to Christmas and that we still live in times of austerity i was therefore impressed that around 20 people attended, this pretty much filling the room. Adam worked the crowd as much as he knew each person due to them all being regulars to the gig. The start was fairly subdued so when Pete Phillipson walked up to the stage it had seemed like he may struggle.... He did not!! It was a superb opening 20, he had the perfect mix of gags, stories and crowd work picking mainly on a guy called Tom that Adam had singled out for a little abuse of the good natured type. I was very impressed with Pete’s skill although not surprised. There was a short break before Rachel Fairburn went on, she looks like a 15 year old however is 32 and has some great lines about the things she says to men that she has slept with to freak them out!! Very funny and a little disturbing!! She also has some nice moments that have a personal touch and all in all a very good set. I was next, I had my watch primed ready but did not set it going and I’m certain I overran such was the fun I was having up there. I was not performing comedy gold nor was I at my best but I was definitely enjoying myself and the audience were lovely. I am not sure if I had done well or just ok but i felt content with what I had done.

Wes closed the night with his superb slapstick and visual comedy one man band style performance. It is not re inventing the comedy wheel but it has definitely put some new tyres on it and had the whole room in tears of laughter. There are few people that deliver a truly unforgettable comedy show but Wes in certainly one. And so ended a great night in Wales.

Gig 93 was Portion of Quips new act special, The idea behind this night was for me to have a bunch of acts at a similar level to me and have them compete for audience votes with the winner getting a paid spot at a future POQ gig. I hoped to raise enough door money to be able to buy some posters and flyers for next years 12 POQ’s so I needed the place nice and busy...and it was just that. Over 50 people crammed in to watch Amy Gledhil, Kahn Johnson, Daniel Nicholson, Dave Rivers, Rich Hodkin and Sally Jones do battle, but before that I had an opener/warm up act in the shape of the wonderful Ross Brierely. Ross came on to a cold crowd, I as MC had tried to work the room but I had not managed to find the level so Ross had to self adjust, but he is more than capable of this and arguably one of the best open spot MC’s going. He had a good go at getting them warmed up tonight but I thought it was particularly difficult for him as the room sussed out what was going on. He had a lovely joke about the German market which was the highlight of a typically energetic and engaging performance. The competition started with Amy doing as Amy always does... making everyone in the room laugh!! A great start, Kahn followed, his pace is slower which may have worked against him in the competition but once he got going the crowd warmed to him and he got some good laughs. Dan was next, he made an error at the start of his set and yet he recovered it superbly although a guy said to me on his way to the toilet, “this guy has terrible material”!! oddly he said this after Dan had only been on for 30 seconds!!! There was a break before Dave rivers opened the 3^rd section and nailed his stuff, as good as I have ever seen him. Rich Hodkin went next but while he did ok there was a bit of Rich’s personality missing from this performance and I have seen him much better. Sally Jones closed the show and she was on top form, she was a bit of a late booking as I wanted there to be at least 2 female acts on but had been a bit slow sorting out the second. I was impressed with everyone from Ross through to Sally as they all did their bit but the clear winner on the night was Dan who was closely followed by Amy and Sally sperated by only a couple of points and Dave Rivers only a couple of points behind them. It was a great night for all involved, the audience all seemed to have a great time and I hope to see them all back at the next POQ which will feature a car load from York including Johnny F Monatone and James Christopher to name just 2. Tickets have already started selling too which is nice.

Next for me and my 1^st gig in 2013 is Hull for a 1 off gig I believe that is charity. Have a great new year everyone!!

4 giggings and a funeral Gigs 88-91

It feels like a long time since I have been sat at my laptop writing out my gig blog, possible because life is hectic at the moment and I helped myself no end by booking in 5 gigs this week although due to circumstances beyond my control I had to give one a miss so this blog will contain details of only 4 gigs!!

Gig 88 was an odd one really in that its an open mic night run by 3 new guys to the comedy world. They are from York and so to give themselves more stage time have set up a gig, not a bad idea but they need to promote it a bit more I would say as I had 4 friends in the audience and car share buddy Amy Gledhil had around 10 or 12 mates with her which without these we would have had only 2 in the audience. They will get to grips with that as they progress as we all start somewhere.

