Ross Noble [split topic]

[checkoutgirl]

i always thought he got a lot of flak for his "whimsy" here back in the 00s but I really did enjoy his live shows.

I wouldn't give him flak but I tried to watch a bit of stand up by Noble years ago and found it very frustrating. His style seemed to be to get side tracked by some nonsense about "meat flaps" on his feet and I was waiting for the actual material. It was like he was just winging it and had no actual jokes, which isn't for everyone. At least Eddie Izzard remembers to put in a few punchlines here and there.

[Alberon]

I've seen Ross Noble a couple of times (Mrs Alberon is a big fan). He usually has a section at the end of his show where the audience remind him of bits he didn't finish as he'd been sidetracked and he gets back to them.

He is funny, but it is frustrating if you try to follow any storyline rather than just enjoying the moment.

[BeardFaceMan]

I wouldn't give him flak but I tried to watch a bit of stand up by Noble years ago and found it very frustrating. His style seemed to be to get side tracked by some nonsense about "meat flaps" on his feet and I was waiting for the actual material. It was like he was just winging it and had no actual jokes, which isn't for everyone. At least Eddie Izzard remembers to put in a few punchlines here and there.

Doesn't Noble not write any material at all and just improv everything when he tours? I'm sure I've heard that said before, almost in awe of him that he could do such a thing, when all I could think when hearing that was "that makes perfect sense, what a lazy, unfunny arse".

[up_the_hampipe]

Doesn't Noble not write any material at all and just improv everything when he tours? I'm sure I've heard that said before, almost in awe of him that he could do such a thing, when all I could think when hearing that was "that makes perfect sense, what a lazy, unfunny arse".

Yeah he does. I was a fan when I was in my early teens and got a DVD set for Christmas. It was basically his whole tour on 4 discs because every show was different. Now he's gone the way of Mighty Boosh and all that other lolrandom 00s humour, not to my taste anymore.

[dissolute ocelot]

Yeah he does. I was a fan when I was in my early teens and got a DVD set for Christmas. It was basically his whole tour on 4 discs because every show was different. Now he's gone the way of Mighty Boosh and all that other lolrandom 00s humour, not to my taste anymore.

Not wanting to get too sidetracked into Noble, but about 15 years ago he did a series with Radio 4 which was edited down from recorded shows and seemed to be almost entirely joking about people being late into the theatre. Technically impressive as a feat of improvisation, and lots of fun if you're there, but fairly pointless week after week on the radio.

[letsgobrian]

He definitely used to write some material to give his shows a backbone, but whether that material has slipped in quality or he realised he could drop that and still get an audience, there's definitely a drop in quality since I first saw him live in 2005.

I assume the D.I.S.C. sponsorship spiel on his podcast is written each episode as it's much tighter and funnier than the rest. Even though I think the material is worse these days I find him a likeable presence especially in conversation and travelogue pieces.

[DrGreggles]

I've seen Ross a few times and he seems to have a couple of prepared 'bits' that he uses to close each half, but a lot of it is based on audience interaction.
Maybe he has a whole show prepped and never gets round to it, but I doubt it.

For what it's worth, I think he's capable of being very funny at times, but a full show is a bit too much. He did 3 hours last time he was in Cambridge!

[Pete23]

I first saw him at Glastonbury around the millennium and thought he was amazing, but after seeing him regularly for a couple of years there was a massive drop off in quality. It seemed to me that there were more and more people at his gigs just screaming out catchphrases (things like "badger" which he was a bit obsessed with) and he'd end up just doing new riffs on older bits for them, rather than the fresh shows he used to come up with.

[samadriel]

I assume the D.I.S.C. sponsorship spiel on his podcast is written each episode as it's much tighter and funnier than the rest. Even though I think the material is worse these days I find him a likeable presence especially in conversation and travelogue pieces.

He and Ed talk occasionally about Ross writing those bits beforehand. I can't stand his stand-up, but I really like the podcast and his earlier radio chats with Ed and Tony Martin.

[Magnum Valentino]

Whose podcast was he on when he talked about the goofy shit he and his friend would do when they got background work on shows like Byker Grove? That interview was evidence of a very funny person working outside their chosen comedy medium.

[Dusty Substance]

I wouldn't give him flak but I tried to watch a bit of stand up by Noble years ago and found it very frustrating. His style seemed to be to get side tracked by some nonsense about "meat flaps" on his feet and I was waiting for the actual material. It was like he was just winging it and had no actual jokes, which isn't for everyone. At least Eddie Izzard remembers to put in a few punchlines here and there.

I picked up a few Ross Snowball DVDs a few years back from a chazza but only made it through one of them. He's a likeable enough performer, seems like a decent bloke and doesn't have the cunt factor of other whimsy/surreal comedians of the 2000s (ie: Noel Fielding, Tim Minchin) but the entire first half of the show I watched was just him doing crowd work. There might have been some prepared stuff in amongst his responses but there was no actual material. He would have been a great stand up to see in his early days, but who wants to watch a DVD where 50% of the content is crowd work?

[evilcommiedictator]

Doesn't Noble not write any material at all and just improv everything when he tours? I'm sure I've heard that said before, almost in awe of him that he could do such a thing, when all I could think when hearing that was "that makes perfect sense, what a lazy, unfunny arse".

It was on Get This he talked about hearing another comic tell a story to setup a joke that he already knew, because he made up that story for his routine - so I think he's got clear structure, just that he'll try and adlib bits that come into his head and refine it during a tour, rather than before?

[Mr Trumpet]

I met Ross Noble once at a do. Very low-key guy, just wanted to talk about his motorbike holidays.

[Malcy]

I thought Freewheeling was great. I've watched both series a few times.