Ups and downs Gigs 106-109

Well what a week of gigs I have just had.... new material that was horrendous, then 2 brilliant gigs followed by dying on my arse at the end of the week!!

Gig 106
This was a new material night and it was mainly attended by comedians and was a chance for me to just try a different angle. It reminded me of the CUT UP nights that HOWL ran briefly and like those nights I delivered nothing but shite!! in fact to quote a txt Dave Mac sent me, I might as well have done a shit on the stage and pointed at it, said there is my materiel and walked off!! It re affirmed the knowledge that crude does not suit me though and so for that alone I am pleased I did it.

Gig 107
Sully O Sullivan had very kindly recommended that I try get my self on at Chris Brookers Keighley. I had applied for this before an found it difficult to get on but the recommendation helped as I was booked in. I waited since October for the date to come round and was looking forward to it. A possibility to double arose too however the other gig in nearby Bingley wanted me on stage at a similar time so I stuck to just the one gig. Hayley Ellis would open, Dave Twentyman to close and Will Setchell was the other open spot with Chris MCing. The pub was rammed, that being the Cricketers arms, and there was an electric atmosphere. Hayley kicked things off with a brilliant 20 min opening set that the crowd enjoyed ever word of. It was nice to see a more advanced act and how she worked her jokes. The break seemed short and it was soon my turn. There were some nerves, I believed I would make them laugh but I wanted to be good enough to be re booked or considered for progression, what I got I could not have hoped for. My 1st line was heckled, a pleasant heckle really, it didnt add to the joke but it gave me a chance to have a back and forth with the audience and get a big laugh out of nothing, settled by this I went to my staple 10 min set routine and it just seemed to work. I had 3 applause breaks which has never happened before and it was nice to feel I was on form. I tailed off a touch but I think it was due to the slightly wordier story at the end. I wrapped up and came off stage buzzing. Will went next and was strong, he relied on what he knows rather like I do and talked about his upbringing with great results. If they liked me, they loved him!!. Speaking of loved him, Dave Twentyman was the headliner that the night needed, I had to stand at the back to watch him as during the break 4 burly 40 something men wanted to blow fire up my arse, hug me and repeatedly shake my hand!! it was nice and uncomfortable at the same time. Dave's set was slightly disturbed by a row between audience members but he handled that and carried on steadily building into some lovely anecdotes about going out with his mates, relationships and how to make the Asda tag line funny!! his set was about 40 mins but was called back for an en core and the following 15 mins were equally superb. closing off a great night and for me personally a night that made me 100% certain this is what I want to do full time if I can.

Gig 108
This was another away trip, this time to Birmingham for Dave Rhys Jones' laughing lions comedy club at the brown lion. Si Finigan was my travel buddy. Si is in great form as he starts to mould his comedy style to perfection. He had never gigged in Birmingham before and so most of the journey down we talked about why I felt I needed to come to the midlands for gigs and what good it does or does not do to drive for 3 hours do 10 mins to 6 people then drive back at the cost of around £50 in fuel!!! We also discussed materiel ideas and what we would be performing on the night.
On arrival the venue looked nice, brightly lit which doesn't usually work for comedy but nice. Dave came to greet us and gave us some drinks vouchers which is always a bonus. He would MC the night and did so with a laid back style. The 1st act went on after a short warm up. Joe Tree, who just did a short set of what I think was mainly new stuff. The audience were quiet which was not helped by a heckler who introduced himself as Wayne the Wanker!! Gareth Guild went 2nd but unfortunately Wayne the wanker stopped Gareth in his tracks about 2 mins in and he lost his way forgetting his next line which led to him leaving the stage very early. Si suggested we get him back on between myself who was next (1st after the break), and Si. Gareth said he would see if he felt up to it but as Dave pointed out its important to get back on stage asap when something like this happens. After the break  went on and just tried to lift the room a little, I did some crowd work, some tried and tested materiel and a fair bit of new stuff. To be fair, most of what I did was shite, but it didn't seem to matter as the heckler had gone, the audience had warmed up and I seemed to blag my way through it. Gareth decided he would go next, this was a massive decision for a new act and took some guts as had it been me I would still be hiding now!! Thankfully he completed his set this time and did a good job.
Si went next and had some great lines about the heckler that still worked even in his absence. The new materiel was going down really well until a slightly wordier bit that Si stopped in its tracks and asked the audience where he lost them? they were on side but upon being asked this they clammed up a touch, so Si turned to a suited guy at the bar and tried a bit of a recovery with him... only this guy had just been to a funeral and responded with a line to the effect of, didn't realise I would be at 2 funerals tonight! this was a way back in that Si has the chops to take and he rounded off the set nicely with biggest laugh of the night so far.
We stayed to watch the remaining 2 acts however sadly I forget the name of the young lad who went next doing I believe his 23rd gig? and doing brilliant with massive laughs all the way through. Masai Graham was to close, he has the one liner comic style that can't really be compared to other one liner comics, often you may say, he is like Tim Vine, or like Milton Jones, but Masai is just Masai and has some great jokes. He tried some new ones tonight too which was pleasing to see as it must be so difficult to write one liners consistently.
The drive home seemed to take forever but there was a tinge of regret that I didn't have a dictaphone because I don't even know why but I laughed almost all the way home. I am certain I should do road trip pod casts as no matter who I car share with its always hilarious!!.

