Topic: The new "What Stand Up Have You Seen Lately?" thread

[Crabwalk]

I saw Police Cops last year. Good fun.

I did manage to catch Police Cops, and good fun indeed they were. Very silly, and with some good semi-improvised passages, entertaining cock-ups and corpsing.

I saw one of them in the moshpit for Pigs x 7 the next day and gave him a salute. He had his top off, so good on him for staying in character for the rest of the festival.

[Crabwalk]

I saw the musical duo Flo and Joan recently as part of the bill at a charity gig. On the surface they seem a tad twee and whimsical (You might have seen the Nationwide Building Society ads they did a while ago) but they actually get quite bitingly sharp as the act progresses.

Unless it means missing out on a must see I would give them a go.

I had a nice gap in my schedule to see F&J, who were followed by Police Cops, conveniently. Went with wife and son in tow. Was enjoying it but then had to take my son out for a wee after a few songs and couldn't get back in until they'd finished. My wife reckons the latter songs weren't very good.

Having also looked at their YouTube videos they do seem wildly inconsistent. They veer from material that seems very packed with jokes, like the 'I Drank Too Much' song to others that are entirely mirth-free and irritating, like 'Why does dating suck so much?'.

[Crabwalk]

Mat Ewins is great.

I turned up early to get a good spot for his set, only for it to be announced that it had been rescheduled for later in the day when I couldn't attend. Bums.

I did get to see about 20 mintes of Marcel Lucont's new show, where he's backed by a 3 piece jazz band, delicately playing behind him. His material was great, and I've always enjoyed his ultra-laconic delivery. But he was also doing crowd work while backed by the band, and he'd weave his exchanges into bilingual rhyming couplets, which was absolutely incredible to behold. I had to leave early to meet a pal and watch Underworld, but I really had to drag myself away as I was literally doubled up with laughter at what he was doing at times.

Go and see him in Edinburgh if you can.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I turned up early to get a good spot for his set, only for it to be announced that it had been rescheduled for later in the day when I couldn't attend. Bums.

I did get to see about 20 mintes of Marcel Lucont's new show, where he's backed by a 3 piece jazz band, delicately playing behind him. His material was great, and I've always enjoyed his ultra-laconic delivery. But he was also doing crowd work while backed by the band, and he'd weave his exchanges into bilingual rhyming couplets, which was absolutely incredible to behold. I had to leave early to meet a pal and watch Underworld, but I really had to drag myself away as I was literally doubled up with laughter at what he was doing at times.

Go and see him in Edinburgh if you can.

I saw Marcel Lucont last year and can only echo what you say, he really was superb and on a (great) night where Olga Koch, Steen Raskopoulos, Phil Wang and Garrett Millerick also performed he got the biggest laughs.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Ian Lane - Paperweight - Yes, he's a friend and I'm biased, etc, etc, but I genuinely think this is his best show yet, a very funny hour of comedy that made me laugh hard throughout, but which was also surprisingly affecting too.

[jsgibble]

I've just seen Alun Cochrane's WIP show and he's trying to be edgy and a bit non-PC. Trying hard.

I wasn't expecting to wet my kecks but it was odd to see someone I thought of as inoffensive prefacing bits with "some people won't like this but... What about them Muslims/fat people/special Olympics"

Never nasty but it still took me by surprise

Seriously? As you say you wouldn’t expect it of him. I heard him on a Radio 4 show doing a joke lightly mocking remainers but nothing like that

[Small Man Big Horse]

John Hastings - 10 John Hastings I Hate About You - Very amiable and likeable hour of comedy from this Canadian who's leaving the UK after six and a half hours and moving to the US. A lot of it's about his relationship, and his family, and while nothing outstanding it did make me laugh a fair bit and I enjoyed it a lot.

Fern Brady - Power and Chaos - She's been performing this for the last two months in Australia apparently, and on the eve of the Edinburgh Festival is rewriting and reworking it. So there were a fair few "That's going to be cut" comments, but despite this I still loved it a great deal, it often made me laugh hard, and it's already a four star show and clearly not the finished piece, so who knows just how great it'll be when she's happy with it.

[up_the_hampipe]

John Hastings - 10 John Hastings I Hate About You - Very amiable and likeable hour of comedy from this Canadian who's leaving the UK after six and a half hours and moving to the US. A lot of it's about his relationship, and his family, and while nothing outstanding it did make me laugh a fair bit and I enjoyed it a lot.

I saw him preview this to 7 people last week. It was still very good, managed to connect with everyone. He's worth checking out when at Late N Live as well, always handles the riff-raff brilliantly.