The gig itself was like any other open mic gig in that there were some moments where people were trying new things and some worked some didn’t. Bruce diggerdink (I still think im getting his name wrong but hopefully not) MC’d the gig although he did a nice job of keeping the audience awake there will need to be a bit of work in the Mcing department but he knew that and was reluctant for the role so I cant grumble. Damion was confident and had a nice bit about porches and porch doors. Tom who did 2 sets on the night did his 1^st in character and the set heavily featured asking the audience about their ringtone, this lead to a very funny moment when someones phone rang.

Amy started the second section and gave the gig a little more structure, she was in electric form and lit the room up with her presence and joke rate. It was very much what was required and everyone enjoyed a wonderful set. I went next and opted to do my staple set rather than new stuff as I had friends present. I would say I have performed better but I was happy to get some timings perfected and stay match fit for the week. It was a nice night and I wish the guys luck with their gigging as they improve and move forward.

Gig 89 back to a place I gigged at early on in my comedy journey called long live comedy in Newcastle. Dave rivers booked the gig and coming along would be new act winner Callum Scott and Rich Hodkin who thankfully took driving responsibility away from me for once (tis rare i don’t drive)

Chat in the car on the way there centred around standard comedy anecdotes in the sense that we talked about gigs we had done etc, I also told Rich there was a small section of his set (about 1min 30 seconds worth) that I wish I had written for my Amsterdam bit and he duly handed this over... an odd feeling that I kind of purchased another guys material but I accepted the chance to use it as it really suits my set.

Arrival at the gig was delayed by us taking the full tour of Newcastle just trying to find a parking place... twice maybe 3 times round the block too!! Then we arrived to hear Chris Ramsey was performing at the stand, Mumford and sons at the Metro and a metal act who’s name I forget were at the o2 all tonight.... so we were without audience!!

Actually there was a nice audience in the end of around 15 or so and a gig was on. Kayvan Khazaee was on tonight too and went 1^st. It was nice to see him do more than a minute as he was gonged at Preston when I last saw him.. he was great tonight!! Rich Hodkin was also excellent tonight, relaxed and confident. Dave rivers did his usual in that he delivered in a relaxed style, even though he was trying new stuff he looked un-phased although the darker bits didn’t seem to suit him. Callum did what Callum does and just outshone everyone else on the bill. I tried all new stuff really. The work in progress sofa bit and a little bit about weatherspoons. It went ok but i have yet to view the video to be sure, all I know is I felt comfortable with it but not like there was laughs ahoy!.

Gig 90 was again in the northeast and again with Callum. I had driver duty this time and had to pratt about with the spare tyre on the car before being able to set off. I needed a hammer some patience and my dad!! I had two of the 3!!!!anyway I picked up Callum and headed to York to pick up the other 2 acts James Christopher and Chris Bootham who is also known as Sam J Brown, not a character act but a name change. We had a good chat about some new acts we all know who are not all that good and how we are all for giving new acts the benfit of any doubt but some just have no clue or self awareness.. it made for entertaining travel conversation. That and my faux pas asking if the gig had a headliner!! Oh.. it was James (i knew he was at that level i just assumed he was opener for some reason and we were all open spot middles!!) Arrival at the gig left an uncomfortable feeling of oh no we have come all this way for nothing... the footy was on and MC Nick Banks looked resigned to the possibility there would be few in. These fears were unfounded as in the end it was a lovely gig. There was a woman who was a bit mental but she was harmless and actually fun. A couple of guys who were sort of talked into coming and in the end seemed to enjoy it. I decided to go 1^st, Nick who we all agreed was a super Mc had done all he could with a small audience and to be fair he had done great,  I perhaps lacked a little energy or conviction... I was doing what I could to use the room and venue for jokes as well as my set and i guess mocking the bamboo feature got my biggest laugh. I didn’t die on my arse or anything so severe but I did not do brilliant however I was opening act and it is sometimes the case that it is a struggle. Sam went next, he was introduced as Sam so went with it. He set off like a freight train with nice anecdotal jokes and such but he did slow down a little I think when he went to his notes it killed his flow. I still would say he did better than I did though so don’t take that as me criticising in any way. Performance of the night from the opens though was Callum who again out shone. It was one of those gigs that even I thought he would struggle with but how wrong we were... he just nailed it and was in cruise control. What more can I say he is an excellent act.