Gig 109
I was booked for Giggles Live to replace Jed who had to drop out of this gig and asked me to step in. Giggles Live is a touring comedy night that moves across venues in Hull mixing music and comedy. This was a Sunday night gig and as such it was nice to see how busy the gig was, especially at a £5er in. The guys had done well promoting it. One of the organisers Gary greeted me as I arrived and explained the night. Steve Rimmer (who in case he does not mention is the Uk's only bomb disposal technician comedian) would host with comedy music from the Custard Chucker and Matt and Me in the 1st section, then 2nd section was myself, Jack Gleadow and the Live Naked Idiots. The final section would be Gary Jennison the pre mentioned organiser and headliner Joe Charman.
The 1st section was more about the music than the comedy, while the acts were silly they were not comedy acts although opener the custard chucker would not be out of place on a comedy only line up.
I opened the 2nd section and it felt like I had interrupted a funeral at 1st!! they were just not in the zone, possibly not helped by me repeatedly asking them whats up?? one guy yelling out, its Sunday night we are tired!! I also did one of those tapping the mic, is this thing on lines that I despise!!!! silly prat!
I started to win them round towards the end of my set and by the last 2 mins they were laughing but it was too late I had already for all intents and purposes, just died on my arse. This was cemented by the belly laughs that Jack Gleadow and the Live naked idiots got from the room. Jack's set was only short but was neatly delivered from a guy who was very nervous and the idiots just used their 2 available performers to sketch out some sillyness.
Gary J went on after the break and went for an all out crazy attack which was funny and scary at times!
Headliner Joe is headline quality indeed but for me possibly not to all tastes?. The guy is very very talented and produced some really nice stuff with his human beatbox, in fact the only act that would have broken the language barrier given that there were 2 Germans, a Fin, a Frenchman and a Brazillian in. His take on how German Techno and Punjab dance sound were nice and the silly sound effects sort of reminded me of Ivan Brackenbury. The night brought to a close with a song created using suggestions from the audience.
Giggles live is a lovely set up and I hope to get a chance to perform there again... only I next time I am determined for more laughs!!

Next for me is another workshop gig on my 1 year comedy birthday.

Posh Doncaster Gig105

I feel like i'm bag on the gig momentum as took on my 3rd gig of the week, this like Tueasdays was for our mothers do ave em run by Matt Fong and was in the lovely Bawtry theatre in posh Doncaster (yeah its really true there is a posh part) There was to be myself doing the opening 15, Matt Fong 2nd then a break with the middle section containing Fran Garrity (or Frank Gravity if the facebook group is to be belived) Andrea Whittaker and Ross Brierley with Alex Boardman headlining and Nick Banks at the helm.
The short trip across Ross and opted for some version of deep conversation and discussed the possibility of the comedy bubble bursting just as we get any good at it amongst other things, Ross is a very self aware guy and also a good comic in the open mic arena. He knows when its going badly the reasons why and seldom blames anything but himself for that and this comes across when chatting en route to gigs with him.

