Peter Kay, first performer new Manchester venue, old material?

[Gulftastic]

Yorkshire still has its three Ridings, I always liked that.

And York, which isn't technically in any Riding, but is the hub around which they exist.

[checkoutgirl]

Obviously the big venue isn't for the audience, it's for the act. Pack 'em in and charge 100 a head and 20,000 punters becomes 2 million quid.

Fuckin' business transaction innit?

[TheAssassin]

Obviously the big venue isn't for the audience, it's for the act. Pack 'em in and charge 100 a head and 20,000 punters becomes 2 million quid.

Fuckin' business transaction innit?

Plus the sponsorship money.  Diet Rola Cola, for fat joke thieves. 

[Sonny_Jim]

There's a thread on reddit about him being a waste of money, and people actually leaving early.  Arenas are where bad comedians will milk the audience.  Apparently his set contained only 15-20 minutes of new material. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/BritishTV/comments/17crexj/the_decline_of_peter_kay/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

A lot of people in that thread seem convinced he's recovering from a secret stroke/leukemia, which may go some way to explaining the 'let's all sing an old TV theme tune' filler material.

EDIT:  Also slight hat fuck in finding out that Jeff from Peep Show took the job because he wasn't getting royalties for Phoenix Nights season 2.

[Ray Travez]

Plus the sponsorship money.  Diet Rola Cola, for fat joke thieves. 

Wow, you really hate this guy. Why so much dislike for Kay in particular?

[Rankersbo]

Wow, you really hate this guy. Why so much dislike for Kay in particular?

To be fair he's not the only comedian who is treated with disdain here, it just so happens this thread is about Kay.

[Sonny_Jim]

Jesus christ.  You can skip the first 2 minutes:

I'd say that disdain is warranted.

[kalowski]

Jesus christ.  You can skip the first 2 minutes:

I'd say that disdain is warranted.

I was there. I was on the front row. It was one of the worst things I'd ever seen in my life, and I saw my mum die.

[jobotic]

Stewart Lee would do that if he had the budget.

[idunnosomename]

Peter???? Kay??? Peter Kay????

[madhair60]

Jesus christ.  You can skip the first 2 minutes:

I'd say that disdain is warranted.

fucking hell

[Cleveland Steamer]

I wish I was dead

[frajer]

Live-action remake of 'Up' looks a bit shit.

[idunnosomename]

Who would have thought Chicken Tonight to Spirit in the Sky was the best bit.

Cant believe Noel Gallagher and that entire choir have to be there at every show!!! Must cost a fortune!!!!!!!

[Frank Wank]

Wow, you really hate this guy. Why so much dislike for Kay in particular?

Peter Kay thread mate, would be weird to have a pop at Jerry Seinfeld in here.

[idunnosomename]

When he's changing "shovels" (oh my sides) about the bloke "this is Stacey... he's transitioning". Fuckin hell. That and changing the Dads Army arrows to EU flags.

[Sonny_Jim]

I mean, I know we aren't exactly the target audience.  But fucking heeeeeellll

EDIT:

[Gurke and Hare]

Well the government did tear up our beloved, ancient county in the 70's, and we are still very cross about it.

Are we? I'm not sure I care really. I find the people who get very upset about local government not still being strictly organised around ancient unchanging borders are a bit odd really.  It's not as if they abolished the cricket team.

[dissolute ocelot]

Are we? I'm not sure I care really. I find the people who get very upset about local government not still being strictly organised around ancient unchanging borders are a bit odd really.  It's not as if they abolished the cricket team.

They should bulldoze 95% of Manchester so it's smaller than Lancaster, then it can rejoin Lancashire. And do something about Preston too. Peter Kay should be forced to perform in Lancaster Arena every night forever.

[idunnosomename]

Bloke walking out just before the cut to the Elbow Day Like This/A Mars A Day



i mean really, who IS this for? the chicken tonight thing is so stupid its kinda funny (imagine if Stewart Lee was doing it, ahhh, you'd love it, old Stew, up there with a three-handled shovel, singing I feel like chicken tonight to the tune of Spirit in the Sky, youd gobble it all up), but the Scooby Doo with Roll With It, with all the images behind of Shaggy and Scooby playing guitar that will be licenced officially from Warner, fuck me. being at this would make me feel like a teenager forced to go to a little children's party. it's sub-Black Lace.

