Machynlleth Comedy Festival 2022

[paruses]

Wish you hadn't said that. Sam Nicoresti was a conflict on my spreadsheet and I was leaning toward the other choice.

Edit - Yuriko Kotani is the conflict.

[edwardfog]

I like Kotani, although I've never seen a full show from her, but I would 1000% go Nicoresti in that scenario

My impression is that Yuriko does good observational material about the foibles of the English, while Nicoresti is much more experimental and challenging. And a lot funnier to my mind

But apologies if I'm doing Yuriko a disservice, I haven't seen her perform for a while

[paruses]

That's helpful thanks. I watched some of her spots on YouTube earlier after this prompting and enjoyed but might go for something less observational. Didn't get round to watching a year old spot but will see if it's changed drastically.

Saw your post on the Leicester Festival and has solved one conflict (don't want to say who in case they Google and the decision is very much a coin flip but with a man suggesting which side to choose*)


* you are the man in that analogy

[BritishHobo]

This weekend was the first Saturday they've not dropped new tickets, so I'm presuming there are very few left to announce. Glang Show is the only one I'm waiting for now, if one does happen (so I'm holding off on booking a showcase just in case of a clash). Can't decide whether to slot some unfamiliar names in now or wait til I get there and see what's left.

[paruses]

I thought I was at a stage of just making decisions then checked in and saw Tim Key announced. I have booked those but oddly don't feel as excited as I thought I would. Can't remember who he was up against on my spreadsheet but I watched a few clips of YouTube of the acts and wasn't dragged in enongh to want to see more so thought I would see a Name.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

This weekend was the first Saturday they've not dropped new tickets, so I'm presuming there are very few left to announce.

I've just done some counting, and there are 78 shows on sale on the Saturday. Whereas there were 106 on the Saturday of the last festival in 2019. Unless they've scaled it down (which is entirely possible), then I reckon there's plenty more to come. I hope so, anyway. I'm only there for the Saturday and then a few hours on Sunday and I don't feel like I'm being spoiled for choice.

[BritishHobo]

Ah thanks for that, that's very interesting! Sad news is somebody tweeted them earlier to ask if there are many shows left to announce, and they said 'Only a tiny amount. Basically there though.' So I guess it is a slight scaling-down.

I should probably start making some decisions now I've seen that. I'm thinking seeing somebody else instead of KPM purely because I'm not very keen on the Mach Arena as a venue.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

Ah, that's a shame. I'd best start booking some more shows then.

I've got tickets for Pappy's, Jordan Brookes and KPM on the Saturday. Is there anyone sensational I'm missing? I'd have liked to have seen Sean Morley, but my wife isn't too keen.

Tempted by Rob Auton and Chloe Petts, but I can't see either of those selling out until the weekend itself so I'll keep my options open.

Ha. Both long sold out.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

There seems to be one or two (small) shows being added every day at the moment.

I haven't worked out if there are any schedule gaps at the bigger venues left to fill. There are some big names who are always there who aren't on the lineup yet - Stew Lee, Bridget Christie, Josie Long, John Robins, Henry Widdicombe's brother...

[BritishHobo]

I noticed on Stew's tour schedule a while back that he is gigging elsewhere on the Friday and Saturday, but nothing on the Sunday. Wondered if there was a reason for that, but it does seem like it would be too late now to announce those bigger names.

No Glang Show announced yet either, which is a shame. Still holding out hope.

[paruses]

I did wonder if Stew Lee would be a very last minute addition - quite relieved to hear he is playing somewhere else that night tbh - saves me being fickle and sacking off someone last minute.

I had tickets to see him last festival but obvs that was cancelled. I think I've given up the idea of ever seeing him live again just because of where I live. Guess he might do Aber later in the year if it's on.

Had a bit of a go at booking up the other night. I will do a big reveal later (my tea is ready now)

[Wayman C. McCreery]

I've got Pappy's, Alison Spittle, Anna Mann, Jordan Brookes and Kiri-PM on the Saturday and then Mike Wozniak and John-Luke Roberts on the Sunday.

It's going to be good to be back. Looking forward to the music lineup being announced too - I've caught some decent stuff in previous years.

