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

Started by Small Man Big Horse, July 16, 2016, 08:16:30 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

edwardfog

For those in London, there's an Andy Barr / Sam Nicoresti pair of shows tomorrow at the Museum of Comedy which were the two best things I saw at the Leicester Festival. Should be a good night

BritishHobo

Definitely. I saw Nicoresti last night and I was  blown away as always. He's doing amazing things. Got the vibe from the size of the audience and the comedians in it that he may be on the verge of getting a huge amount of buzz. Folks should definitely get on board.

edwardfog

Lots this week:

Sunil Patel - Faster Horses (WIP)
Charming low key stage presence. He's introducing a bit of light prop comedy which I don't think is quite working yet, but generally a very solid hour already, anchored by a handful of very crazy stories. I found them maybe a bit implausible, which is something I generally try to avoid thinking about in stand-up in case the whole edifice collapses around our ears. Maybe it has to do with his relaxed delivery – they're very funny stories but some of the particulars just don't ring quite true. Difficult to imagine him really blowing people away but he's good company for an hour.

Ed Night - WIP
An absolutely huge talent who's still not getting anything like the profile he deserves. Some parts of this show I've seen a few times now but it's pretty much wall to wall bangers. Such a sharp way with words and such a distinctive voice as this wizened young doomer. His comedy is observational but sharply pointed and feels far more modern than most of his contemporaries. Kind of like Frankie Boyle but punching up rather than down. One of the UK's absolute best right now imo

Shelf - Hair (WIP)
Two gay girls doing the standard get to know us debut with a few songs thrown in on acoustic guitar. It did make me wonder why you never see groups of more than one doing straight stand up. It's like if there's more than one of you you're contractually obligated to do sketch. Turns out the two handed approach is quite a good format - the girls get to contrast their own personalities and share different sides to the same story. And although their opening gays vs straights material is a little overfamiliar, the biographical storytelling is much better. The songs are not great - kind of low-energy and not super funny, but generally they've got promise I think.

Max & Ivan - Our Story
Penultimate chapter in the Max & Ivanthology, this show from 2016 introduces a bit of semi-autobiographical stuff for the first time. Although it's still all nonsense, the veneer of authenticity does actually help you key in a little more. Seeing them back to back like this you can clearly see a formula emerge in how they construct their shows, but it allows for a truly formidable gag rate. Expert work as always.

Max & Ivan - Commitment
Final chapter in the anthology. This one doubles down on telling a personal story and makes it really work, breaking most of with most of the formulaic tropes of their other shows and finally dispelling any lingering sense of sketco tweeness. Here they're using a lot of slideshow stuff and real life elements really effectively and it builds to a genuinely huge emotional payoff without sacrificing the gag rate. It's totally triumphant, especially if you've followed the progress of the shows so far. I think all of these are available on NextUp now/soon. I'd strongly recommend giving them a watch if you have the time.

Jonny Pelham - Off Limits
This is the twilight run of a 2019 show that had a lot of buzz around it at the time, and for pretty good reason. It's mostly about sexual abuse that Pelham suffered as an eight-year-old, and how the ramifications have followed him into adulthood. There have been a few other shows that have tackled this subject matter, but Pelham is unusual in that he turns it into pure stand-up – there's no arty conceit, and pathos is held at arm's length. It's very dark in places as you'd expect, but also very well balanced and often really funny.

Maria Bamford
Totally transcendent show in Hackney this weekend. I've been waiting at least five years to see her live and she easily lived up to my anticipation. The language is extraordinary – so rich and dense – I'm always struck by the fact that if you tune out for even a second, you're liable to become lost immediately. Greatest American stand-up without question and easily one of the best in the world.