[DrGreggles]

Fern Brady - Power and Chaos - She's been performing this for the last two months in Australia apparently, and on the eve of the Edinburgh Festival is rewriting and reworking it. So there were a fair few "That's going to be cut" comments, but despite this I still loved it a great deal, it often made me laugh hard, and it's already a four star show and clearly not the finished piece, so who knows just how great it'll be when she's happy with it.

Seen her last couple of shows and I think she's really good. Looking forward to this.
Seems to have led an interesting life too!

[Small Man Big Horse]

I saw him preview this to 7 people last week. It was still very good, managed to connect with everyone. He's worth checking out when at Late N Live as well, always handles the riff-raff brilliantly.

There were only about 15 of us yesterday but he did really well and it was clear the audience liked him a lot. I just think he needs to sharpen the show up a little and then it'll be something I'm sure will get a lot of glowing reviews.

Seen her last couple of shows and I think she's really good. Looking forward to this.
Seems to have led an interesting life too!

I'd only seen her show on NextUp but I did like it a lot, and I definitely plan to catch her post Edinburgh as I imagine it'll have changed a fair bit over that time.

I've absolutely loved the last three months as thanks to the site I run, the seat filling websites I'm a member of, and a couple of venues regularly doing free previews, I've seen a ridiculous amount of comedy for very little money. I've a few things booked up for August thanks to the Camden Fringe but it won't be the same,  it's more of a gig a week situation rather than three or four, I really wish I could make the Edinburgh fringe but there's no way that's happening.

[Small Man Big Horse]

So, there's no Edinburgh Fringe for me this year but there is the Camden Fringe, which has been a game of two halves so far, Brian(s).

Louisa Keight - Jinkies - A one woman sketch show with a bit of clowning and singing and dancing thrown in for free. I liked this an awful lot, she's got a smart, absurd way with words and plays around with a lot of fun ideas.

Extreme Improv - Fairly awful. Nine comedians took to the stage and played a selection of improv games, and only four of them made me laugh at any point, with two of them being painfully bad. Towards the end the lack of effort some put in was insulting considering it was a paying audience, and you'd have to pay me well over £28 to get me to watch them again.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Willis & Vere: The Starship Osiris - I caught this at the Soho Theatre last night and liked it a lot, it's kind of like "The Star Trek Episode That Goes Wrong", if Star Trek was a stage play and also partially a musical. It's well acted, smartly written and very funny in general, perhaps it's not the most original idea ever but they pull it off effectively.

[Ray Travez]

Extreme Improv - Fairly awful. Nine comedians took to the stage and played a selection of improv games, and only four of them made me laugh at any point, with two of them being painfully bad. Towards the end the lack of effort some put in was insulting considering it was a paying audience, and you'd have to pay me well over £28 to get me to watch them again.

I think it's hard to make improv funny. Certainly to me it is. I once went to see a gig at a large pub in Manchester, and accidentally ended up in the wrong room, watching an improv troupe. It was pretty awful, and I was planning my exit, when they told me that they were really pleased to have me there as I was the only member of the audience that wasn't a pal of theirs. There was no way I could walk out after that... though I suppose it would have been funny if I'd said, "well actually..."

[Small Man Big Horse]

I think it's hard to make improv funny. Certainly to me it is. I once went to see a gig at a large pub in Manchester, and accidentally ended up in the wrong room, watching an improv troupe. It was pretty awful, and I was planning my exit, when they told me that they were really pleased to have me there as I was the only member of the audience that wasn't a pal of theirs. There was no way I could walk out after that... though I suppose it would have been funny if I'd said, "well actually..."

It's definitely very difficult but I've seen it a done few times recently. Admittedly most of those cases were where it was longform improv where they put on a sixty minute improvised play rather than playing games, but I've seen the latter done well on occasion.

[Rolf Lundgren]

I think it's hard to make improv funny. Certainly to me it is. I once went to see a gig at a large pub in Manchester, and accidentally ended up in the wrong room, watching an improv troupe. It was pretty awful, and I was planning my exit, when they told me that they were really pleased to have me there as I was the only member of the audience that wasn't a pal of theirs. There was no way I could walk out after that... though I suppose it would have been funny if I'd said, "well actually..."

The worst amateur improv groups always look like they're having more fun than their audience. Maybe I've had bad experiences but they're always a bit too self-satisfied and seemingly unaware of the people outside their bubble not finding them as funny as they find themselves. I'm a massive fan of improv when it's done well but the best performers are able to trick people into thinking it's easy.

It's definitely very difficult but I've seen it a done few times recently. Admittedly most of those cases were where it was longform improv where they put on a sixty minute improvised play rather than playing games, but I've seen the latter done well on occasion.

How was that? Longform sounds like there's got to be a hell of a lot of troughs and not many peaks.

