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James Acaster: where do I start?

Started by Ferris, May 24, 2022, 08:10:09 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

notjosh

Quote from: rude soil on June 09, 2022, 12:17:43 PM
Quote from: privatefriend on March 09, 2021, 07:55:30 PMWhat was the Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke bit, since it was in neither special?
Anyone know what this bit was that didn't make it into Cold Lasagna or the leftover material special?

I saw him do this at an early WIP, while talking about all his favourite stuff from 1999. He was remembering an interview with Andy Cole after he'd been going through a goal drought and was suddenly scoring again when Dwight Yorke had joined him up front. The interviewer asked Cole what had changed and Cole said something like "I'll tell you what's changed... I've got my best friend playing with me".

This led to an extended bit about how much better all our jobs would be if we could just bring our best friend along. I can't remember any of the specific scenarios he used to illustrate this but at the time I was pissing myself.

Gurke and Hare

Quote from: Martin Van Buren Stan on June 09, 2022, 08:49:05 PMIs there a particular reason you believe this explanation? Of course Lee would say that rather than admit the truth. He did NMTB and 8oo10c too. While I don't have a dog in this particular fight, for his own sake, I really hope that one day Lee can summon up the balls to admit to himself that, like I said, he was desperate to break the easy, lucrative panel show circuit but lacked the skills and abilities to do so.

Is there a particular reason you believe your insight into Stewart Lee's motivation is more reliable than Stewart Lee's?

Martin Van Buren Stan

Quote from: Gurke and Hare on June 09, 2022, 10:01:56 PMIs there a particular reason you believe your insight into Stewart Lee's motivation is more reliable than Stewart Lee's?

The same reason I believe my insight over the murder of Ron and Nicole is more reliable than OJ Simpson's.

DrGreggles

Show me a stand-up comedian whose best work is on panel shows and I'll show you a shit stand-up comedian.

Martin Van Buren Stan

Quote from: DrGreggles on June 09, 2022, 10:11:00 PMShow me a stand-up comedian whose best work is on panel shows and I'll show you a shit stand-up comedian.

Being serious: Sean Lock? Very good stand up and sitcom, but elevated panel shows to  greatness

DrGreggles


Ferris

Quote from: Martin Van Buren Stan on June 09, 2022, 08:49:05 PMIs there a particular reason you believe this explanation? Of course Lee would say that rather than admit the truth. He did NMTB and 8oo10c too. While I don't have a dog in this particular fight, for his own sake, I really hope that one day Lee can summon up the balls to admit to himself that, like I said, he was desperate to break the easy, lucrative panel show circuit but lacked the skills and abilities to do so.

Well, I have no reason to disbelieve it.

Whatever you think of Lee, he's gone out of his way to make decisions that put craft above commercialism. He likes pointing this out with increasingly thin layers of irony, but it doesn't negate the fact that he made those choices in the first place.

He talks about the hignfy appearance in one of his books, and says being able to pay for his wedding with one booking is what ultimately swayed him though he regrets the decision to appear. That seems entirely inkeeping with his character (and financial state at the time) to me.

Maybe he's desperate to break into the panel show scene, but if so with his industry pull and contacts now he could easily book those gigs, get some writers to give him one-liners (and demand a good edit which seems to be most of the skill) and clean up, but he hasn't since he left [management company redacted]. Again, might be a coincidence, but to me his explanation rings true. Who knows.

Ferris

Quote from: Martin Van Buren Stan on June 09, 2022, 10:13:02 PMBeing serious: Sean Lock? Very good stand up and sitcom, but elevated panel shows to  greatness

I seem to remember an interview with Lee about this where he admitted to not being able to do those types of shows, and admiring people who could (while giving an honourable mention to Sean Lock), before stating that he'd never make the mistake of trying it again.

Again, maybe he's cloaking his real feeling because... not really sure, but it seems genuine to me.

DrGreggles

Quote from: Ferris on June 09, 2022, 10:21:20 PMI seem to remember an interview with Lee about this where he admitted to not being able to do those types of shows, and admiring people who could (while giving an honourable mention to Sean Lock), before stating that he'd never make the mistake of trying it again.

Again, maybe he's cloaking his real feeling because... not really sure, but it seems genuine to me.

He certainly praised Lock as a stand-up in his book.