DrGreggles

I'm on NextUp, so took the opportunity to see the Max & Ivan shows I'd never seen before, but also to watch Commitment again.
Amidst its silliness there's a real heart-warming story of friendship in there.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: edwardfog on May 02, 2022, 12:33:49 PMLots this week:
Shelf - Hair (WIP)
Two gay girls doing the standard get to know us debut with a few songs thrown in on acoustic guitar. It did make me wonder why you never see groups of more than one doing straight stand up. It's like if there's more than one of you you're contractually obligated to do sketch. Turns out the two handed approach is quite a good format - the girls get to contrast their own personalities and share different sides to the same story. And although their opening gays vs straights material is a little overfamiliar, the biographical storytelling is much better. The songs are not great - kind of low-energy and not super funny, but generally they've got promise I think.

I really loved Shelf when I saw them a couple of months ago, but then I'm a sucker for musical comedy, and as you say the two handed approach works really well.

QuoteMaria Bamford
Totally transcendent show in Hackney this weekend. I've been waiting at least five years to see her live and she easily lived up to my anticipation. The language is extraordinary – so rich and dense – I'm always struck by the fact that if you tune out for even a second, you're liable to become lost immediately. Greatest American stand-up without question and easily one of the best in the world.

I love Maria enormously and saw her when she was at the Leicester Square Theatre a couple of years back. The problem is she's my ex's favourite comedian too and and so I didn't get a ticket as I was worried about seeing her at the gig as our relationship ended badly, which I'm now regretting hugely.

edwardfog

Yeah it was at Earth, so a pretty big ass room. Think you could probably have stayed separate. Having said that I did bump into Sharon Horgan and Sarah Kendall but I think probably half the crowd were pro comedians

Des Wigwam

Quote from: edwardfog on May 02, 2022, 12:33:49 PMSunil Patel - Faster Horses (WIP)
Charming low key stage presence. He's introducing a bit of light prop comedy which I don't think is quite working yet, but generally a very solid hour already, anchored by a handful of very crazy stories. I found them maybe a bit implausible, which is something I generally try to avoid thinking about in stand-up in case the whole edifice collapses around our ears. Maybe it has to do with his relaxed delivery – they're very funny stories but some of the particulars just don't ring quite true. Difficult to imagine him really blowing people away but he's good company for an hour.


This is the show I saw at Mach. His middle story about the volcanologists had me (and the gentleman next to me) in tears. I think it's because of the relaxed and resigned delivery of it but with a weary annoyance. I did think that that one rang true despite it being the most preposterous. The petrol story, while I thought it was very funny, I could imagine being grounded in a real situation but nipped in the bud early on and so this is an imagining of where it could have gone. I would happily go and see him again but I think if you got too used too exposed to the persona the charm might wear off. One thing I did appreciate was the lack of "and I swear this is true / no word of a lie" intensifiers.

Thought the prop stuff held it together but needs refining. As little inserts and breaks they worked well but nothing more than that. It seemed to be designed for audience participation but that just got abandoned (quite rightly).

edwardfog

Quote from: Des Wigwam on May 03, 2022, 09:33:24 AMThis is the show I saw at Mach. His middle story about the volcanologists had me (and the gentleman next to me) in tears. I think it's because of the relaxed and resigned delivery of it but with a weary annoyance. I did think that that one rang true despite it being the most preposterous. The petrol story, while I thought it was very funny, I could imagine being grounded in a real situation but nipped in the bud early on and so this is an imagining of where it could have gone. I would happily go and see him again but I think if you got too used too exposed to the persona the charm might wear off. One thing I did appreciate was the lack of "and I swear this is true / no word of a lie" intensifiers.

Thought the prop stuff held it together but needs refining. As little inserts and breaks they worked well but nothing more than that. It seemed to be designed for audience participation but that just got abandoned (quite rightly).

The volcanologists was a high point for me as well. I think it was the opening story about the pub landlord which stretched credulity. Absolutely no memory of a petrol story lol

How was Mach? See anything else good?