[Small Man Big Horse]

The worst amateur improv groups always look like they're having more fun than their audience. Maybe I've had bad experiences but they're always a bit too self-satisfied and seemingly unaware of the people outside their bubble not finding them as funny as they find themselves.

That was definitely the case with Extreme Improv, where often the laughter from the performers drowned out the comedians on stage (leading to a lot of annoying shouting) and the audience often were extremely quiet.

How was that? Longform sounds like there's got to be a hell of a lot of troughs and not many peaks.

I've possibly been lucky but the ones I've seen have been consistently funny and really impressive, I especially liked "Mørdsäga" who put on a new hour long The Killing / The Bridge - esque crime drama each time they perform, and I'm very fond of the "Any Suggestions, Doctor?", the Doctor Who improv group who I've seen twice and was impressed by both times.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Following on from the above, I went to see The Parentheticals tonight, doing an hour long show called "Improdyssey" which was set in 13th Century (as all of their current shows are I gather) and from the audience they asked for a title for a quest they could go on, for us to write down some quotes from our favourite movies that they could say in one scene (though sadly my "Now that’s a damn shame when folks be throwin’ away a perfectly good white boy" from Better Off Dead wasn't used), at one point they got two people up to control the movements of two of the improvisers, and at a later point a different two people to provide the final word of a line of dialogue. And it was pretty decent all in all, not quite four star comedy (so three and three quarters then) but it was very likeable stuff and I'd definitely go and see them again.

Also, I saw a play at the same venue beforehand, which I enjoyed an awful lot:

Villain, Interrupted - A really smart, funny, thoughtful and inventive play about a therapist working at a prison for supervillains, it was clearly written by someone with a love for the genre, and it impressively side-stepped all of the cliched nonsense that you get in way too many comics when it comes to the bad guys. The cast took on a variety of roles and were really impressive, and the script and the direction also deserve a huge amount of kudos, I enjoyed this a great deal and hope it's restaged in a bigger venue soon.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Natasha Leggero & Moshe Kasher: The Endless Honeymoon Tour - This is at the Soho Theatre this week and definitely worth going too, I've been a big fan of Leggero's for a long time and she didn't disappoint, with her material being a mixture of jokes about her marriage, pregnancy, child, drugs, #MeToo, converting to Judaism, Trump voters and probably some stuff I've forgotten. Then Moshe came out and started with some truly terrible crowd work and I thought it was going to be a massive disappointment, but thankfully this was the only weak bit of his set and he had some very strong material about fatherhood, changing nappies, men catcalling women, how he reacted when he saw a semi-naked woman on the street one day, and he made up for the opening bit by coming up with a rhyme about some of the audience members which was really great stuff. Then they close the show with 20 minutes where they're both on stage, dishing out relationship advice to two couples who were game enough to take to the stage with them. Overall I slightly preferred Leggero but Kasher is often very funny too, and seemingly at his best when improvising.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Joe Hart - New Game - A comedian who's also a coder, the audience got to play some games during the set (mainly by shouting loudly to get the character to jump, though one game saw us be the space invaders who were trying to kill Joe via our mobile phones) while he also had a lot of material about his life and sexuality. I liked this a lot, he's a very funny man with some really strong jokes.

Steve Vertigo - Murmuration: Word on the Tweet - In which Vertigo learns to fly and joins tens of thousands of sparrows flying through the air. He also becomes inspired by Stephen Hawking and Peter Stringfellow, sees Alexa and Siri attempt to destroy his life, and tries dating himself, in an hour of comedy that really impressed and I'll definitely go and see whatever he does next.

[Puce Moment]

Natasha Leggero & Moshe Kasher: The Endless Honeymoon Tour - This is at the Soho Theatre this week and definitely worth going too, I've been a big fan of Leggero's for a long time and she didn't disappoint, with her material being a mixture of jokes about her marriage, pregnancy, child, drugs, #MeToo, converting to Judaism, Trump voters and probably some stuff I've forgotten. Then Moshe came out and started with some truly terrible crowd work and I thought it was going to be a massive disappointment, but thankfully this was the only weak bit of his set and he had some very strong material about fatherhood, changing nappies, men catcalling women, how he reacted when he saw a semi-naked woman on the street one day, and he made up for the opening bit by coming up with a rhyme about some of the audience members which was really great stuff. Then they close the show with 20 minutes where they're both on stage, dishing out relationship advice to two couples who were game enough to take to the stage with them. Overall I slightly preferred Leggero but Kasher is often very funny too, and seemingly at his best when improvising.

I have also heard good things about this - and your assessment seems the norm. Coming after Offerman/Mullally's live work I wonder if we will see more of this. I'm quite serious - it must solve a hell of a lot of problems of touring and being away from family. I'm sure the Lee/Christie dates at the LST were the natural resolution to child-minding costs.