We arrived in Bawtry to see what looked like a lovely little venue, and once inside confirmed it was as Matt was waiting in the doorway. He lead us through to the green room up above  the theatre stage where the north east contingent were sat waiting. They were all in good spirits and the atmosphere among the acts was nice. The gig started and Nick who is a strong MC was working hard to get the crowd going, he got into conversation with a guy called Claudio who we were to discover over the course of the evening was a tool!! It was not going to be a problem for me as he hadn't quite got into full tool mode at the point of my timeslot. I tried a new intro today, I was announced to the stage but left it 20 seconds before emerging clutching a Macdonalds bag.... I just got a cheeseburger for 99p... Yeah I wont do that again!! My set otherwise went ok, the new bits were a bit flat and too wordy as I clearly delivered them with no confidence but my tried and tested was going quite well including an applause break (sort of as when it gained momentum I began talking again.. div)
I was relatively happy with the set but I know I have been tighter and better so I say relatively happy but it is tinged with disappointment.
I missed Matt's set unfortunately however, heard he did something with a bottle that went really well... no idea what though!! sorry Matt.
2nd section was when Claudio upped his numpty level a notch, Fran was not really a victim of it as his sort of deadpan laid back style was nice and his jokes about fore exit and I hope you get better soon were lovely. I thought Fran was nic and solid with a quietish crowd. Andrea was more a victim of the Claudio show... it riles me that I have mentioned his name this many times, from now on he is just 'that tool'! Andrea was doing ok but she required a bit of audience input and 'that tool' thought he would try and make it all about him. By now Alex our headliner had arrived and 1st thing he picked up on was the behavior of our new common enemy who clearly was spoiling it for the others with his random heckles that made no sense. During Ross' set he blurted out nonsense 3 times but when Ross addressed it he acted like nothing had happened at all. it really took away from Ross' set which was being raved about by Alex, a nice compliment for Ross. So the middle section was by no fault of the acts a bit odd and a touch quiet. Nick got the audience to focus back on the comedy at the start of the headline section with his lovely Frank Spencer bit before Alex went out and spent the 1st 2 mins destroying 'that tool' much to the enjoyment of everybody else at the gig. This was a 30 min set of a pro and it showed we opens still have a bit of work to do, the subject matter was something I think we are all acheiving but the way it was delivered with technical ability and made exponentially funnier somehow was great to watch as with Sully earlier in the week. It was a great end to the gig that one numpty aside was lovely.

Next up workshop gig 6 and a trip to Birmngham again.

It was rammed last month, Gigs103-104

I once again found myself sat on a megabus, the hellish journey to London made worse by half term and the fact that the bus was full, cramped and smelly. For some reason the bus driver opted to have the heating on... when you can feel the sweat in your bum cheeks you know its not a nice journey! still I feel it is a worthwhile one, I would be performing only 5 minutes of materiel all newly written especially for these shows. I am pleased I decided to do this, I need to write and I need a goal with the writing as I do not have spare time or a plethora of thoughts like some of the talented writers in and around the open mic scene in Leeds and beyond. I had also recently procured some materiel from another act as he had decided it didn't suit him and it fit perfectly in one of my anecdotes. Now this was all fine until I was contacted with a very polite email from another comic who claimed this materiel to be his, he even provided an audio clip to prove it, this clip proved nothing really however, I know I did not write this and I do not want an unfair reputation forming for myself or this other act and his approach was fair although he was tipped off by other acts I had nicked this.... I do not know exactly what was said but unless you are certain and 100% whiter than white then be wary of accusations, I work hard and could do without some miscued accusations stewing in my head.

