The worst part of the show was that the theatre has the most uncomfortable chairs in existence. Really truly awful. The seat part is flimsy, but the back of the chair as actively trying to hurt you, angled in such a way as to ensure it will dig into your spine. It would be forgivable if this was a makeshift area, but this is a full time theatre space. The last thing a comedian needs while performing is an audience so uncomfortable they want the half to end so they can stand up. Still worth it though.

Richard has suffered a few christian protests outside the gig venues, which I think are unfair. Does he blaspheme throughout? Well, yes. But does he attack religion. Not really. Should it put you off? If you go to something, determined to get angry, then you will. If you go for a comedy night, you’ll get comedy.

The biggest cheer of the night, possibly unfairly, was not for a joke, but for Richard memorising long list. In several different ways. And reciting them. Several times. I’ll leave it for you to see on the DVD, which should be out later this year at gofasterstripe.com.

Also available is Andrew Collings’Secret Dancing, which, as promised on the podcast, Richard wrote “Shit” on for me.

In the meantime, go and see him, it’s a really good show. He’s nearing the end of the tour, so there are only a few dates left. Tour dates are here.

RichardHerring.com

A bit of a last minute gig, I bought the ticket about a week before hand, but he almost filled the Hen and Chicken, my local alternative comedy venue, which gets much bigger names than Jongleurs ever gets. Good.

Andrew Lawrence is probably on the verge of big things. He recently had a short Radio 4 show (“What to do if you’re not like everyone else”), and was the only act worth seeing on the recent Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow. He has a fast pace and a vicious edge, despite that there’s a like ability about him that comes from his more self deprecating material.

At the moment I think the only thing holding him back might be a lack of new material. Despite only having seen him do brief 5 minute sets before, I felt like I already knew most of the routine’s. He’s gigging heavily at the moment, I’m sure when he gets a break, he’ll come back with new fresh material.

He said he was recording the show I was at, and that he would make it available as a free download on his website. I have no idea of a timeframe for this, as the gig was last week. If it does indeed see the light of day, it’ll be available at andrewlawrencecomedy.co.uk.

Here’s a 5 minute comedy store set, enjoy.

“Stuart ‘man of the people’Lee is nothing but a fringe alternative comedy act who wouldn’t stand a chance at a real comedy club like Jongleurs.” Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com. (more reviews here)

When reviewing a gig it’s always a good idea to go to the last show of the tour. So that’s what I did. This review is therefore useless to anyone planing on going to see the gig, as you can’t. It’s your own fault. I’ve gone on about how great Stewart Lee is before. See? I’m not lying!
I had tickets for the gig 5 months ago, so it’s not my fault. The gig was postponed for personal reasons. Stewart Lee’s, not mine.

Vegetable Stew

Click here to read my wife’s review of the audience. Short version, they were sub par, long version, CLICK.

StewartLee.co.uk

P.s. St Davids Hall lighting people
Some audience members were distracting, but not as much as the lighting that made it look like Stew had green eyeshadow
It made him look a little like Ming the Merciless on casual clothes friday.

Before I go further, I’ve read around this, and thought about posting it a lot. From what I’ve read, Pete Cain’s performance that night was in no way representative of his usual act. I think it was a very bad night for him. But I think it stands out as a perfect “when not to do it” example, and a reminder that you can’t “just wing it” and that if people have bothered to go out to a show, you should do your best to make their evening the best you can.

I was not aware that there was going to be a support act until Pete Cain walked out on stage. There was no mention on the ticket, on the booking, or in anything I’d seen about it. But, out he walked, and I’m getting two shows for one.
He came out and opened with “You know those days when you really can’t be bothered going to work, well this is one of those days for me, so we’re all going to have to get through this together. How long was that? 2 minutes? No? Just one? Shit.”

The crowd reaction was one where no one was sure where he was going. Is this his bit? Is he going somewhere with this? Or is he, as he says, hung over and can’t be bothered.
Turns out, he’s hung over and can’t be bothered. After explaining this, he says he’s going to try and get through the next 28 minutes without doing any jokes. After a couple more minutes he asks for another time check.
For another next twenty two minutes, he constantly asks the crowd how long he’s got left to go, tells us he’s still not going to do any jokes, and at one point, gets his iPhone out, reads out some half formed ideas from the notepad app, and then phones his friend to tell him how badly it’s going. Some of the crowd is laughing. It’s that nervous tense, “is this really happening” type of laugh.

In the last five minutes he does a half hearted attempt at a routine. It’s got potential, but in no way can it make up for the previous twenty five minutes.

We’re all there to see Jim Jefferies. We’re there to see comedy. This act was neither. It was insulting, irritating, and a waste of everybody’s time. I suspect the only reason he was on stage was so he got paid. As a performer you have an obligation to your audience to deliver a performance. You have a set, probably memorised. Even a half hearted attempt at delivering it is better than a refusal to bother. It was no surprise to him that he was due on stage. And three hundred people haven’t paid to see you do this.

Again, for a sense of fairness, he’s supporting Jim Jerreries, who is known for performing at his best while drunk. With Jim, often the drunker the funnier. And if you’re out drinking with someone like that, it’s probably hard not to get carried away. But you know this, and it’s mid tour.

One of two things is happening. Either this IS his act, in which case, it’s going horribly, and is certainly not a 30 minute piece. OR it’s not his act, in which case, WTF is he playing at?

The lesson, it would seem, is sometimes it’s better to not bother, rather than annoy the crowd. Especially if they’re not even expecting you in the first place. We would never have known any difference is Jim had come out on stage and he’d stayed backstage with a sore head.

As I said, I don’t think that night was representative of him. Here’s a much better set at the Comedy Store. I hope to get a chance to see him again, to see the difference between an off day and an on day.

Wow, just wow. If you’ve ever heard Marcus rant on The Now Show you’ll be familiar with the intensity, insight and pace of his act. You’d expect him to let up while doing a two hour set, you’d be wrong. From start to finish he careers from angry, impassioned, laugh out loud funny and insightful and doesn’t let up for an instant. Whoever you are, and whatever you believe in, he will challenge you on it. Great comedy makes you think as well as laugh. This delivers all that.

This was easily one of the best comedy gigs I’ve ever been to, I laughed till my face hurt. If you get a chance you really should go.