[up_the_hampipe]

I saw Moshe and Leggero on Saturday. Kumail Nanjiani was the special guest. Very fun show. Moshe's crowd work was a lot stronger that night as well, he's really impressive. Leggero's bit making fun of Moshe's deaf mum was probably my favourite part.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I have also heard good things about this - and your assessment seems the norm. Coming after Offerman/Mullally's live work I wonder if we will see more of this. I'm quite serious - it must solve a hell of a lot of problems of touring and being away from family. I'm sure the Lee/Christie dates at the LST were the natural resolution to child-minding costs.

I can imagine it's more than possible, especially given how many high profile comedians are married to each other these days.

I saw Moshe and Leggero on Saturday. Kumail Nanjiani was the special guest. Very fun show. Moshe's crowd work was a lot stronger that night as well, he's really impressive. Leggero's bit making fun of Moshe's deaf mum was probably my favourite part.

I'm glad you liked it, how do Kumail fit in to the show, out of interest?

[up_the_hampipe]

I'm glad you liked it, how do Kumail fit in to the show, out of interest?

He came out to help in the "relationship advice" section. He did really well, he was a good balance with Moshe and Natasha, probably had some of the better riffs of the evening in fact. He's also super buff now, I guess Batista has been giving him some work out tips. And steroids.

[Small Man Big Horse]

He came out to help in the "relationship advice" section. He did really well, he was a good balance with Moshe and Natasha, probably had some of the better riffs of the evening in fact. He's also super buff now, I guess Batista has been giving him some work out tips. And steroids.

That sounds great and I'm a bit jealous, on my night it was just two normal people rather than anyone famous, though Moshe still made it very funny.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Space Age Love Songs - Not stand up but a sort of fantasy comedy drama set in the US in the 80's, and all about a gay guy and a goth girl who bond at school as they're outsiders. Various adults and other students have issues with their friendship, and there's a fantasy element where the girl imagines their friendship as a sci-fi drama where the gay guys are robots considering destroying humanity, and though the central message is hit home a little too hard on occasion it's quite sweet in general, very well acted and intentionally daft at times, and I was very fond of it.

[up_the_hampipe]

Eric Andre - The Legalize Everything Tour: This was utterly bonkers as you’d expect. A truly amazing performer, bursting with energy and some very well-written bits. He’s doing a Netflix special soon though and he doesn’t seem to have an hour of material. Some of the material he did was several years old, and he did a texting prank with an audience member’s phone that seemed like a time-filler, albeit a hilarious one. Overall it was a great show that had me aching with laughter at many points, perhaps the funniest show I’ve seen all the year. And, yes, he got naked.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Eric Andre - The Legalize Everything Tour: This was utterly bonkers as you’d expect. A truly amazing performer, bursting with energy and some very well-written bits. He’s doing a Netflix special soon though and he doesn’t seem to have an hour of material. Some of the material he did was several years old, and he did a texting prank with an audience member’s phone that seemed like a time-filler, albeit a hilarious one. Overall it was a great show that had me aching with laughter at many points, perhaps the funniest show I’ve seen all the year. And, yes, he got naked.

I only heard about that once it was sold out which was gutting as I'd love to have seen him live, but I'm glad to hear you had such a good time.

[alan nagsworth]

Eric Andre - The Legalize Everything Tour: This was utterly bonkers as you’d expect. A truly amazing performer, bursting with energy and some very well-written bits. He’s doing a Netflix special soon though and he doesn’t seem to have an hour of material. Some of the material he did was several years old, and he did a texting prank with an audience member’s phone that seemed like a time-filler, albeit a hilarious one. Overall it was a great show that had me aching with laughter at many points, perhaps the funniest show I’ve seen all the year. And, yes, he got naked.

Having not seen any of his stand up material before last night, that whole set had me in stitches. His energy is tremendous and he's the only person I've ever seen make any joke about Brexit and it actually be funny, based purely on the fact that it was as batshit absurd and knowingly stupid as it could possibly get: "More like Brentrance, am I right? I'm gonna get BREXIT ONLY tattooed above my Brutthole". The one hit wonder joke that climaxed with the Chumbawamba reference absolutely floored me. I'm glad to know the whole set was being taped as well, as I would love to watch it again.

[up_the_hampipe]

Oh you were there last night too? Didn’t know it was taped. The KFC modified chickens bit has been making me giggle all day. He’s a lunatic.

I feel bad for Piers.

[alan nagsworth]

Aye, Squidy was there as well. Bumped into him afterwards.

It's Piers' mum I feel bad for. Or at least I feel something for her. In the bath.