My latest attempt at a fresh 5 was my best yet I think, I stepped on to the stage with an opening line about the mundane thoughts I have when driving, then escalated them to how my mind works on the Monday drive to work moving on to how much I hate my car and thoughts about cars in general. I was very pleased with the reaction and some nice big laughs where I had hoped... it was the 1st time I felt in control of my comedy and not just saying random shit hoping it would be funny although that is essentially still all it is.

gig 103 down and I felt pleased with progress.

104 Derby Uni

My next gig was a trip to Derby University with Ross Brierely who's company is always enjoyable. The usual chat of how we know everyone better than they know themselves and of course despite having less than a year under our belt we of know how comedy should work (we are very aware we know fuck all by the way, I wouldn't want this blog post reviewing and being misunderstood)
Arrival at the uni was well timed with the hockey team all gathered in the foyer... hello ladies!! however, when we arrived at the gig it was a ghost town!! the standard you should have seen it last month quote followed but from all accounts it was rammed last month, this month.. half term.. just 16! but they were a good 16 to have in as they were confident to laugh out loud, intelligent and attentive. I was up 1st, Matt Fong opted not to do too much MCing and I expected them to be a bit cold, not at all, they were lovely. I enjoyed my 15 minutes and it seems they did too. Rick Wood was next, I unfortunately missed his set as I went to say hello to headliner Sully who had just arrived and then a beer stop but I heard he did well with a shorter set of new stuff. Dan Nicholas went next and as always just made everyone laugh by being there! his awkward appearance and clever usage of pauses, facial expressions and movement were a hit. Ross Brierely who's name I'm never sure if I am spelling right followed and was as ever commanding, entertaining and funny. Ross has a superb attitude and no matter how a gig is going he will do everything he can to remain as professional as an act of his calibre can, I say his calibre as he does not have 16 years man and boy experience that some acts have yet it seems he has and he rounded off the open spot section of the gig in style.

Sully went on after the break and owned the stage, he was able to gauge the level of the room instantly and delivered his set like it was the 1st time the words had ever been spoken, to a room of just 16, t was great to watch... this is the ultimate perk of being a stand up, you get to see great stand up at all levels.

The traditional MacDonalds stop before driving home was included and the workshop of a car journey home was great fun with both Ross and I coming up with a new joke for each others set. Another one of those great nights, next stop London again where I will be doing one liners and also talking about sex baby.

Lost in the midlands gigs100-102

Now anyone who plays cricket (immediately people stop reading and yawn) will know that getting your century is a big thing, so I shall use this analogy, you see when you are on 99 you want to hit Shane Warne or Dale Steyn back over their head for a massive Six. So when you are on 99 gigs you want your 100th to be that massive 6, maybe a pro bill on a Saturday where you rip the room to apart and pull the supermodel on the front row... but my 100th gig was more like that chipped mishit shot that 3rd slip should really have caught as you trudge through for a lucky single..... shit analogies aside I was pleased to get to 100 albeit in the safe environment of the London workshop I have been attending, this is still a gig for those who are sneering as there is an audience to perform to after in a small room and there is a full round up of acts going through their routines. My turn was right at the end, I had written a new 5 as are the rules for this gig. I had opted to write about a run in i had had with a homeless guy after a night out, something i had been toying with writing about previously  to say it went well would sound cocky but.... it went well, the laughs happened where i had hoped although it was a very friendly supportive audience. So gig 100 on a Monday night in a tiny room above a pub in London with a battery operated PA, about 14 in the audience and all new materiel... but 100 not out (ok Jim fuck off with the cricket stuff already)

