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

[Small Man Big Horse]

Glad you enjoyed Tony, I haven't seen him in a while as every time I had a ticket he pulled out, but that was during his issues with drinking stage and I hear he's a lot more reliable now.

Shaken Not Stirred - The Improvised James Bond Film - An improv show (no, really) where Alexander Fox and Dom O'Keefe and a couple of others make up a Bond film thanks to suggestions from the audience. I enjoyed this a fair bit, the plot was a little simplistic but Fox was especially funny as the lead (the Roger Moore version, which suited me perfectly as he's my favourite Bond) and the others were great too and it's something I'd definitely see again in the future.

[samadriel]

Saw Steve Hughes (about whom I knew nothing before accepting a friend's spare ticket) bitch about trans people and feminists for an extended bout the other night, a pretty sickly experience.  He was sometimes funny in a "okay, haha, yes, men built civilisation and feminists aren't grateful... but, seriously, you don't expect us to buy this shit, do you?" way.  As the show went on, he got bitterer and bitterer, and less and less funny, and the targets of his 'wit' became increasingly made of straw.  He'd do a lot better if he built his show more around the early light observational stuff about dick pics etc, rather than his late-show tactic of putting on his 'evil faggot' voice and mimicking those filthy genderfluid postmodern queers who want to influence our children to cut their dicks off.

[DrGreggles]

I just saw Tony Law for the first time this evening. I know he's probably old hat around here, but I thought I should say that I thoroughly enjoyed it - and would go again.

Of interest, to me, was the way the laughter was so oddly spread throughout the audience. It was almost constant, but happened in small areas at different times.

He doesn't work the audience as a whole. Everyone was laughing (sometimes a very great deal) at different times.

I think Mr Tony is terrific.
Once saw him create actual hysteria in the room during one of his Fringe shows*. A woman sat near me looked like she might die laughing.
No idea why he's so funny, but he is.


*cape/trombone/horse's head

[Small Man Big Horse]

Saw Steve Hughes (about whom I knew nothing before accepting a friend's spare ticket) bitch about trans people and feminists for an extended bout the other night, a pretty sickly experience.  He was sometimes funny in a "okay, haha, yes, men built civilisation and feminists aren't grateful... but, seriously, you don't expect us to buy this shit, do you?" way.  As the show went on, he got bitterer and bitterer, and less and less funny, and the targets of his 'wit' became increasingly made of straw.  He'd do a lot better if he built his show more around the early light observational stuff about dick pics etc, rather than his late-show tactic of putting on his 'evil faggot' voice and mimicking those filthy genderfluid postmodern queers who want to influence our children to cut their dicks off.

Christ, that sounds horrendous, I don't think I could have made it through a gig like that without either heckling or walking out, did anyone do either out of interest?

[samadriel]

There was the odd person yelling "Slayer!", a reference to his other career as a metal musician, but he pretty much got away heckle-free -- I got the feeling he was preaching to the choir a bit. There were a few walkouts, thankfully he didn't provide any commentary about them. I noticed his name briefly appeared on here a few years back during the "straight white cunt" kerfuffle, giving me the impression he's been ploughing this furrow for awhile.

[rasta-spouse]

Has anyone seen Mark Silcox live? I'm watching him on the Joe Lycett consumer protection show, and while that show's a bunch of balls, Silcox seems delightfully odd and anti-comedy.

[Small Man Big Horse]

There was the odd person yelling "Slayer!", a reference to his other career as a metal musician, but he pretty much got away heckle-free -- I got the feeling he was preaching to the choir a bit. There were a few walkouts, thankfully he didn't provide any commentary about them. I noticed his name briefly appeared on here a few years back during the "straight white cunt" kerfuffle, giving me the impression he's been ploughing this furrow for awhile.

Ah, I didn't even know he was in Slayer, though I am aware of them as a friend was a massive fan back when he had long hair. Then he went bald and got in to prog rock, but that might just be a coincidence.

[samadriel]

Oh, Hughes isn't in Slayer, I think yelling "Slayer" was a punchline in one of his earlier sets -- obviously we're dealing with a real intellectual here.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Oh, Hughes isn't in Slayer, I think yelling "Slayer" was a punchline in one of his earlier sets -- obviously we're dealing with a real intellectual here.

Ah, just looked him up on wikipedia and with you now.

[Head Gardener]

Sadowitz tonight in Leamington Spa, he never disappoints he only upsets

[An Actual Propeller]

Has anyone seen Mark Silcox live? I'm watching him on the Joe Lycett consumer protection show, and while that show's a bunch of balls, Silcox seems delightfully odd and anti-comedy.

Yes, saw him in Edinburgh last year, was pretty delightful and a completely different live experience to any comedy show that I've ever seen.  It's certainly anti-comedy.  Check him out.