Small Man Big Horse

Saw Police Cops: Badass Be Thy Name for a second time tonight, the first being it's run at the Soho Theatre in 2020. I'm not normally someone who likes seeing the same live comedy twice, but a friend who I went to Police Cops: The Musical with wanted to go and paid for the ticket so I wasn't going to say no, and I'm so glad I didn't as if anything it was even funnier this time around, there were a few new gags and they're just so fantastic in general, both verbally and physically they make me laugh an enormous amount.

DrGreggles

Quote from: Small Man Big Horse on May 14, 2022, 09:16:35 PMSaw Police Cops: Badass Be Thy Name for a second time tonight, the first being it's run at the Soho Theatre in 2020. I'm not normally someone who likes seeing the same live comedy twice, but a friend who I went to Police Cops: The Musical with wanted to go and paid for the ticket so I wasn't going to say no, and I'm so glad I didn't as if anything it was even funnier this time around, there were a few new gags and they're just so fantastic in general, both verbally and physically they make me laugh an enormous amount.

It's a great show. Proper belly laughs - especially at the Devil.
Seeing the musical again in Edinburgh too.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: DrGreggles on May 15, 2022, 12:35:09 PMIt's a great show. Proper belly laughs - especially at the Devil.
Seeing the musical again in Edinburgh too.

Yeah, I think the Devil's my favourite character in it,
Spoiler alert
though the biggest laugh for me was the VR joke when it switches perspective and it's just Tommy stumbling about
[close]
. And I'll probably see the musical again too if I get the chance, I'm not doing the Fringe this year but I'm sure it'll get another London run at some point.

DrGreggles

I'm surprised they're not more well-known.
They've been selling out big Fringe venues for years now.

Memorex MP3

may have missed this being mentioned but looks like Neil Hamburger is doing two shows at the Bill Murray later this year https://www.angelcomedy.co.uk/event-detail/neil-hamburger-6th-oct-the-bill-murray-london-tickets-202210062000/ Easily the most expensive price I've ever seen for a show in that venue but that's hardly surprising.

edwardfog

A couple more WIPs

Tony Law - A Now Begin in Again
Always a pleasure to spend time in the Tone Zone, a place where nothing ever changes. There's always a couple of moments of profound hilarity that go up in the pantheon of great moments in stand-up, and you find yourself wishing he'd have made a bigger impact in his time, but it's resolutely unpolished and incoherent, with long stretches that don't go anywhere. Good to know that he's out there, but I find him more effective in short slots than over a whole hour.

The Delightful Sausage - Nowt But Sea
It's the first WIP of their first new show since the award nom, very much in first draft stage but already a belter. This one features Amy and Christopher-Louise trapped on a remote island with a sinister aristocrat. It's giving radio play vibes at the minute, almost Goonish, and is essentially a three-hander with Paul Dunphy in a starring role as the aristo. There's a lot of polishing to be done before Edinburgh but I was already choking with laughter throughout. Devastated to learn that the BBC wasn't interested in a Ginster's Paradise series. Come on guys what are you doing! This is easily one of the funniest live acts in the country right now.

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: edwardfog on May 19, 2022, 12:59:43 AMThe Delightful Sausage - Nowt But Sea
It's the first WIP of their first new show since the award nom, very much in first draft stage but already a belter. This one features Amy and Christopher-Louise trapped on a remote island with a sinister aristocrat. It's giving radio play vibes at the minute, almost Goonish, and is essentially a three-hander with Paul Dunphy in a starring role as the aristo. There's a lot of polishing to be done before Edinburgh but I was already choking with laughter throughout. Devastated to learn that the BBC wasn't interested in a Ginster's Paradise series. Come on guys what are you doing! This is easily one of the funniest live acts in the country right now.

Glad to hear that you enjoyed it, I'm seeing it at the weekend and am really looking forward to it.


Small Man Big Horse

#466
Quote from: edwardfog on May 19, 2022, 11:31:35 PMYou're going to love it I'm fairly sure

And you were right!