Martin Van Buren Stan

Quote from: DrGreggles on June 09, 2022, 10:24:33 PMHe certainly praised Lock as a stand-up in his book.

Okay I don't want to come across as deranged in my hatred of Lee but even this reminded me what a cringey  twat he is. In his (Lee's) book he does praise Lock but in a very self-aggrandizing way. He says lock did a routine about getting turned on because his turds looked like a penis and vagina, and he (lock) masturbated over them bumping into each other. But of course in his (Lee's) telling of the story he (Lee) is the ONLY person in the audience laughing at the joke because he's ever so unique and superior as always.

DrGreggles

So now you have an issue with Lee finding a Lock routine funny, but you're using that as a stick to beat him with?
Did Stew shit on your nan or something?

Old Thrashbarg

Quote from: Martin Van Buren Stan on June 09, 2022, 10:48:47 PMOkay I don't want to come across as deranged in my hatred of Lee

Well you're being about as successful as Stewart Lee on a panel show.

Not to dwell too much on the possibility of Old Stewpot reaching for easy mainstream success and failing but has he ever gone into that sort of depth on doing Just For Laughs every year for a period of time and allegedly really wanting to break America, I can't really remember it coming up on his myriad of podcast appearances (each one his first ever time on a podcast)

rude soil

Quote from: notjosh on June 09, 2022, 08:51:29 PMI saw him do this at an early WIP, while talking about all his favourite stuff from 1999. He was remembering an interview with Andy Cole after he'd been going through a goal drought and was suddenly scoring again when Dwight Yorke had joined him up front. The interviewer asked Cole what had changed and Cole said something like "I'll tell you what's changed... I've got my best friend playing with me".

This led to an extended bit about how much better all our jobs would be if we could just bring our best friend along. I can't remember any of the specific scenarios he used to illustrate this but at the time I was pissing myself.

Thanks!

phantom_power

Quote from: Martin Van Buren Stan on June 09, 2022, 10:13:02 PMBeing serious: Sean Lock? Very good stand up and sitcom, but elevated panel shows to  greatness

15 Storeys High. It was the failure of this that made him give up doing passion projects and fall back on easy panel show jobs

Ferris

Quote from: Stone Cold Steve Austin on June 09, 2022, 11:18:24 PMNot to dwell too much on the possibility of Old Stewpot reaching for easy mainstream success and failing but has he ever gone into that sort of depth on doing Just For Laughs every year for a period of time and allegedly really wanting to break America, I can't really remember it coming up on his myriad of podcast appearances (each one his first ever time on a podcast)

This also drives me bonkers. His professed inability or unfamiliarity with banal modern things is just... mate. You do know what a podcast is or how twitter works, I have family over 90 who understand them ("it's like the radio", "it's like little emails?" respectively, which is basically correct).

Anyway, Stew's JFL appearances were around the same period as his panel show attempts. I think root cause is probably the same commercial pressure from the same agency, and he doesn't bring it up because he's slightly embarrassed of the extent to which he went along with it (and maybe even pushed for it as I believe he had kids around that time and likely needed the money).

That said, whatever you think of the push for that type of commercialization, he pretty definitively decided it didn't work, pared everything back, and has never tried to do it again which is fair enough really. I don't think it's a skeleton in his closet that he tried something 15+ years ago and promptly abandoned it and pivoted to a model that worked better for him.

Poor old Acaster can't even remain the focus of discussion in his own thread.

BritishHobo

I can tie it in! Spoilers for Acaster's new show Hecklers Welcome:

Spoiler alert
Which does contain a great jab at Stewart Lee's expense, something that, as much as I love Lee, felt very satisfying given how happy Lee is to do the same to other comedians onstage.
[close]

Ferris

@BritishHobo do tell! Unless James plays eastern Canada I'll never see the show anyway so don't mind a spoiler or two.

up_the_hampipe

I'd be interested to hear this too. I know Acaster also took digs at him on the RHLSTP with Ed Gamble.

Martin Van Buren Stan

Quote from: Ferris on June 10, 2022, 01:57:15 PMThis also drives me bonkers. His professed inability or unfamiliarity with banal modern things is just... mate. You do know what a podcast is or how twitter works, I have family over 90 who understand them ("it's like the radio", "it's like little emails?" respectively, which is basically correct).