[Tony Tony Tony]

Caught a charidy show last night at Leicester Square Theatre.

Line up was Josh Widdecombe, Jon Robins, Kerry Godliman, Laura Lexx, Jess Robinson, Sara Keyworth, Giants, Flo and Joan, Bec Hill with Abigoliah Schamaun as compere.

So that was ten or so acts at around twenty five quid a ticket in London's glittering west end. I'd call that good value.

Of the turns, Jon Robins didn't disappoint and now has me looking forward even more to the upcoming 5Live show. Josh Widdecombe was a bit lacklustre but seemed to be annoyed at having to go on last as it was getting late. Kerry Godliman was in fine form and of the rest the highlight was Giants who did a Norwegian pop duo sketch that was spot on.Abigoliah Schamaun was someone I hadn't come across before but I would certainly go out of my way the see her again.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Caught a charidy show last night at Leicester Square Theatre.

Line up was Josh Widdecombe, Jon Robins, Kerry Godliman, Laura Lexx, Jess Robinson, Sara Keyworth, Giants, Flo and Joan, Bec Hill with Abigoliah Schamaun as compere.

So that was ten or so acts at around twenty five quid a ticket in London's glittering west end. I'd call that good value.

Of the turns, Jon Robins didn't disappoint and now has me looking forward even more to the upcoming 5Live show. Josh Widdecombe was a bit lacklustre but seemed to be annoyed at having to go on last as it was getting late. Kerry Godliman was in fine form and of the rest the highlight was Giants who did a Norwegian pop duo sketch that was spot on.Abigoliah Schamaun was someone I hadn't come across before but I would certainly go out of my way the see her again.

That sounds like a great line up, I'm not fond of Widdecombe or Godliman but the rest I've a lot of time for, Laura Lexx and Jon Robins especially.

[TheDHolford]

Saw Lou Sanders the other night, can't remember her supports name but it was apparently her housemate, he was alright, a little of a rough start and the crowd in Manchester didn't seem to warm to him at all, but I thought he had some decent pieces of material.

Lou was fantastic, I had no idea what to expect having only ever seen her on RHLSTP and panel shows, but she was great. Really like her persona she carries off on stage, the over the top confident stage presence mixed with some fantastic gags and surprisingly dark real stories was great. Would certainly recommend and I'll be seeing her again!


Due to the girlfriend getting us tickets, seeing Ricky Gervais tonight. I do have to admit, I saw his last stand up show and actually found it quite funny when I was there watching, but upon a rewatch wasn't a big fan, I also really dislike his afterlife, so will see what Supernature has in store for us. Saw that Mark Watson was his warm up act last night in Manchester, so hoping that it's the same tonight, both times I've seen Mark, I have really enjoyed him.

[Tony Tony Tony]

Saw Jimmy Carr in Dunstable last night (tickets were an Xmas present). No support though he did about 2 hours in total so just shy of £30 for one comic - London prices really.

He didn't disappoint as you would expect from a consummate professional though I did recognise a bit of recycled material (stuff about coathangers and what he would like to do to his 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown colleagues). He did try to get the crowd to heckle so a few duly obliged then got absolutely destroyed. I guess they don't realise, or care, he is a professional put down artist with a mic and they are sozzled souls in the stalls shouting semi-comprehensible insults.

I won't bother saying if I would recommend the show as if you going to see a comedy megastar you already know what you are going to get.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Saw Lou Sanders the other night, can't remember her supports name but it was apparently her housemate, he was alright, a little of a rough start and the crowd in Manchester didn't seem to warm to him at all, but I thought he had some decent pieces of material.

Lou was fantastic, I had no idea what to expect having only ever seen her on RHLSTP and panel shows, but she was great. Really like her persona she carries off on stage, the over the top confident stage presence mixed with some fantastic gags and surprisingly dark real stories was great. Would certainly recommend and I'll be seeing her again!

I'm glad you liked Lou, I'm a fan too but I've only seen her live when she's been doing 20 minute slots on mixed bills so far, though I did catch her full length show from a few years ago on Nextup and enjoyed that. I'm hoping to catch her doing an Edinburgh preview over the next couple of months, but then that applies to about 30 other comedians too.

Saw Jimmy Carr in Dunstable last night (tickets were an Xmas present). No support though he did about 2 hours in total so just shy of £30 for one comic - London prices really.

He didn't disappoint as you would expect from a consummate professional though I did recognise a bit of recycled material (stuff about coathangers and what he would like to do to his 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown colleagues). He did try to get the crowd to heckle so a few duly obliged then got absolutely destroyed. I guess they don't realise, or care, he is a professional put down artist with a mic and they are sozzled souls in the stalls shouting semi-comprehensible insults.