[Sonny_Jim]

I can only guess Ego with a slice of 'this is what my audience wants'. 

[itf]

Peter Kay thread mate, would be weird to have a pop at Jerry Seinfeld in here.

For balance then, I saw Seinfeld at an arena and was home before the 9 o'clock news. I know Americans love an hour long set but he was charging a fortune for the privilege.

Kay's current tour is dreadful, I went on hospitality and was still furious at how bad it was. Just a dreadful lazy cash grab.

[itf]

Biggest room I've watched a comedian is at the Phil. Stewart Lee last night. He pulled it off.

I think (locally) you can get away with up to and including the big room at the Lowry. Once you start venturing off into arena-sized spaces I just don't think it works. I've seen lots at Manchester Arena over the year (Bill Bailey, Izzard, freebies for Manford and Peter Kay) and none of them can reach the back of the room. Weirdly though I think Laughterama works well even though it's an outdoor space and quite a large crowd.

The Bill Bailey show was the worst, coming into peak covid again, lots of people just choosing not to show up as it was close to Christmas and the show just DOA in a big empty space. Think he then postponed the rest of the dates.

[Ray Travez]

To be fair he's not the only comedian who is treated with disdain here, it just so happens this thread is about Kay.

I'm just interested in the reason for the apparent intense dislike. The poster started the thread and immediately insults Kay, so I'm curious what it is that sparks the feeling of contempt.

I don't really rate Kay as a performer, but I don't feel any animosity toward him either. I'm interested.

[idunnosomename]

I can only guess Ego with a slice of 'this is what my audience wants'. 

yeah i can get that some of it is simply for him, it must be fairly exhilarating to play guitar to a 20k+ arena over and over, even if you are just miming with a spade.

Still, he should be getting that by making them laugh. He used to be great at that.

[Sonny_Jim]

I don't really rate Kay as a performer, but I don't feel any animosity toward him either. I'm interested.

For me, it's the not crediting his co-writers when he picked up his BAFTA, which seems an extraordinarily shit thing to do.  Plus the rumours about no reruns of Phoenix because Kay is bitter about the split he had with his writing team.

I mean, I get it.  Aunties and Uncles are allowed to go to a big show and have a good laugh and a sing-a-long and it's a great idea for him to do one big push before he sods off into retirement, but it just seems weird considering his older stuff.  Like finding out Freddy from Rainbow is now in a Thrashmetal band.

EDIT: Genuinely curious to see what the rest of the show is like now, it can't all be like that, surely?

EDIT2:  Maybe he's buried the hatchet with Spikey and Neil:

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/peter-kay-book-phoenix-nights-reboot-b2417537.html

[idunnosomename]

EDIT: Genuinely curious to see what the rest of the show is like now, it can't all be like that, surely?

Theres two short accounts here

https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=98766.210

[itf]

EDIT: Genuinely curious to see what the rest of the show is like now, it can't all be like that, surely?

It's not - this is the only big 'production' of the whole thing. It starts out with sing-along-a-old-adverts, there's a tiny bit of crowd work, a bit about one of his elderly relatives and there's one (1) actually funny bit in the whole thing about him getting a guitar autographed by Eric Clapton for his mate in the second half. I'm sure there's more that I've forgotten but it was utter dreck.

The shovel thing is a callback, I can't remember when from - maybe from the guitar section.

[idunnosomename]

Seems hes been doing the shovel guitar finale (with a mention of it earlier to make it a payoff) since at least 2010. I guess he knows you need to finish on a song, and it's been inflating accordingly (in reverse proportion to blah blah etc)

Of course the number at the end of Top of the Tower hasn't aged well.

[Sonny_Jim]

Well, fair play to him I suppose.  He looks happy doing it and people are paying to see it.  Wonder if he's going to get Paddy onstage for the new venue show.