[paruses]

I am deciding which way to tip on Anna Mann and Magi Noggi - assume you mean the Friday night one. Is 60/40 in Maggi's favour right now. I heard Kristian on All Killa and found him really interesting.

But hacked off I hesitated overnight and misse Mike W.

So far I'm Sean Morley, KPM, Sam Nicoresti, Olga Koch.

Oh, Tim Key.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

They've confirmed the final programme now. I can't spot anything that wasn't there a few days ago.

It seems that they've scaled it down a bit, which I'm not against. And seems sensible for the first festival since 2019.

[BritishHobo]

Nice! Yeah, I'm happy if it's a little bit smaller, with the biggest big names missing. Both for COVID reasons and to (hopefully) avoid the pissed-up-dickhead influx that happened at the last few.

Time to start knocking my final schedule together then. May go for a Showcase now I know there's no Glang.

[Des Wigwam]

Am surprised at the shows that are showing as Sold Out. Have been waivering about Eleanor Morton and then saw she was Sold out. Ditto a few other names that aren't big Podcast or TV names. Could be venue size - Eleanor was playing the 6th Form which is 60 people?

There's a bit of a weird one up which is Corris Railway - a trip on the narrow gauge railway followed by a gig but it's not clear who's playing the gig (or if you start / end in Mach from what I remember). I would like a trip on the train though.

(btw there's still only 3 of us going - I just changed my name).

[BritishHobo]

I've always been intrigued by that Corris Railway gig, although with the same caveat as you that you don't really know who you'll be seeing. And also that it's a big chunk of the day and you can't really fuck off if you're bored. Maybe, though, for curiosity's sake...

The downloadable programme is available now, and apparently they'll be handing out copies in Cardiff at some point, so I'll keep an eye out.

Has anyone seen Do Not Adjust Your Stage before? I fancy a bit of improv and was eyeing them up last time.

[Des Wigwam]

I've got no-one booked for Friday night yet but now I understand what The Paddock is (thanks to @edwardfog ) I might go for that. Means no Maggi Noggi though.

Thinking about Molly Naylor for Sunday afternoon which would be a bit of a departure for me. Edward Aczel is the other contender.

[BritishHobo]

Edward Aczel is one of those names I feel like I've been looking at for so many years in Mach programmes that I need to finally give him a try.

They're building the hype on Twitter, everyone sharing their favourite photos and memories from previous years. I'm so excited, I cannot wait to be back.

[BritishHobo]

Everyone excited now? I've nailed down my schedule for Friday (Steffan Alun and The Paddock, also thanks to edwardfog's review) and Sunday (Do Not Adjust Your Stage, Rosie Jones, Sam Nicoresti, James Acaster) but my Saturday is still mainly gaps. It is looking a bit white-bloke heavy so I want to branch out. I may rock up and see what's still available on the Saturday.

I'm so fucking excited. I have missed this festival so much.

[Des Wigwam]

Yes excited. Have not booked anything for tonight (Friday) because of Stuff. Might get a last minute to grab a ticket for a later show though so am hopeful.

Saturday is quite busy. Still need to fill in one mid-afternoon gap. Sunday is my patchy day - got a chance in about half an hour to use up a needlessly long Teams meeting to get that sorted!

My original cut across the board looked quite white-bloke heavy as well but I've got a nice mix now.

Edward Aczel is one of those names I feel like I've been looking at for so many years in Mach programmes that I need to finally give him a try.

Still waivering on this or Molly Naylor - I like what I've seen on YouTube but have to be honest with myself and say an hour of spoken word poetry might not be my thing.

[BritishHobo]

Lovely first night, apart from the trains being a FUCKING NIGHTMARE.

Steffan Alun was absolutely stellar as always. Just a wonderful storyteller, and a master of structure. Always delivers the most satisfying shows. Perfect opener to the festival.

I also went to see The Paddock which served as a great showcase, although unfortunately all the comedians who wowed me enough to make me want to see more (Johnny White Really-Really, Leo Reich, Jen Ives) had all already performed at 7, so I can't. Next year though.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

God it's good to be back. I've had a fucking brilliant day. It definitely feels smaller than the last one I came to (2018) and it's even better for it.