James took to the stage with his sort of geek chic look and straight away had control. His set has an excellent joke about black tie diners and also a superb bit about losing his bank card in Scotland amongst other things. I really enjoy watching James as he is at a different end of the energy spectrum to where I would like to be yet I would like his ability to craft a joke. Always good to learn from the experienced acts. The night came to an end and I would say we all enjoyed it and had decent gigs each. I took a lot from the night going 1^st and struggling a bit and will learn from this.

Gig 91 final gig of the week was in Grimsby and I believe a 1 off gig. Simon Gutherless booked it and some familiar faces attended such as Jed who would headline, David McAndrew my car share buddy, Andy Woolston who would be doing his last ever gig (unless we can talk him round) and opener Steve Rimmer. Liam Smedley a radio DJ from Viking FM was to MC the gig and he was sat there with the other acts when I arrived. Driving along we talked about ghosts for some reason and told some freaky stories which culminated in talking about how i was actually dead... I died on stage several times in fact and there was no gig we were just going to my funeral!! we werent we were going to a pub gig!! The pub venue was small and divided into 2 rooms with a bar in the middle. This meant that the acts were in the back room out of the way and although able to hear through a dodgy speaker unable to see the other acts so I cant really comment on their sets. It sounded to me like Steve had done well and so had Andy although he looked like his mind was elsewhere after the gig. I went 1^st of the second section. There was a guy not paying attention and facing the wrong way so I used him to open and mocked him gently.. it worked although i nicked the taxi driver line from another gig. I was able to take my time going through my set once they were onside and was lucky really as it was a good audience who seemed to like me. Dave Mac says he thought it was the best he had seen me... I still think I did better at new act final but he was adamant I not be negative about my set. I knew I had had a decent gig though as I could sense a real desire for me to keep going as I ended and my confidence was sky high.

The only other acts sets i saw were Simon and the Jedliner who both stormed it. They both usually do and they had the whole room hanging on their every word. Dave Mac did well at the start but seems to think he lost them at the end, he told us after he came off stage grimacing and does that a lot these days!! Ha. He had us all in tears laughing back stage that is for sure!1 the guy is a legend!! I truly enjoy my road trips with him more than most other things I do (i would not say more than sex as I don’t seem to do that anymore!!!)

And so to a week off as we have bought a house and need to move and shit like that... next gig is 18^th December.

Mr Bens new act of the year final. Gig87

So time had come to put myself to the test, I have been in finals before in comedy but these were selected as a new act and put straight through to the final, this one I had to work for in the gong shows and winning it twice was what qualified me. Now lets not get carried away, I know I would have struggled had I been in the semi final (when you win the gong show once you do the semi final) but I didn't have to worry about that as I was really grateful to those drunk teenage girls for drunkenly voting me a joint winner with Ross Brierley all those weeks ago.

This was a strong line up of new acts. I would have to be on top of my game and the others have an off day to be able to win, but winning for me was not the key, I'm not ready for progression yet and I'm not deserving of the weekend spot yet. For me one thing was key, impressing the judges and in particular Silky who books kill for a seat comedy. I really want to do the Kill for a seat gigs and I won't lie, if Silky was to dislike my stuff I would be gutted.

The competition tonight was a veritable who's who of open spots in Yorksihre

Callum Scott, Thom Milson, Si finnigan, Jacob Rawcliffe, Mickey Sterrett, Mark Hayden, Elizabeth Hotson (as Julie Jones)
Masai Graham, Jim Kelly and Rahul Kohli.