The Delightful Sausage - Nowt But Sea (WIP) - Amy and Chris have rowed to a small island after receiving a letter from a supposedly famous posh agent who wants to sign them, but initially are a bit lost until they eventually meet the man,
Spoiler alert
and it won't shock anyone that he has ulterior motives.
[close]
As mentioned above this is first draft stuff (they claimed to have rewritten huge chunks that morning, but how much of that was true was hard to know) and there was lots of corpsing and teasing about line forgetting, and parts were clearly underdeveloped, but it was still very, very funny stuff, Amy and Chris have fantastic chemistry and are two of the most naturally funny comedians I've seen in ages, and Paul Dunphy is a great addition to the cast. It's already a 4/5 show, and I imagine the finished version will be something very special indeed.

Also this weekend:

Ginger Johnson: Good Clean Fun - Bit of an oddity this one as it's a mix of stand up, cabaret and theatre, as Ginger tells us all about why she left Newcastle to head to the bright lights of London's cabaret scene, how her first ever performance involved eating a sod load of sausages and other bits of food, and that when she retired the bit she decided to film it and upload it to youtube, though at the time it only got about 15 views. Ten years later and she discovers that over time it's become a minor hit as it's beloved by those in to sploshing, and surprisingly Ginger hadn't heard of this before but slowly investigates the scene. There's a great show hiding away in this, but at the moment it's all a bit over the place, sometimes funny but sometimes serious, with surface level discussions of shame and how she used to be self-destructive,
Spoiler alert
and then right at the end after telling us about posting photos on a forum in 2021 and getting a creepy/shitty message from some horrible cunt, she self harmed, replicating that on stage as she repeatedly throws her head in to a bucket of blue gunge for extended periods, gasping for air each time. Yet it felt this should be the crux of the show, not the ending, as then she has a shower as a voice over plays, she comes out and says that she's alright now, and loves sploshing, goodnight, and that was that.
[close]
I see what she's trying to do but it feels mishandled, her reaction to the events leading up to the ending felt like it needed much more exploration, along with why she sometimes self-destructs, all of which added up to a quite funny show that I did find pretty fascinating, but which also feels oddly flippant and would benefit from both rewriting and restructuring. 3.5/5

edwardfog

Nice! Glad you liked it. I can't wait to see it at Edinburgh - they usually have some memorably weird props ready by the time it gets to the festival

edwardfog

Quote from: edwardfog on May 02, 2022, 12:33:49 PMEd Night - WIP
An absolutely huge talent who's still not getting anything like the profile he deserves. Some parts of this show I've seen a few times now but it's pretty much wall to wall bangers. Such a sharp way with words and such a distinctive voice as this wizened young doomer. His comedy is observational but sharply pointed and feels far more modern than most of his contemporaries. Kind of like Frankie Boyle but punching up rather than down. One of the UK's absolute best right now imo

I had a few people off the back of this contact me asking how to see him. For anyone curious, he's just booked a WIP run at the Soho Theatre

Small Man Big Horse

Quote from: edwardfog on May 24, 2022, 05:20:28 PMNice! Glad you liked it. I can't wait to see it at Edinburgh - they usually have some memorably weird props ready by the time it gets to the festival

Chris mentioned some of the ones they had planned (and how they were made by his parents, who were in the audience that night) along with a couple of video sequences, so I hope to get to see it post Edinburgh, the only thing which might prevent me is the cost as there's so many people I want to see right now.

#470
I've been watching a few Delightful Sausage clips on YouTube today and they seem great. I've had a couple of opportunities to see them before, and now I'm kicking myself that I haven't.

I've seen that Ginster's Paradise was recorded in October last year. Has it turned up anywhere? It's not on their website or NextUp, so I guess not.

DrGreggles

Cold Hard Cache is on NextUp, which is the only full show currently available.

They're so fucking funny. Obviously the writing plays a part, but they're both so bloody likeable as performers, and clearly love working together, that the script isn't that important - it's all about their dynamic.