I won't bother saying if I would recommend the show as if you going to see a comedy megastar you already know what you are going to get.

How racist / offensive was he, out of interest? I first saw him in 2002 before he was famous and quite liked him as it was mainly sharp one liners, but when a friend bought me a ticket as a present circa 2008(ish) I thought he was fairly horrible to be honest and I remember there was a lot of really dodgy anti-gypsy stuff in the set

[Tony Tony Tony]

How racist / offensive was he, out of interest? I first saw him in 2002 before he was famous and quite liked him as it was mainly sharp one liners, but when a friend bought me a ticket as a present circa 2008(ish) I thought he was fairly horrible to be honest and I remember there was a lot of really dodgy anti-gypsy stuff in the set

He was decidedly and deliberately offensive with a hint of racism (if you can call Muslims a race) but he did employ the defence I heard Bernard Manning use, that it is all only a joke and you gotta have a laugh haven't you?. Having said that the premise/title of the whole show was "Terribly Funny" i.e. saying terrible things that are funny so I guess that should have been expected.

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the show (as did my stepson who bought the tickets) but then again I enjoyed Bernard Manning when I saw him do a one off show at my local British Legion. One of the committee members later told me Manning insisted on a cash payment for the show to avoid tax, so the Carr/Manning comparison stands.       

[TheDHolford]

Honestly, really enjoyed Ricky Gervais. It helped that Mark Watson did the warmup for him and killed it, even though I'd heard a few of his jokes before, the crowd did seem to really warm to him.

Thought Ricky's show was better than Humanity. Still the same shock value punchlines, but this time there seem to be less material that he had just lifted from old shows and podcasts, which I noticed a lot in his humanity show. Performed for about an hour and 15 minutes, the crowd were obviously wild for him. But even some of the more risky jokes, which, I would say is what he is known for, didn't seem to land awfully well in the crowd. Did people go and not expect shock comedy, or all his fans now people who loved Afterlife and just want to see Ricky and not care for his actual stand up. 

[Stone Cold Steve Austin]

Saw Max and Ivan doing a WIP tonight, brilliant, really liked it. Also went to Tom Parry the other day, a small crowd which obvious affects things but it was still a lot of fun

[Small Man Big Horse]

Saw Max and Ivan doing a WIP tonight, brilliant, really liked it. Also went to Tom Parry the other day, a small crowd which obvious affects things but it was still a lot of fun

I'm glad to hear that about Max and Ivan, I'm seeing a WIP next month and greatly looking forward to it.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Not stand up but last night I saw Night Of The Living Dead Live! at the Pleasance and quite enjoyed it, the first half is a fairly faithful retelling of the film with added jokes and silliness and (deliberately) quite broad performances from certain characters, but the second act was a selection of What If's? (like what if they'd hidden in the basement, or if the women had been in charge) which were a lot more fun. If I'd paid full price I might have been harsher about it but I saw it on the cheap thanks to a seat filling website and so liked it a lot.

Tonight I saw Helen Bauer, Jenny Bede, Arnab Chanda, Harriet Kemsley, Catherine Bohart, Alex Kealy, Alice Brine and Anna Mann at a charity gig, all were pretty strong and made me laugh a fair bit but the stand outs were Kemsley, Chanda and Anna Mann, the latter being the highlight of the night, she made me laugh an insane amount and I'm definitely going to book a ticket for their Edinburgh Preview as soon as I can.

[Stone Cold Steve Austin]

ha, when I was leaving the venue after Tom Parry I saw one of the actors in Night Of The Living Dead Live tell a group of his mates it was shit but fun in the most luvvie tone possible

[Small Man Big Horse]

I caught two Edinburgh previews tonight, one of which should have been Max & Ivan but annoyingly they pulled out a couple of days ago. Anyhow...

Olga Koch - If/Then - I was really impressed by this, it's very smart, very funny and she's an extremely confident and engaging comedian who had a lot of really great jokes and observations. Currently it's a very strong four star show but if it improves over the next month and a half before the festival it could be a five star one, and I definitely plan to see her again when she has a new show next year.

Suzi Ruffell - Dance Like Everyone's Watching - This I was less enamoured with. Sure it's a preview and Ruffell commented that one segment needed a lot of work, but even then it's just not that interesting. Ruffell's a very likeable comic with some good jokes but the areas it covers - her mum, house hunting, wanting to have a kid - were pretty mainstream stuff and she doesn't do anything that interesting with them. It's a 3 star show, I don't regret going and she did make me laugh a good few times, but I doubt I'd bother to go and see her again.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I should have seen two Edinburgh previews today but one cancelled as I was the only audience member. A comedian called Peter Fleming (well, that's his character name) if anyone plans to see him I'd advise calling the venue beforehand as he seems shit at promoting his gigs. Anyhow...