So the show itself, It was hosted by the wonderful Lewis Charlesworth who was capably warming up the packed room ready for the competition. He spent 10 mins doing what I guess we could call the Lewis show and after a few mins the audience primed it was time to go.
the hardest job of the night was going 1st and that fell to Rahul Kohli, He dealt with the pressure well and was confident and very certain of his delivery, it was just so tough going 1st and the audience were not quite with him. Masai Graham was second, he knocked it out of the park, great gags (his black country one is awesome) and great persona... have we seen a winner already?? Jacob Rawcliffe went 3rd, he is refreshing and different and it complimented the on line style we had just seen from Masai. Jacob is an act that makes me look pathetic with his ability to craft material and he maintained the standard. Thom Milson went next, he is on form right now and he delivered one of his best ever performances just as he did on Thursday, it was a joy to watch.

There was a short break then part 2.

Opening part 2 was Mickey Sterrett, one of my favorite acts Mickey was stylishly clever and brilliantly funny, how are the judges going to separate these acts?? Julie Jones a pre gig favorite was next and everyone's favorite Chav was as ever superb keeping the joke rate high. Jim Kelly was act 7 and he picked up where Julie left of in the sense that he kept the jokes flowing and nailed every line, yet another superb performance.... and now... my turn. Going 8th was perfect, it was the spot I would have chosen if I could and the electric atmosphere was helpful. I was not nervous and started with a new bit about my movember not being a Movember but rather to scare kids!! then I went through my staple material. I would say that this was one of my better performances, I timed almost everything right and I had worked it all into a tighter set although at the end I was rushing and stumbled over a word or 2 but I had otherwise done ok.
the second break was allowing me to get some air and chill, on the way out Silky asked me if I still live in Otley and if I might be interested in doing a gig there.... FUCK YEAH!! I no longer cared about the result!!

Final section was Mark Hayden doing what only Mark Hayden can... and the audience loved it. My favorite bit of the night when they were flashing the light at the end of Marks set to notify him time was up and he yelled fuck off with the light I know I haven't won so i'll finish this bit!! haha. Si Finnigan was next and what a performance from Si, I leaned over to Vik and said that could just win it, never seen him so good!!
Callum was our headline, and i'll call him that as he was as ever superb. I would say he was not even doing his best stuff yet he still put everyone else in the shade and given how good tonight was that is quite some statement!!

So the results.... 3rd place.... SI FINNIGAN... well done, 2nd place....... MASAI GRAHAM...... a fabulous performance..... and the winner is..... JIIIMM oh no sorry CALLUM SCOTT, and absolutely the right choice.... the night was brilliant everyone nailed it and I was happy, the negative for me is that I did my very best stuff, in a perfect slot, timed almost to perfection and still was not good enough.... that message has sunk in... better get writing!! but still happy, although no idea if Silky will contact me (or how??) but knowing he would book me is a great feeling.

and now a week off!!

Got myself into Hot Water, gigs 83-86

Well this was a week that was supposed to be crammed with gigs readying me for the Mr Bens new act of the year final, but 2 out of the 6 gigs in 8 days were without audience and as a result called off. Sadly for me one of these was after a 140 mile drive!!! so 280 miles and £40 fuel for nothing was one in the lessons learnt column.

The gigs that I did manage started on Monday night with Ben Browns Sh!ts and giggles at the musiquarium in Kirkstall. included Portion of Quips in Pudsey, A one off charity gig in Sheffield and then Hot Water Comedy Liverpool.

Gig 83.
I arrived at the Musiquarium in Kirkstall unsure really what to expect, I had done Ben Browns Hirsts Yard gig and it was a lovely and busy gig. This venue was a dingy recording studio/ music venue. It was a cold venue and very dark (basically a converted garage unit) but there were outdoor heaters a bar and some sofa style seating. To be honest it was perfect for the purpose it served. The gig itself was hosted by Ben who Mc'd his way through the latest Metro newspaper, a very long MCing set but filled with energy. 1st up was a guy who would be trotting off to London for a new job and was doing his last Yorkshire gig for a while, I missed his name but he was very funny. I went 2nd, the crow was around 10 or 12 strong and they were very receptive. I enjoyed the gig and just used it as practice for next Monday. I did 10 mins which meant I had over run by a few mins from what I wanted (I was aiming for 7 mins) but for a small intimate gig I was  happy enough. Rob James Alexander was on next but I had to shoot off and missed his set but from all accounts it rounded off a nice gig.

