Off Menu (comedy podcast featuring James Acaster and Ed Gamble)

[MigraineBoy]

He's got a new live show to promote and it's extremely good, one of the top 5 of the year imo. Glad to see his PR are giving him the appropriate push because he's an act that could easily fall by the wayside of popular attention

He seems good-to-go as the "unknown" booking on Taskmaster.

[solidified gruel merchant]

Is it just me or did Steve Coogan sound very, erm, 'energetic' on this?

[Icehaven]

Is it just me or did Steve Coogan sound very, erm, 'energetic' on this?

I'm pretty sure it's the least we heard James or Ed speak since Dan Aykroyd.

[TheDevilPuppet]

The teaser on Twitter for tomorrow's ep suggests the guest is Ray Winstone.  Be interesting to see if he gets on board with the concept or it just becomes an awkward exchange.

[Tiggles]

I don't listen to this regularly, but I've just listened to the Sam Campbell live episode released this morning and it's glorious. Very generous preamble from James. Sam sets the conditions for engagement the moment he walks on stage, it's all done on his terms and it's so stupidly funny.

[beanheadmcginty]

It's impressive how he manages to turn Acaster into the straight man

[Utter Shit]

Echoing the love for Sam Campbell, he's incredible. I can't remember the last comedian that other comedians love so much, nor the last comedian that consistently wrongfoots the audience so naturally. I know it's easy (and fair) to criticise Fielding, Izzard etc for the tirelessly manicured lolrandom stuff, but Campbell just seems to genuinely think like that, it doesn't seem like something that can be manufactured.

I may delete this paragraph as I'm unsure how it will be taken, I hope I've earned enough trust that people won't read it as callous because I know it's a very blasé thing to say about a serious issue...but his thought processes almost seem like weaponised psychosis at times - having worked with people with acute psychosis a lot recently, the way his thoughts are utterly disordered and yet connected by tiny threads really reminds me of those people a lot. I'm not sure how you workshop that the way other surreal comics do.

I've no idea what his shows are like, but his TV and podcast appearances don't feel like they could be prepared or planned at all. The only person I can think of as a reasonable comparison is Limmy, in that they're both utterly unique comic voices where the comedy is specific to the way they think. I guess Bob Mortimer would be another comparison with regard to having a naturally 'weird' way of thinking.

[Led Souptin]

Yeah I don't wanna turn this into the sam campbell thread but what I find delightful about him is that it just seems to come really naturally to him, he's not forcing a comic persona he's just a bit delightfully weird. I dunno how to describe it but I just feel safe in the knowledge that hes gonna make me laugh without really trying, where as, let's say yer average up and coming comedian has to prove they are funny on panel shows and dave vehicles.

Just to keep this about off menu, enjoyed the Winstone one too.

[Tiggles]

Acaster realises he is Campbell's prey on this Off Menu and pretty much admits he has to swallow it. I think Sam works hard to make sure he swerves off course and exasperates them as much as possible, even though they know it is coming they are always wrong-footed by how he does it. He is brilliant at creating an atmosphere of complete uncertainty and keeping it funny in the moment. In awe of his comic gifts tbh.

[Icehaven]

I've never heard of Campbell before but he sounds intriguing, and I've let my OM listening slip a bit recently so good reason to get back into it.

[Snrub]

Acaster realises he is Campbell's prey on this Off Menu and pretty much admits he has to swallow it. I think Sam works hard to make sure he swerves off course and exasperates them as much as possible, even though they know it is coming they are always wrong-footed by how he does it. He is brilliant at creating an atmosphere of complete uncertainty and keeping it funny in the moment. In awe of his comic gifts tbh.

Yeah, Acaster plays his part really well in this. At the end when he engages and starts telling a bit of a random off tangent story himself and Sam says "what has that got to do with anything" with a completely straight bat was a delightful about turn.

Agree Ray Winston was a good guest - glad he embraced it for what it was. Sometimes the actor ones can go either way.

Overall the pod seems to be on a good run - helps they have got some big hitters with the live ones mixed in this series. The series at the back end of last year was a bit of a dud-fest.

[Led Souptin]

Gamble doesn't often make me laugh (he has his moments tbf) but "it's lovely to see you realise what it's like to have a conversation with you" to Acaster was really funny

[AllisonSays]

Loved the Sam Campbell one. Funny guy. Reminds me of Tim Key in his kind of single minded focus on being funny.

[Blinder Data]

the frankie Boyle one - has his voice changed, or was that just how he normally talks when he's relaxed? I had him down as one of the so-called hard men of comedy but his voice was discomitfingly camp. definitely a West End, almost Glasgow uni fresher accent

[SteveDave]

the frankie Boyle one - has his voice changed, or was that just how he normally talks when he's relaxed? I had him down as one of the so-called hard men of comedy but his voice was discomitfingly camp. definitely a West End, almost Glasgow uni fresher accent

I noticed the difference in his "stage" voice and his "normal" voice on a podcast with Louis Theroux a couple of years ago.

[Dimbleby]

the frankie Boyle one - has his voice changed, or was that just how he normally talks when he's relaxed? I had him down as one of the so-called hard men of comedy but his voice was discomitfingly camp. definitely a West End, almost Glasgow uni fresher accent

Came to this website and very thread to comment on this.

From about halfway, he seems to be speaking almost exclusively in 'gay voice'. If that's how he sounds in everyday life, his on-stage crude, blokeish Weegie persona is a real departure.