Jordan Brookes and Kiri Pritchard-McLean have been the highlights. Jordan made me laugh the most, but in Kiri's case I think it takes a special comedian to deliver a show about structural racism and trans rights to 500 people on a Saturday night at a festival and have the audience hanging on your every word. Really, really great stuff.

[Des Wigwam]

Yes it feels much smaller than 2019. Everyone seems to be around the Big Top rather than up the high street as well and I sort of missed that bustle - it's a nice energy but felt a bit packed into one area. The weather in 2019 was glorious too though which helps everything. Overall though really enjoyed yesterday.

Started with Sean Morley's WIP show Orb then Darren Harriott- another WIP - and then KPM's Home Truths.

Morley's was great but would love to see the polished show. Last time's with all the professional props and shambolic, low key performance was a highlight.

Harriot had some Live at the Apollo energy and stylings but enjoyed the material and he's a very likeable performer. Thought he balanced some of the very WIP elements really well to keep it going and keep the room up.

KPM was great. Quite a different show to Victim / Complex but it suited the venue more than that show would have. Had me laughing properly throughout. It didn't feel as polished as her last one but that had a very definite narrative to follow. I think she's become the Face of the festival and clearly loves being there.

Busier day today. Debating a last minute 12 o'clock if I can get organised enough - Pauly F Taylor, William Stone, or Paul Target if anyone (who isn't they) is reading and has an opinion.

[BritishHobo]

Glad you guys enjoyed KPM. I ended up seeing the show a few weeks ago in order to free up a slot that I didn't actually end up using. It does feel odd not to be seeing her at the festival though - as you say Des Wigwam, she does feel a very prominent part of the festival.

I was on edge at Sean Morley's show, as I ended up in the front row despite best efforts, and noticed how many comedians were in the audience. Luckily didn't end up having to do anything Glang-ish apart from a bit of futile floor-scrabbling at the start. Agreed that I'd love to see the final show; this was great fun as always, but I can imagine the final version is going to feel really special. A lot of scope for different directions depending on

Spoiler alert

the response from the front row.

[close]

I then saw Sikisa from KPM's recommendation thread on Twitter, and was glad I did. She said it was her first Mach Fest, but she had a good audience who were well up for what she was doing, really fun atmosphere.  Good little well-structured party of a show. I can see it's one that will absolutely kill.

Four shows today including Sam Nicoresti, whose name I genuinely seem to be hearing constantly. NEXT BIG THING.

[BritishHobo]

Shit! I also saw Rob Auton, after years of trying and failing (sold out, schedule clashes, my own laziness). I last saw him in the tiniest venue I've been to in Mach, crammed in the basement of a pub, and have been desperate to see him again. He absolutely lived up to my own hype, just a fucking master of his craft.

[Wayman C. McCreery]

Rob Auton is top of my wishlist of acts I want to see. I've somehow always managed to miss him at festivals and on tours.

Mike Wozniak was really enjoyable at noon today. A perfect show for that time of the day. I last saw him about a decade ago but he seems much more comfortable with his persona now, and ultimately is a lot funnier. An hour-long story about his great aunt Zusa escaping the Nazis, but with a fuckload of Wozniak Whimsy thrown in. I'll give you all £10 if it doesn't end up being a three-part Radio 4 series.

Home now, and I'm sad I'm not still in Mach. I had an absolutely wonderful time. I know there were reports of things getting a bit rowdy at the last couple of festivals (I never really witnessed much beyond people having a bit too much booze, but I remember plenty of acts mentioning it), but I think the lower-key vibe meant things felt much more relaxed this time round. I had a wonderful time.

[Des Wigwam]

Had a great time. Downside is I always feel a bit flat when it's over but worth it.

Yesterday was:

Sunil Patel - very very funny anecdotes told by a naturally funny man. He broke them up with a gimmick of ideas for things he'd had for stuff in lockdown which was engaging and bridged things nicely.