Gig 84.
This was my Pudsey gig and I had a great line up. Jed Salisbury was to open, Si Finnigan and Thom Milson from HOWL would be doing middle spots and Rich Austin closing the middle section keeping the quality high. Headliner was Roland Gent who had stepped in after 2 line up changes.

I was worried that this would be a quiet one as at 8pm there were only 4 people in the room and the act had arrived. This was an uncomfortable situation and I felt for the acts, especially as I had lost out on some pre booked guests who were ill. But my worries were unnecessary as people began flooding in and by start time at 8.30 there were 33 in which was a nice crowd. I was again host and MC and used this time just to go round the room, welcome people, try some banter and ad lib and generate warmth for Jed to open. Jed is a great opener, if you are a promoter reading this he is worth every penny if you book him as either opener middle or closer. He warmed the room up with his energy and charm and the jokes landed, as always a the audience really enjoyed his stuff. Si went 1st after the break following me trying a little new bit. He was relaxed and looked comfortable as he mocked the concept of misogyny although the audience did not fully get it. He moved seamlessly through a nice bit about learning French and being on a spy mission in French books, this was more the audience level and they really got on board then as Si delivered the laughs. Thom was next up, a slow start for Thom as he tried to find what worked but he really built up to a wonderful albeit self depreciating set, this culminating in a wonderful ending that the audience belted out laughter at, one of Thoms best performances I have seen. Rich Austin followed, he appealed to a different section of the room with the older guys at the back laughing at every word. Rich will always deliver and this was no different. A very high standard middle. I did a little more working round the room and some older material as I tried to build up momentum for Roland who came on and stormed it.... his material based around the Manchester chav landed with everyone and he had a great set although he overran a touch.
This gig is turning into a little gem and the supportive landlord helps no end.

Gig 85
This was a charity gig in Sheffield for a guy who was going to be walking from John O Groats (is that how its spelt?) to South Africa. The venue looked a lot like something from phoenix nights, there was even a grumpy tossbag of a landlord (who gave me a foul mouthed tirade for drinking beer from the rider and not from his bar) and bingo next door! The acts included Sean Morley who was impressive, Matt Mulligan who was very impressive and Daniel Nicholas who won the grand comedy howler earlier this year who again looked very good. Dave rivers MC'd and did a nice job in a difficult situation as the audience were not that vocal with their laughter. The room layout meant the audience were quite a way back from the stage, now my opinion is a stronger act than that what was performing tonight would have done a superb job but as it is we all did ok. it was not one of my best performances but it was all it could have been on the night. I guess gigs like these teach you how far away you are from being any good yet and I need to really work hard.

Gig 86
Hot water comedy club Liverpool run a new act new material night called testing the water. Tonight Dave McAndrew and I were on the bill along with 7 other acts. The room was packed and a great layout for comedy. Binty Blair greeted us and was welcoming and we took seats at the back waiting to see how the night would unfold. Paul Smith MC'd and was superb, one of the best MC's I have seen with lots of jokes, energy and such a pleasant demeanor. Local lad Adam Rowe opened with a lively set full of local references and the audience were in raptures. Dave Mac followed and set of like a freight train with the jokes landng and a lovely new bit working nicely. I missed the latter part of his set as I went back stage ready to come on.
My set started with me trying a silly poem as one audience member was a rather eccentric poet who was challenged to write a poem about scottish power (so figured I would write a limerick type poem to open with) that went ok and I moved into material, not every joke landed in my opinion but I knew the room were on side and I was getting some nice laughs. The support came in the way of 3 applause breaks which has never happened before and one guy even shouted genius!! of course very flattering but not really deserved I was telling jokes not curing cancer!! The big Julie bit went as well as it ever has at the end and I was very happy with the reception. After the break a guy did a very nice bit about the 12 days of Christmas song then followed one of the worst comedy performances I have ever seen, I hate to be cruel but it was a horror show all 12 mins of it, this set included the word I have a beautiful cock (followed by a graphic description of his penis) then a horrible bit about being circumcised with someones teeth and he even said this requires you to suck a childs ... well I cant even write it... it was horrible!! poor guy was only doing gig 3 although he did not seem fully aware of how bad it was (a blessing??? I dont think so as he may try again).
There were some nice performances but I did not take notes to report on who and how good (sorry).