Gig 101 was part one of a double header in Birmingham.
It was run in a lovely little social club in Erdington just outside of central Brum by Andy Nightingale. I was down to do January however the gig was pulled due to snow which was a shame however at that time i was suffering from Tonsilitis so glad it worked out that way and now as I have the final of the roadhouse new act competition in Stirchley (about 20 min drive away) it was nice to double up.
When I arrived at Hollywood social Andy was waiting in the doorway and welcomed me, he directed me to the back room where 2 guys sat chatting along with a lady, they were the other 2 open spots and the girlfriend of one. Both lads were celebrating a year in stand up, although they were a month ahead of me in start time they were a few gigs behind me at around 20 or so each. Headliner Andy White and the MC Dave Dinsdale arrived shortly after as did opener Pete Teckman. They headed for the green room (or pool room) and so I went to join as did Shaun and Gareth the other two open spots previously mentioned. In the green room I found myself talking like i was performing materiel... I didn't mean to I just came across as that twat that never stops!! it was actually nerves as I am not gigging regularly at the moment, I cant get booked locally which is fine but booking myself into this long haul gigs means I am not as match fit as I should be. This was largely evident in my set, I was nervy  in my delivery and did not land every punch line... I was fixated on a lady in the front row of the 30 or so strong crowd who was hating me!! her boyfriend not too keen either and I believe he was Andys brother.. oh well. I dropped my new bits on the homeless guy and handshakes in and they went ok but on the whole i was well below par. I could not stay to watch the others so i said my goodbyes and dashed across Brum to Stirchly.
Gig 102
So I had entered a new act competition (in June I think) the heats were held over a few months with some 300 acts I'm told taking part? I had heard nothing so assumed no success so when I received an email congratulating me on making the final I was chuffed. What was even more pleasing was seeing what the prize was, for being a finalist I would be performing at GlastonBudget on the comedy stage that was going to be debuted this year. GlastonBudget is basically a scale down version of glastonbury with tribute bands taking the place of real bands (of course tributes are still real bands) There are 2 stages, the main stage and the less main stage i guess? 15000 people will attend and now, for the 1st time, there will be comedy... and im on!! awesome. The final will decide who headlines the show as all finalists will be performing at the festival and have free VIP weekend passes to boot. So I arrived, late as I was at Erdington. When I arrived there was a young man playing acoustic guitar and singing both covers and his own songs, He was doing 10 mins and I was to follow a fact I discovered as i arrived. I was immediately worried, I had performed badly once already tonight and now I am following a musician... shit!! I was beckoned to the stage by Jamie Tipping the host, and the 1st thing I did was fuck up the mic stand!! but this brought a huge laugh as i tried to recover!! thankfully I was able to ride off that laugh and was in my stride quickly. My jokes were landing this time where they were not so much about an hour earlier. I took confidence and grew a little in stature during the performance. It was great fun and I could not be happier with the reaction as I got to my closer with 15 mins exactly on the clock, I was pleased but still a long way off my best, I had performed much better at Mr Bens new act final. there were 3 more acts following me, the next one straight after me was Graham Milton (i think) he flutted from general comedy to creepy audience interaction which worked nicely and there were big laughs for him. The final break was next before Jonathan Hipkiss took to the stage with his impersonation and voice comedy. He had a new bit which was lovely that involved a lot of facial expressions and was about the ages of boy to man. Masai Graham was last, a headline spot for a headline quality act and he delivered much like he did at Mr Bens. One liners do so well at these things and I could not deliver that many jokes which is why i waffle, the baby Due joke and Black country ones were the big hits with the joke rate meaning laughter was almost constant....  think we have seen our winner!! Jonathon told me that David Tandy was strong from the earlier acts as was Maggy Whitehouse and they were in with a chance but I was very much expecting Masai to win, so I was shocked to hear him announced as 3rd place!! really?? then 2nd place, I forget who tis was now but I remember feeling a little frustrated that I hadnt even placed, then the winner was announced.... and holy shit it was me.. I did not need to do false oscar night surprise, I was genuinely surprised... WTF I won?? so I get to headline at a festival?? that will look awesome on my CV!! galavanting off to Brum has paid off. So pleased with this. So much so I hugged all 4 judges (what a knob). I would have driven home buzzing but the M6 was closed and I wound up driving round in a big figure of 8 back to spaghetti junction 5 times!! Birmingham your roads are confusing enough without closing seemingly the only route home i have, and what the fuck is that roundabout thing at Walsall?? I nearly died the 1st 2 times I had to endure it!! Christ on a bike!!!

Next for me back to London town for more workshop comedy at the coffee house.

