My last blog told the tale of a trip to Dronfield that did
not go well, then I left you with the note I had just done Lawrence Batley
Theatre new Yorkshire act of the year gig, this went better (more on that in a
moment) but I have since done two other gigs that have been poor, and on
reflection this means I have been right in the middle of a shit spell for a
while! I struggled at Burscough gig52, died at Mr Bens gig 53 had an
indifferent gig in Bolton gig 54 Dronfeild was gig 57 then gigs 59 and 60 were
horror shows too as you will read shortly. So I really need to get a hold of
myself and figure out where I’m going wrong at the moment. I could make excuses…
I’m homeless at the moment as buying a house and being kicked out of the rented
house I lived in are not seamlessly running side by side. All my life is in
boxes and I’m crammed in between 2 houses living with a combination of 9 people
and 2 dogs (which I am allergic to!) oh and my new job is basically dealing
with complaints all day… people moaning like hell because they cant buy a
handbag!!! But I cant blame those things really, I need to rise above it. If I want
to make comedy my job I need to learn to be better so I will have a long hard
look at myself!
So the gigs, Well as mentioned Huddersfield went well. It was
a last minute gig booking so while there is the distinction of the title of the
gig I had done nothing to earn my place. Damion Larkin would mc a strong line
up that boasted Simon D Heaven, Steve Goodall, Sir Dickie Benson, Amy Gledhill,
Tom Taylor, Nick Parry, Glen Moore and myself. 1st place would be
£100, 2nd and 3rd place tickets to a pro show and a
podium spot. The audience took a bit of warming up making it difficult for 1st
act Simon to get momentum but he did great followed by eventual winner Steve
Goodall. Steve I have to say is a superb act and a lovely guy and I’m so
pleased to see him getting recognition. I felt all the acts on the night did
great, I particularly enjoyed Sir Dickie Benson, especially when he smacked a
16 yr old audience member in the mouth with the mic!. I had a good time up
there on a lovely stage to a friendly crowd and came in 2nd. It was
also great to have support and feedback from an experienced act such as MC
Damion who offered to give me details from the judges on facebook… invaluable.
From there I went on to gig 59 at Doncaster Uni. Another great
line up and thanks to Gareth Urwin for booking me and also doing a fantastic
job as MC despite a lay off from comedy. The gig was just a 1 off and was for
the freshers or so I thought but I was expecting a room full of rowdy teenagers
but it was more subdued and had older guys who worked on the campus mixed in
with the 6 or 7 freshers. Laughter was muted but Adam Rushton and Steve
Goodall did superb as did Sam Brady and
Kate Mccabe, in fact it was only I who struggled, granted I was doing new stuff
but it was my older stuff that died! I enjoyed performing my new bit and that
seemed to go ok despite my worry it is too similar to Rhod Gilberts style. But in
front of 3 comedy bookers (Sam Brady, Gareth Urwin and the fantastic headline
who has booked me last 2 gigs in Anthony J Brown) I was ashamed to do so badly.
I’ll be honest I was surprised too, I had begun to have faith in my jokes even
if I don’t like how hacky my topics are it really caught me out to get nothing,
I looked at a girl who Gareth had chatted with called Hannah, she sat stony
faced arms folded, I looked round the rest of the room.. stony faces… I did not
expect this!
I would have to put it behind me and move on to better
performances, little did I know it was to get worse!
Gig 60 back at a Spikey Mike gong show, I really wanted to
do well and impress Spikey Mike so I could get a 10 spot somewhere, I was
bringing my new material along for the ride and I felt confident although tired
from a long week. Thankfully I would not have to drive for once as Daniel J
Kennedy would take that responsibility on for both myself and Si finnigan who
was a replacement for a replacement!
Spikey Mike gigs always bring out good acts and this would
be no different, I had said in the car before a word was spoken I fancy Patrick
Draper to win as he is sensational, but I also fancied Steve Goodall, James
Billington or my 2 travel buddies Si and Daniel to do well. I was expecting to
make 5 mins at the least and see how my new bits faired….. but my poor form
continued as I went on 3rd in the 1st section and I failed
to make it past 2 mins my worst gong show performance ever!!! I was getting
laughs, my biggest came when I called one of the pub staff a snooker referee as
he was wearing a bow tie and white shirt. But my pace was off, there was not a
lot of love from the audience either, they groaned my tea bag line and although
I could not see due to the glare I think all 5 judges went for red, another
disaster and my confidence down in the gutter! Only 1 act from the 1st
section made it through to the final, he went on just before me. He was a guy
in his 60’s maybe? Sat on seat on stage and telling tales from a book like
story time, actually very funny. Si Finnigan made it past 5 which is good up 1st
at a Spikey Mike show, but he did not make the final.
As suspected Steve goodall was superb and Patrick Draper
just a joy to watch but also Daniel Kennedy and Nick Parry doing great sets and
a 19 year old lad who’s name I missed looked very good. There were a couple of
1st time giggers all doing well although one forgot his set and
asked to be gonged so the audience kept him in it although he handled it very
well.
At the final it boiled down to 2 guys, Steve and Patrick
with Pat sneaking a close victory. I was trying not to sulk most of the rest of
the night, I was still picking the bones out of where exactly I went wrong. I have
decided as a result I am scrapping almost all of my current set, big cull of
the cheap jokes, the hacky topics and the crap I have been spouting recently. I
will keep some of it working it into a new re write but its only the odd joke I
will keep, but I will also need to get
some confidence back, I will have a chance on Tuesday as I’m back in
gong action in Nottingham again with a return to the Maze…. Hope I don’t get
lost!
I also have my gig starting up this week, follow @jimbayes
on twitter for updates
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