I enjoyed the drive home banter with Dave as usual and the confidence boost going into tonight's MrBens final was much needed as I face a very very strong line up!!

It's just not cricket. Gigs 81-82

Gig 81 and one I should have been exited about was a bit of a damp squib in the end, I organised a comedy night for my cricket team (one of two but the 7 arts one scheduled for October was cancelled due to lack of interest... a lucky escape maybe?)

I had booked strong acts for both the cancelled gig and this one so fully expected thee to be a good vibe in the room. There was little atmosphere at all in reality although one or two people seemed remotely interested in the comedy element of the evening. Andy Woolston was MC for the evening, he looked relaxed pre gig and although a little confused by the format and expectations of the night he was ready to do a job. The presentations took place 1st and the only thing most people were there for really.
Any jumped into actin with his usual casual charm. He was doing what on any other night was a very good job.... but they were just not going for it! His attempts at crowd work and banter were just rebutted and cricket club president Richard just sat shaking his head!
Jed Salisbury was summoned to the stage, he brought energy in the walk up to the stage and began his set with the determination to win the room over, Jed is a quality opener but to be honest we could have had Bill Hicks in his prime tonight and I doubt he would have raised a chuckle!! Jed did a great job given what he was up against and we went to a food break with everyone feeling a little shell shocked.

In the 2nd section around half the 30 strong audience had left, the 15 or so who stayed behind had woken up a bit and the excellent dark one liner comedy of Simon Gutherless was met with a lot more appreciation, partly because the people who stayed were the few who were enjoying it and partly because Simon has great jokes, the one line jokes landing with Simon delivering the punchlines superbly.
Now it was my turn, I was going to do 25 minutes as a closer (a headliner would have been an inappropriate title, I would never call myself a headliner unless I was good enough... I am not!!) I started out talking about my association with the cricket club and some anecdotal story of my inability to perform skillfully with a cricket bat in hand. I moved on to my set, I was going to go through all of my working material but the mood of the night meant I opted not to and probably a good idea. I didnt take a defeated attitude to the stage in any way, I have seen acts take defeated attitudes and blame the room, the night, the audience.... this could have been one of those nights but I was not going to allow it. It was still a horror show.. but less of a horror show than it would have been. Oddly the whole thing was very enjoyable, I took a lot from it. I have no idea how long i was up there.. maybe just short of 20 mins, there was a lot of waffle coming out of my gob too.

I brought the night to an end with my current staple 'big Julie' story and there was a polite applause. Over was called (thats a cricket reference in case no one spotted that)

My next gig was at Can't sing Can't dance don't cares Gillygate Open mic night in York.
I was going to use the night to work some totally new material. I had done my 2nd ever gig there... I was a lot worse that night than I realised at the time! I had also done a slot there at around 25 gigs. Tonight I would be working off a sheet of paper to see what from my new stuff could be squeezed into my set and become 'material'.
I had picked or rather been picked, to do a bad night as there was an England football debacle.... sorry I mean match, taking place.
This meant we got going late, and there were 8 acts to get through! MC Debra Fayter got things going. She has a lovely presence, very warm and endearing. Only her 4th go at MCing but she did a good job.
1st act was a guy from the north east called Paul Gerrard. He was ery new and reminded me of my 1st appearance at CSCDDC. He had jokes but lacked performance ability which is typical of new acts and he will be fine with a few gigs under his belt. 2nd up was Peter Brush, Peter had recently won a new act competition in Harrogate and rightly so he is very funny. His set was mostly new stuff and was great, I especially liked his dream bit. Harry Bentley went next, I had heard Harry's name before but was not aware who he was, now I am. He focused his material around his sexuality. He seemed unnecessarily nervous, the room was not busy, only 3 non comedians in, hence the quiet reception for a nice set. Break 1 was next, this was longer than it needed to be and at about 10pm section 2 started. Tom Wilson a new act from Salford but based in York went next. He had good confident delivery and a sort of lovable rouge style. His material a bit wordy but he is new and there is plenty of time to trim. He ended his set by yelling into the mic and Sam J Brown jumped out of his skin which was funny!!. Character act and another very new guy Bruce Dingerdik from Australia went next, now I will be careful when I say this as I remember Jon Newell telling me that a review of Sully O Sullivan once included the line 'the worst fake New Zealand accent ever" so when I say his accent fluctuated between Ozzy and not so Ozzy there could have been mitigating reasons. The song he did in the middle was a nice idea and the set as a whole was thought out but just needs a few more proper jokes as he tightens it up. we had another break (to be  honest this one was not neccasary as time was pressing on and there was only 2 in the audience now) Damien O Connor went next as I believe Sam J Brown had dropped out of the running due to time but I could be wrong. Damien went through his set with confidence, at one point simulating sawing off a head!! he is a confident guy and again will just need to tweak his set a bit.
The new guys all did well and I was going on last so good of them to stay and watch. I did all brand new stuff with the exception of about 4 jokes, one of which.. my x box joke, brought a delayed response from the one crowd member who had been there all night (Daddy D Heaven, Simon D Heaven's dad) of.. I got that!! a very polite heckle of sorts. I had a good go at my new set and went on a bit long (about 10 mins when I was only going to do 5 mins) but it was a worthy exercise as some of it went ok and I'd like to try again at Verve (date TBC).