99 but no flake Gigs96-99

Gigs have dried up for me a bit since becoming a homeowner but I have managed to get a few in during the january transfer window (a completely uneccasasry reference)

GIg 96

One of these was to be my 1st closer gig. I was selected to close not just on last which was nice. A 20 min set too which I have not done on purpose much before (I did 20 mins at the Lescar once just riffing which I must point out was not for last laugh). Doing the closing 20 was in no way a measure of me against the other acts, in fact I was one of the weakest on the bill!! but it was my style that meant the the lovely Amy Gledhill who organised the night felt I would be a good closer. Opener duty went to one of the best openers I know, certainly on the open mic scene however, this guy is pushing into paid and rightly so. I am of course referring to Jed Salisbury. He went through the gears nicely focusing on his more inappropriate stuff which was getting the laughs however, it did lead to a priest leaving!! I shit you not!!

I am sketchy on the order of the middle section so apologies to those involved if I remember this the wrong way round but I believe it was Anna King-Jackson 1st of second section, gigging in Hull made her accent stronger but it suited this gig perfectly and the jokes landed with the warm supportive crowd enjoying themselves. Si Finningan was next and riffed nicely, n fact it could easily have been material which was lapped up by the crowd. Next was Jon Newell, sadly I missed most of Jon's set as I was pacing nervously. I know that he did perform my favorite routine of his and he seemed in control with a new air of arrogance in a way.

I went last, I was looking forward to this but I just never got going, I was slow out of the blocks in a performance  sense, I did zero crowd work and I did not time my jokes well... and that was just the positives!! But I relaxed a bit more as I got going and I thought I was able to cover up the below par performance a bit. I got some laughs though, some newer bits worked and all in all I was happy to get the experience of a closer spot.... although I will not be putting 'headliner' on my CV just yet!

It was a lovely gig to play and I hope Amy who did a fab job as MC keeps this going.

Gig 97

This was not so much a gig as a comedy testing ground, the audience made up of new acts. I did my 3 minutes based around the guy that sells sofa's and tried to create a ludicrous version of him... it went ok, lets just say that. Not much more I can say on this night other than the input of Geoff Whiting was the most invaluable comedy advice I have heard yet.

Gig 98

My Pudsey gig, sold out (although a few people did not turn up) and a strong line up from York.

There was something missing from the past few portion of quips nights though, some of the atmosphere was not there. Maybe it was the problems I was having the PA system, maybe it was because I was so tired, maybe because of nothing and it was just one of those things?.

Johnny F monotone opened and was, as ever, superb! just such an enjoyable act to watch as the audience laugh and also cringe as he stares around the room. Very good start after my fairly lack luster MCing had barely warmed them up. Simon D Heaven went next, He was a little self conscious tonight it seemed which meant his timing was not to its usual high standard, a few comments after were that he had by far the best jokes but did not wait for the audience to clock on quite long enough... Pudsey crowds need that extra second.

There was then a break before I returned to pick up the pace a little with the Mcing, it went a bit better for me the second section and the crowd seemed to wake up a bit. Alistair Greaves took to the stage next, he did a nice musical bit but it wasn't always clear what was being said. Sir Dickie Benson followed and put in one of the performances of the night, always a joy to to see sir Dickie in action and the Pudey crowd really enjoyed it.

James Christopher brought the night to a close with a set that included some great jokes along with James's geek chic style, there were 2 great moments with applause breaks, those being Gap year and def Jam! I like the way James presents his comedy and it was a pleasure to have all these acts, just a shame it was a bit flat compared to past nights but I took a lot from it personally and vow never to allow that to happen again..

Gig 99

This was my return to London, I was presenting my brand new never performed 3 mins on the awkwardness of greetings, I would say it needs a little tweaking and polishing but the feedback was good and my Debra nhams off the cuff joke worked although that kind of joke has been done before.

it was a no frills performance at a no frills night but I am glad to be getting some exposure to London and meeting the acts based there.