Joshua Glanc - An Australian Paul F. Tompkins lookalike I liked this show an awful lot. It was definitely a reasonably early work in progress and he chatted to his sound guy at certain points and commented on certain bits but he has a huge amount of charisma and is definitely someone I'll see again. It's a parody of your Las Vegas lounge singer type as he tells some stories, bursts in to song a few times and makes jokes and it just worked for me. One person walked out twenty minutes in so I guess it's not for everyone, but if you like your stand up to be a bit unpredictable he'll be someone you like a great deal.

[alan nagsworth]

Going to see Neil Hamburger this Wednesday at Soho Theatre. Although it's not actually a stand-up set, apparently he's playing a crooners show backed by a full orchestra. Should be vile. Can't wait.

Also got a ticket for Eric Andre's forthcoming tour which I'm very excited about.

Haha neither of these are shows I've seen yet. What a great post

[Small Man Big Horse]

Going to see Neil Hamburger this Wednesday at Soho Theatre. Although it's not actually a stand-up set, apparently he's playing a crooners show backed by a full orchestra. Should be vile. Can't wait.

Also got a ticket for Eric Andre's forthcoming tour which I'm very excited about.

Haha neither of these are shows I've seen yet. What a great post

I've ummed and ahhed about going to see Hamburger but I'm a bit broke right now (some cunt suggested I buy a book for twenty odd quid and I stupidly did so ;) ) but am gutted I didn't know about Andre, it's sold out now too so won't be happening. Hopefully he'll add an extra date as I would love to see him live.

[alan nagsworth]

I've ummed and ahhed about going to see Hamburger but I'm a bit broke right now (some cunt suggested I buy a book for twenty odd quid and I stupidly did so ;) ) but am gutted I didn't know about Andre, it's sold out now too so won't be happening. Hopefully he'll add an extra date as I would love to see him live.

Well if you're feeling too despondent you could always beat yourself to death with that book.

I've no doubt Hamburger will be great. Last time I saw him doing his belligerent barrage of celebrity diss jokes at the same venue, he was excellent. I love Turkington and everything about his stage/screen presence in and out of characters. I hope the opportunity rises to heckle him again.

I don't know owt about Eric Andre's stand up or if it's any good or not, but if it's anywhere as anarchic as his telly stuff I'm sure it'll be a hoot. I'm not sure if he's ever actually toured UK/Europe before, or if this is his first proper venture over here?

Oh, edit to add: there are waiting list options for Eric Andre, might be worth sticking your name down.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Well if you're feeling too despondent you could always beat yourself to death with that book.

Heh, it would be the perfect suicide method if I was in such a place, but fortunately I'm not just yet.

I've no doubt Hamburger will be great. Last time I saw him doing his belligerent barrage of celebrity diss jokes at the same venue, he was excellent. I love Turkington and everything about his stage/screen presence in and out of characters. I hope the opportunity rises to heckle him again.

I may well go if tickets don't sell out, I'm going through a mad spell of not sleeping much due to mad leg spasming so will just have to see how I feel each and every day, but I would love to see him as I've failed to do so every other time he's been in the UK somewhat annoyingly.

I don't know owt about Eric Andre's stand up or if it's any good or not, but if it's anywhere as anarchic as his telly stuff I'm sure it'll be a hoot. I'm not sure if he's ever actually toured UK/Europe before, or if this is his first proper venture over here?

Oh, edit to add: there are waiting list options for Eric Andre, might be worth sticking your name down.

I don't suppose you have a link, do you? I can't find one on the Hackney Empire site, or Andre's official one.

[alan nagsworth]

I may well go if tickets don't sell out, I'm going through a mad spell of not sleeping much due to mad leg spasming so will just have to see how I feel each and every day, but I would love to see him as I've failed to do so every other time he's been in the UK somewhat annoyingly.

I don't suppose you have a link, do you? I can't find one on the Hackney Empire site, or Andre's official one.

Hamburger's doing a string of dates from tomorrow until the 29th, almost all of which still have availability, so I reckon you'll be alright if the opportunity arises and you're feeling fit and able!

I spotted the link for Eric Andre waiting list on Gigantic. Alternatively, if you use Dice, you can get on their waiting list too.

[Small Man Big Horse]

Hamburger's doing a string of dates from tomorrow until the 29th, almost all of which still have availability, so I reckon you'll be alright if the opportunity arises and you're feeling fit and able!

I spotted the link for Eric Andre waiting list on Gigantic. Alternatively, if you use Dice, you can get on their waiting list too.

That's good news about the lack of Hamburger's popularity(!), so yeah, hopefully it'll happen.

And thanks for the Andre links, I've signed up for both so hopefully will manage to blag a ticket.