Next gig for me is in Telford for Roger swift

Comedy? that's fighting talk! Gigs 78-80

I have been hammering the gigs since starting out in March but one thing i had yet to do was a double up, well Last night that changed however I will need to think it through a bit more next time. Having done Distrikt bars gig last Sunday I met Ben Brown who runs a gig at Hirsts yard Leeds and invited me to take part, naturally I said yes as I am a gig hussy and want to try and gig as much as possible. With that in mind when I saw Matt Fong at Mr Bens on Monday and he said he had had some drop outs for his gig naturally I was keen, then I found out it was on the same day as the hirsts Yard gig and declined the opportunity to take part before considering the possibility of doing a double up. Now double ups are not really worth while to open spot acts, they are more for pro's who need to make the most of their trips off to gig in other cities than their own and maximise earnings of course. But i decided to do this double up mainly for a bit of experience. Jon Newell would be joining me on both gigs too so there would be someone to share the experience with.

I arrived at Hirsts Yard to see Jon waiting for me with Callum Scott who would be closing this gig. Ben was in the bar full of life and was very welcoming when I asked if i could go on 1st and shoot off to Donny. The plan would be Ben will do 15 mins intro and warm up, then me doing 10, then a 15 min break with Jon going next and only doing a short set. I during that part went to fetch the car from the other side of town ready for the eventful drive.

Speaking of eventful the start of the gig was quite eventful too as Ben was going through his opening lines there was some shouting heard from outside and in staggered 2 very loud very drunk and very aggressive women, they seemed to be hell bent on rowing with anyone who spoke to them. Ben unaware of this began chatting to them initially but it became immediately clear that this was not going to work and he asked them to leave, they refused and began shouting with one of the women who was mixed race yelling racist abuse at Ben. At this point the bar man had had enough and ushered them out, she then began calling him fat and he kept his calm and escorted her out. Problem over?.. no apparently not as they came back and began yelling some more, the bar man shouted fuck off and as a result was punched in the face!!! but this was a parting gesture and the night continued.
I was able to make light of these odd events and it set the tone nicely for my set. the audience were lovely and supportive and I had some fun up there. I was doing my staple 10 mins with the Big Julie story possilbe a bit much to open any gig but they responded well and I came off stage happy with things.

Jon tells me they gave him a similar reception after a slow start with almost sarcastic laughter initially building up to more supportive laughter.

Now we had approximately 30 mins to do a 45 min journey this not helped by road closures in Leeds meaning I had to take a 5 min detour to get onto the motorway, then we made steady progress until we reached another detour as we hit road closures in donny... this took us 20 mins out of the way!!!

finally we arrived at the postcode given but no idea what the gig is called or where we eventually found it thanks to Jons spatial awareness!! oh and some drunk locals giving us vague directions!