My next real gig is the Final of the roadhouse competition in Birmingham with a headliner spot at Glastonbudget up for grabs i better be on my A game, my last final at Mr Bens I was on my A game yet was not even top 3 so work to do and one of the guys who beat me, the man who came second that night Masai Graham is also in this final!

Lead Balloon Gig95

Gig 95, a little trip to the comedy balloon with Rich Hodkin and a chance to bang out about 6 or so mins of brand new stuff.

I Have done the Comedy Balloon twice before and both times I found organiser Jason to be very welcoming but some (not all) of the other acts to be arrogant and cliquey. The only other venue I have experienced this was another Manchester venue, that being the Frog and Bucket. I have gigged in the North East, the Midlands, Parts of the North west, Wales and all parts of Yorkshire and not experienced what I have at the Balloon and on one of the 2 occasions I was at the Frog. So would tonight be any better.... well no!! In a word.

The travel down I was telling Rich of my experiences and he stated that he had not had similar ones, now Rich is one of the nicest blokes I have ever met so maybe he was just trying to see the good in people? Not that I am cynical to be fair.

Conversation turned to material, I had been writing a little more again recently. I had also dug out all my notes from new material nights such as CUT UP that I did a new set every time I performed at but never developed the material, even the more personal stuff that I liked. I was recently criticised for always doing the same material something which I would normally ignore however, I agree to an extent. I have not been gigging a year and my current ‘best 10’ I am constantly tweaking. But I need 40 mins of stuff like some of the actual talented writers have. So a brand new 6 mins tonight.

Arrival was worrying as we knew United were at home thanks to the 40’000 cockneys heading into Manchester and even more worrying that the match was on terrestrial TV, the pub was dead.

Fearing the worst there was talk of pulling the gig but just as this was being considered people began filtering in. I won’t mention the names of the other acts with one exception, that being opener Kieran Lawless. He is a great example of the Irish charm and friendly approach and was the most welcoming of the other acts. Now most of the other acts were pleasant enough but this night I will remember for the way a couple of other comedians laughed vindictively at a couple of the other comedians, mistakes, weaker jokes and uncomfortable silences. Why? Why be twatty? There is no harm in being respectful even if you are superior in terms of your ability as an act or don’t like what you are hearing. One person in particular for the 3^rd time of meeting them has left me believing this person is a complete tool. I have been on bill that include Pro acts with thousands of gigs, TV credits, Sell out shows to their name and they have been ten times more humble than this fairly decent open spot act that looks down on seemingly everyone bar his handful of mates... they the only people he genuinely laughed at irrespective of how funny there were or were not being. I just don’t understand the need to be a dick, but if being liked is not important to this person then carry on.

So my performance... might as well evaluate that. I was poor, I did not sell it well nor had I rehearsed enough. Being ill did not help but that is not an excuse really. The material got a couple of laughs (possibly some cynical ones from comedy corner) but it really needs tweaking. I will not abandon it as I have done with past trial new bits but I will need to work hard on it. It was 8 mins in total with a wedge of older stuff in there to convince the audience that I can be funny!! Im not sure they are convinced though!

I did make the error of not recording any of my performance but as it was more lead balloon than comedy balloon maybe that was for the best. I know I will need to try the stuff again at least twice more before I can make a real judgement on what is kept.

Rich, had a good gig, He had been in the middle of a good spell before doing portion of quips at Christmas where he struggled so it was good to see him back in form and in particular the new jokes seemingly going down well.

My next couple of gigs canceled due to illness meaning a little trip to Laandan for 5 mins is next providing I recover in time for that.

Off Off Off! Gig 94

I had taken my longest break between gigs due to moving house and also with Christmas in mind, so 16 days since my last gig I started 2013 with a trip to Hull to perform at slimming worlds Christmas party. This was actually quite a scary prospect for me as I felt I was a bit rusty and that the audience might have been expecting the kind of comedy that you see on the telly. I had some self doubt but then that is usual for me. The gig was held in the masonic lodge on a street named dagger lane... a point not lost on Amy Gledhill who replied to the email confirming our attendance with... Masonic Lodge??? Dagger Lane??? Fuck that!!! Of course she was joking (comedians eh!!) and completed a strong line up that was Pete Phillipson, Jack Evans, Carl Jones, gig booker and MC for the evening Jed Salisbury along with myself and Amy.