Chudraa

Quote from: Wayman C. McCreery on May 24, 2022, 07:51:19 PMI've been watching a few Delightful Sausage clips on YouTube today and they seem great. I've had a couple of opportunities to see them before, and now I'm kicking myself that I haven't.

I've seen that Ginster's Paradise was recorded in October last year. Has it turned up anywhere? It's not on their website or NextUp, so I guess not.

Chris Evans (not that one) of Go Faster Stripe says they will be releasing this GFS. The email was sent on 05.05.22 so there has been some delay, which is not unusual to be fair for GFS.

QuoteGO FASTER STRIPE WILL RETURN WITH

The next thing is a sketch show from The Delightful Sausage. In a move perfect for us lazy people here at GFS, Chris and Amy from the Sausage recorded the show themselves and gave it to us fully formed. We were delighted to take it on. The show with be with club members in the next couple of days - and available to the rest of you soon after that.

edwardfog

Seems like their 2018 show Regeneration Game has been slightly lost to history which is a shame as I remember it being very funny, even if they never figured out a proper ending

DrGreggles

Quote from: edwardfog on May 25, 2022, 05:07:53 PMSeems like their 2018 show Regeneration Game has been slightly lost to history which is a shame as I remember it being very funny, even if they never figured out a proper ending

I asked them about that, and they still want to record it at some point. Hopefully another strong Fringe will lead to more interest in their old shows.

Pink Gregory

Seeing Rob Auton, Kiri P-Mc and Harry Hill for tiny tiny Wells Comedy Festival (Dane Baptiste had to cancel last minute)

Think we booked ages ago when not everyone had been announced, and it looks like the highly-spoken-of-on-here Sunil Patel and Amy from the Delightful Sausage are on tomorrow, but I haven't the funds to check them out, oh well.  Should really take more chances on people I don't know about but when there's two of us it's a bit of a different proposition

edwardfog

I think you made the right choices there. Amy's solo stuff is good but she works much better in the Sausage imo

edwardfog

Mandatory Redistribution Party - Hostile Takeover

One of the absolute best comedy podcasts makes a slightly uneven transition to the stage in this touring show. Morley and Evans are both incredibly gifted and intelligent performers from the same Northern scene that produced The Delightful Sausage but this vaguely panto show felt a little rambling and light on content. They're reusing a conceit from an old podcast where Argos keeps interrupting the show for sponsorship opportunities, but there's not really enough of a show there to disrupt in this case. Jain Edwards is great but underused as Argos, spending most of the runtime sitting at the back of the stage. Andy Barr on the other hand does fantastic work as Downtrodden Man but his interjections monopolise space that could have been shared (not Barr's fault - he's a clear highlight). The 10 minute non-comedic interview about food cooperatives should also have been cut. There's some great stuff here but it doesn't quite work as a live show. The solo work of everyone involved here is much better.

edwardfog

I'd strongly recommend people to seek out Sean Morley's solo stuff. He's his generation's Stewart Lee

Pink Gregory

Rob Auton - the Crowd Show WIP
Auton is more of a humourous spoken word guy in the vein of Kitson, but this was pleasant, I really have a lot of time for more spoken word stuff in the standup space, and he's got this sardonic and slightly hectoring, antagonistic delivery which is engaging.  Clearly was quite early in development, as he had to skip a lot of prepared material to fit in the hour, so it petered out a bit towards the end, but such is the nature of the WIP, which is why I didn't get much of a sense of the them as when I've seen a more complete show. 

Kiri Pritchard-Mclean - Home Truths
Kiri's an absolute fucking standup treasure; absolutely rattled through a 1hr25 show in an hour, not a single minute wasted.  Very resonant and important feeling themes of (Welsh) national identity and self-image, which she will just drop brilliant comedic, often filthy, lines into to keep the audience going.  Consistently surprising, powerful stuff.  Has to be one of the better more mainstream comedians going, honestly.  You can tell she's absolutely delighted to be on stage and it's contagious.

Kiri is fantastic and anyone who doesn't think so is a CUNT