More craziness as we arrived at this gig to see MC Matt calling out some hecklers and then chasing them into the street with about 6 punters following for some chest puffing testosterone fuelled shoutiness!! poor Katie Yossarian had to try and battle the disquiet in the room to go through her stuff but she did admirably.
Jon and I were unsure what to expect at this stage but as katie was doing well the audience had focussed back on to the event. This was good for Jon who did superb and looked to be enjoying it. he even had a situation where the audience were shouting AIDS AIDS AIDS at him!! in context this was not weird!!
His set was warmly received and he came off to lots of cheering. I did not fair as well, my concentration was slightly off and I had miscued some of my lines. Jon keen to point out that he was focussed on one lady in the front row who just scowled at me during my whole set despite her mates seemingly laughing along. I cut short what I was going to do due to us arriving late and the fact it was not going as well as earlier the same night but that said I was not overly displeased with things.
Comparably the 1st gig was better for me but i enjoyed both. If I am to double up again though I will make sure it is more local and that I don't have to drive as far if at all. Other than that my 1st double up was enjoyable.

I must also mention in this blog the gig that was not a gig (but i'm counting it in my tally), on bonfire night I was set to open at Mr Bens, sadly there were only 4 people who turned up so the gig was pulled, however, we did a kind of workshop thing kicked off by Thom Milson there was input from Jon Newell, Edy Hirst, Jed Salisbury, Angie King, myself and a few guys who's names I didnt get. there were some nice moments as people tested new material and tweaked existing stuff, I did approximately 3 mins of totally new unrehearsed stuff which was okish!! i dont know how to better review it really. A work in progress for sure and stuff I will be spending time writing more jokes for this week.

next up gig wise is a cricket club private gig where I will be doing a headline role (of sorts, I know I'm no headliner)

MC OTT!! gig 77

Gig 77 was some paid MC action in Hull. The pa was nice but more to cover expenses and not a reflection on my progression... that said I would like to have been able to perform well to justify receiving any cash for my being there.

Travelling with me was Callum Scott who would be making his 1st ever visit to Hull, his last too? I doubt it but there was a mixed reception for him, more on that shortly.

Also on the bill were  the excellent Pete Phillipson, Andy Woolston and Jay Hampson with whom I would be gigging for the 1st time.

Arrival at the gig was slightly late but the band were just finishing as I arrived so it wasn't a massive issue although I did not have long to get ready and get started. The pub was full, the atmosphere was a nice one but there was not the same buzz about the room that exited last time.

I took to the stage and waffled MC like crap at the audience but it was not my best... for some reason I was just off the pace and the audience did not seem to certain where I was going with it. I was not helped by the very tinny sound system.. Not helped but not hindered, The lack of quality was my own doing. The sound was adjusted and I was able to get Pete on to the stage to do his opening 15 mins.

Pete was brilliant, he went through his set with ease and was more than comfortable with the situation that I had left him in ( a room that was not properly warmed up) We had a break and I was thinking through some advice I was given on Mcing... ask the audience lots of questions and react from their answers. This was my intention from the second part of the gig but I went overkill.... tried to talk to too many people and had very few decent answers to turn any of it into good jokes so when it seemed I had them up I missed my best que point to get an act on and actually timed my mid bit at 16 mins... way too long really.
Andy therefore had to battle to keep audience attention up during his set which was not fair on him really. That said he did a grand job. Callum had it even harder to get the audience attention although he had it very early on. He had their attention but they looked at him as he went through his gay stereotypes material as if to say.... an actual gay?? and he's allowed in? I'm sure there wasn't such prejudiced though processes going on but it did seem that way.  I don't have the skills Callum has though and he rescued it however only about 25% of the audience were on board again down to my over MCing.

Final act Jay Hampson went on and just won the audience over in a few seconds, He laid in to the awkward old fella at the front who refused to turn round or listen to the gig. Jay's set was snappy and well presented and he was excellent to watch. This rounded off the night nicely however I have to really learn the lessons of the night which are to do my best stuff in the opening section, get to know the audience in that section then just keep it snappy from there on.

I'll not dwell on it but I at least know for next time.

My next gig Mr Bens as a gong show opener which is always tough so maybe i'll abandon material and try ad lib?? not sure yet