Sam Nicoresti - had only seen one clip and took @edwardfog 's review in the Standup thread to book him. Really glad I did. Very thoughtful but didn't feel laboured. The standard pause-monotone Hi-audience laugh opening had a nice twist. A tiny thing but I really liked it. I had taken a bit against him before the gig for clapping too loudly at Sean Morley's gig the day before. I feel bad now.

Tim Key - the most polished performance of the festival for me. Contains a lot of crowd work and was really funny. He is a really good performer. The audience were well behaved except for one small section who got a bit too confident and part of it but were shut down really quickly and politely (by being impolite).

Olga Koch - was a bit fatigued by this point and thought I had made a mistake as it started a bit flat for me and really is a WIP show with forgotten bits and stops and starts. But 5 mins in I loved it. Quite a mixed audience age range but it went across well being is was basically about fucking. I think she'll get a really good show out of it eventually. Have only heard her on RHLSTP and as a bit-part actor in King Gary. Thought she was very personable. Minor criticism would be that a lot of the references are skewed towards the US - but  I just noticed that rather than it being an issue.

[Des Wigwam]

Home now, and I'm sad I'm not still in Mach. I had an absolutely wonderful time. I know there were reports of things getting a bit rowdy at the last couple of festivals (I never really witnessed much beyond people having a bit too much booze, but I remember plenty of acts mentioning it), but I think the lower-key vibe meant things felt much more relaxed this time round. I had a wonderful time.

Yes this is how I feel and I'm only 15 miles away but it does make me aware that there is a world the other side of the Bwlch.
I left at about 10 and it didn't feel like it was really ramping up booze-wise (I suppose 10 is quite early). I did notice a few people seemed to have got to the point where they couldn't physically get more gassy liquid in - and the girl behind me in the Olga Koch queue did say she couldn't drink anymore - I think she just wanted something that wasn't alcohol. I wonder if the weather might have played a part too. I do remember 2019 having more of a piss-up vibe (not in a good way).

[BritishHobo]

It was definitely a much nicer vibe. Town was mostly quiet and the few times I went in the beer tent it was pretty chill. As above, the odd person who was proper drunk, but never to an aggressive level. The same was true of people shouting out in the shows; it happened a couple of times, but never aggressively, and it never ruined a show.

I had a great Sunday. Started out with Do Not Adjust Your Stage - I forget how much I do enjoy good improv, and this was very good improv. Not a huge amount to say because it's exactly what you expect of the format, done well. A nice opening talk from Ella Frears, and then just a solid hour.

Next was Rosie Jones, who absolutely smashed it. I've not seen a huge amount of her outside of the odd 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, but she was brilliant, just non-stop filth. Also had the most satisfying put-down of a 'heckler' all festival.

Then it was Sam Nicoresti. I have so many thoughts on this. This could be all in my head but with this and Sean, it felt like there was a lot of hype in the crowd, like people knew they were seeing someone very exciting. Regrettably I'd talked two of my party out of seeing him, because they would have hated his previous shows. But this went in a whole direction I didn't expect, and I think they would have loved it, so there were many apologies from me. Like Sean's show I'd love to see the final thing, because there's obviously still stuff he's working on - but what was already there, I thought was absolutely astonishing and breathtaking. A really clever approach to such a ubiquitous topic. We've all heard eight billion takes on cancel culture and wokeness and offence in comedy, and in almost any other show, I'd think "yeah, I know what this is going to say already". Even with what's already there though  this feels very special. I loved it in a very different way to his previous show and, to be honest, sat there as a bloke in my

Spoiler alert

Lucy and Yak dungarees,

[close]

the show hit me in a way I was really not expecting, and is still bouncing around my brain now.

Finished out with James Acaster, centre front row, so happy I finally pulled my finger out and saw him here after years of deliberating (pre his deserved rise to fame). Perfect closer to the festival, especially given the theme of the show being all about

Spoiler alert

his approach to the seemingly unsolvable problem of hecklers.

[close]

Wonderful, sincere hour (and a bit), that mix of creative oddness and genuine vulnerability he does so perfectly, along with some cracking jabs at comedy sacred cows. Acaster is properly unmatched at the moment.

Home now, gutted. It really sped by, didn't it?