Anyway, Stew's JFL appearances were around the same period as his panel show attempts. I think root cause is probably the same commercial pressure from the same agency, and he doesn't bring it up because he's slightly embarrassed of the extent to which he went along with it (and maybe even pushed for it as I believe he had kids around that time and likely needed the money).

That said, whatever you think of the push for that type of commercialization, he pretty definitively decided it didn't work, pared everything back, and has never tried to do it again which is fair enough really. I don't think it's a skeleton in his closet that he tried something 15+ years ago and promptly abandoned it and pivoted to a model that worked better for him.

Poor old Acaster can't even remain the focus of discussion in his own thread.

Yeah sorry for the derail! I was a bit drunk last night and while I stand by what I said generally, I was being a bit hyperbolic / ironical in my embittered criticism of Stew and my contempt for his audience

Endicott

That's at least half the people in this thread then.

Ferris

Quote from: Martin Van Buren Stan on June 10, 2022, 02:19:24 PMYeah sorry for the derail! I was a bit drunk last night and while I stand by what I said generally, I was being a bit hyperbolic / ironical in my embittered criticism of Stew and my contempt for his audience

No worries! Good discussion.

Hat FM

thanks so much for upping the blockbuster clip. loved it.

i remember seeing an early incarnation of cold lasagne hate myself in which one half was about the best year of his life (1999) and the other about his worst (2017?). Man u won the triple in 1999. he must have done the cole and yorke stuff at that gig but i can only really remember his questioning on the credibility of the teams mascot being 'the devil? an actual devil?'

saw him in Greenwich the other week. all brand new stuff and apart from a bit of sag in the middle, which was probably brand new stuff, he was electric. an incredible talent. you could tell everyone in the room was just so grateful to see him do his stuff.

Ferris

Just finished CLHM1999 and thought it was a terrific bit of standup. Some really clever ideas that were well executed, and you can't fault the rawness of the material.

He's also a brilliant performer, and while it wasn't exactly outré re: the rules of standup, it still pushed some unconventional ideas that I enjoyed.

It's the best bit of "live" comedy I've seen in years, and as much as Vimeo was a total pain in the arse it's worth the 10 quid because I'll be watching it a few more times at least.

Very much worth your time. Good stuff.

Captain Z

Did you watch the additional section, "Make A New Tomorrow"? Just rewatched it myself tonight, it features the aforementioned Man Utd treble material (minus Yorke/Cole but with added Sheringham) and a lovely bit about the Millennium Bug.

Ferris

Quote from: Captain Z on June 14, 2022, 01:09:34 AMDid you watch the additional section, "Make A New Tomorrow"? Just rewatched it myself tonight, it features the aforementioned Man Utd treble material (minus Yorke/Cole but with added Sheringham) and a lovely bit about the Millennium Bug.

No but I splashed out for the extra £1.50 so the additional material is all mine and ready to go.

Looking forward to it.

notjosh

Quote from: Hat FM on June 13, 2022, 09:51:28 PMsaw him in Greenwich the other week. all brand new stuff and apart from a bit of sag in the middle, which was probably brand new stuff, he was electric. an incredible talent. you could tell everyone in the room was just so grateful to see him do his stuff.

Wanted to go to this but sold out. Was it more tipped towards whimsical observation or raw personal confession?

Stewart Lee shares some of our concerns about James Acaster's future in standup. This is from the Edinburgh recommendations section in Stew's latest newsletter:

QuotePaul Sinha - One Sinha Lifetime - Stand's New Town Theatre. Paul is a brilliant, measured, writerly, satirical, compassionate stand-up, and I was worried his success in his favoured field of TV trivia quizzing would steal him away from the art form, much as talking to Ed Gamble about food threatens to steer J Acaster from the path The Norns have chosen for him. But here he is, back. Brilliant. The Captain Scarlet of comedy. 4.40PM

Captain Z

Fair play, "One Sinha Lifetime" is quite a good title for his show.

I recently finished reading James Acaster's Classic Scrapes, then followed up by listening to the XFM show versions. I think I actually preferred the written stories, but highly enjoyable either way.

Hat FM

Quote from: notjosh on June 14, 2022, 07:34:46 AMWanted to go to this but sold out. Was it more tipped towards whimsical observation or raw personal confession?

the former from what i remember.