I arrived at the venue to find I would need to park about 46 miles away!!! (I have been told 4 billion times to not exaggerate) By the time I parked up and got to the venue there was only 15 mins before the gig was due to start so I got a pint of lager to settle myself, I don't normally drink at a gig but I was nervous. There was a disco in full swing, the dance floor was full of slimming world punters having a great time. This dance floor was to be the stage.... my new concern was that us kicking them off the dance floor so we could do comedy would upset them and as Jed began MCing there were a lot of people still chatting but to be fair whilst they were rowdy and seemingly making their own jokes they were keen to enjoy the gig as much as possible. Jed settled them into the feel of the night and suitably warmed them for the arrival of Pete Phillipson. Pete had stormed an opening 15 in Wales that I been performing at also and this was the same level of performance. Pete's style sticks to some great comedy rules, he sets up a situation then deconstructs it comically often using voices to create a character. It is always very very funny and I enjoyed his set again especially the parts where he worked the crowd, a great opening and the audience settled down a bit. There was a break where the disco started again and once again the dance floor filled with the audience of mainly women who were as you may expect at slimming world, quite large but very confident which was nice. The 2nd section was about to start and I began pacing up and down as I was next on, Jed did his bit settling them down and gave me a very nice introduction and on I went, the audience were cheering and whooping as I went one which made me feel like a movie star or something silly like that. Little did I know for the second time in my year as a comedian I was to hear majority of the audience chanting off off off!! I began by referencing one or 2 of my observations of the gig itself and chatted to one or two of the audience as I also tried to do my set, I say tried because I had suffered a couple of heckles, they were friendly heckles though, more like people joining in rather than being mean but then someone yelled 'tuck yer shirt in' I was about to respond when someone else yelled 'nah take it off!!' Clearly someone had been drinking!! but this set off a chant (started by Jed apparently) of Off Off OFF!!!! I was lost!! shit what do I do now?? I refused to take off my shirt but the thought had crossed y mind that I should!! instead I described how awful I look shirtless and this seemed to work as I steered them away from the chanting and began to get back to material. I got the last 5 mins of my set in and came off stage, It had been a good gig for me thanks to a very friendly audience. As usually is the case when  I have just been on I missed most of the next act which was Amy Gledhil, but I have never seen her struggle so I know she would have done a great job up until the part where I caught her set which had me belly laughing as usual. Jack Evans completed the middle section with I would say was the set of the night. He is quirky, unusual and very very funny. I am not sure really how to describe what i saw? I just know I laughed all the way through it!! it was sensational. There was another disco break before headliner Carl Jones closed the night keeping the laughs flowing, Carl started with an observational joke that was weak and factually wrong, however he had the ability when corrected to turn it around and make it much funnier which was great to watch. His set was warmly applauded (sadly I missed half of it as I was accosted by some of the audience and quizzed on my drinking habits!!).

The real fun of the night started as the gig ended and Amy, Jed and I opted to stay and share a drink with the organisers and then even danced to some of the cheesy party songs (ironically of course!!) The welcoming audience were now just fellow revelers and were great fun. I was even gangnam styling with Derick an audience member who although did not wash his hands after toilet breaks (hence me not touching the buffet) was considered legendary (im sure that was a cheap usage of the word legendary) for being the biggest bloke in the room yet having the best moves!!

The whole evening was great fun, I cant even put into words how much I enjoyed it. I laughed at all the other acts sets, everyone performed well. The after party was great fun and I laughed even more at some of the banter!! It was one of those nights that made all the shit gigs seem worth it (I haven't been going that long so there aren't stacks of shit gigs yet) and one of those nights that made me certain I want to progress to being a pro act even if the magic of doing this as a hobby may then dwindle. It was a great start to 2013. I have not got many gigs booked in for this year so far so need to pull my finger out and get some gigs.