Monkey Business at The Camden Eye

As I approach the Camden Eye, Promoter Martin is pacing around outside. "We've sold two tickets tonight," he says and we discuss the perils of the comedy night promoter. 

Come 8pm, however, the real audience has swelled to...four and there are ten acts on so it looks busy enough - even if the paying punters' decision to all sit in the near side corner presents the conundrum of if to perform to the front or angle constantly forty-five degrees right.

The first half is a mixed bag but quality prevails. Gatis Kandis proves himself yet again to be the comedians' comedian with his song about cows and Maggie Kowalski shows what a solid year of gigging can do for your delivery.

Admittedly I missed half of it as I was on next and plugging my phone in. As my sets go it was alright. The intro rap caught the necessary attention and the two couples that comprised the non-comics seemed to share the participation workload with one pair taking on the hissy noise in Tinny Drums with gusto whilst the other two got their clap on for a dusting down of Selfie Stick.

Bar the odd shuffle back to the centre stage, I probably did largely perform in profile to the comics to catch the eye of those not mentally rehearsing their lines or enduring the umpteenth time they've heard my beef about mobile phone accessories.

Come the second half the crowd were more tired but still willing. There were some great sets to raise the energy though, in particular from Peter Latham and Steve McLean. 10.20 rolled around and it was all over and a lengthy trip on the overground awaited.

Yellow Comedy at Reason Cafe, Watford

This evening was special for two particular reasons. The first being that this show marked my first paid headline spot and the second being that it was to be the first time I used my "box of frustration" as part of the set. 

The cafe bookshop was busy enough when I arrived and decamped with my girlfriend to a nearby pub that was doing it's best tribute act to a Lloyds' Bar with a hefty dose of RnB music, cheap eats and excruciatingly slow bar service. Having waited five minutes for someone to pick leaves off a mint plant and mash them into some ice I returned with drinks and a short wait before the deformed fish and oven chips arrived. Food is food though so once fed I headed over to the cafe and watched the first half.

It was the first time I'd seen many of the acts and the crowd seemed to like them well enough. Lew Fitz closed the first half with a storming ten minutes featuring plenty of smart ad-libs alongside the material. A coffee later and we were into the second half.

Opening with my intro track I soon identified I had about a two metres square to operate in and shuffled, waved and jumped about with as much energy as the space could contain. The box of frustration then came out and we played pass the parcel with it - the final recipient pulling out the next record in my chart each time. As a way to keep the audience fully involved and ensure I had someone to speak to each time it worked pretty well. It was somewhat fitting that it ended up with my dad when it came to talking about nightclubs and then the proprietor when I needed to discuss the perils of ordering coffee.

As far as audience reaction went I'd say they were fully on board for the twenty minutes and an invitation to return sometime soon has been made. The Brighton show is only marginally longer than this as it's a split with Andy Onions' so it's full speed ahead with that now. 

I'm still without a venue for my solo show in Edinburgh (I'm assured Tight Tens will definitely be a fixture though) so if you're looking to share an hour or can help in any way now is the time to be a hero.

...song news...

It's been a slow few months when it comes to writing to new material but I'm back on it with a track about DIY. I downloaded the Apple Store version of Garageband for a fiver which appears to be a huge advancement on the version I've been using so far so expect some new drum sounds along with a beeps, buzzes, squelches and hums...

Epsom Playhouse Theatre

This evening I took a two hour journey across the city to perform at the Epsom Playhouse Theatre supporting Pete K Malley and his show about 21 years in teaching. As a nod to the comparatively professional vibe of the event (e.g. Not being in the back room of a pub and requiring actual tickets) I successfully experimented with baseball boots, skinny jeans and a distinctly urban t-shirt to go with the Leyton visor. Primark should be sponsoring my appearances.

Having taken in the sights of the town (a big clock and a TK Maxx) I met Pete in the theatre and sound checked the phone. 8pm rolled around and I ran on to my intro track and a sold out room of 100 people. Mainly older, mainly teachers, the crowd went for it with the enthusiasm reserved for education professionals starting their Easter break. 

Tales of the Unexpected and Craft Fair went down well and I indulged in a fair bit of crowd work. At the bar afterwards several people high-fived me with a "bip".

Pete and the other support act, The Monks, were well received to and the whole night had a pleasant vibe. There's a good chance my new track about DIY would work here. Outside of the central London bubble it's important to recognise your core audience have kids and are more likely to relate to tales of the supermarket than clubbing.

They also like their night to conclude by ten. Which is handy when you have an epic journey home in front of you.

Famous First Words at The Gunners, 27.3.17

It's been at least six months since I last performed at Famous First Words. When I enter the vibe is the same though. Eager comics, a couple of real audience at the bar. Some locals hiding in the back.

Mirthquake co-performer, Nick Purves, was on duty this evening and handled the minimal crowd with some shiny new material and his usual polite approach. 

Sheraz Yousaf was in the headline position like he always was when I was part of the promotion and it was good to hear some really funny observations from his now very slick Pursuit of Manliness show.

The other comics did as well as can be expected from a single figure audience sat in a large room where all but two are on stage at some point. I was no exception. The intro track worked well enough, a Hungarian man complimented me on new track, "Sound of the Tinny Drums" and people generally joined in. 

A quiet night but a good night.

Monkey Business at Cafe Rouge, 18.3.17

Sometimes an act comes along and truly smashes a room. This evening that act, sadly, wasn't me - though my three song set did go down well with plenty of crowd participation and some genuine love for my intro track.

The accolade instead had to go to Lenny Sherman. A well paced, slick and memorable set that cemented in place the best of what I'd seen previously whilst also extending into new territory. The final joke had a storming build up where the punchline came as a genuine laugh out loud surprise. Recommended.

Stand Up at The Leyton Star, 16.3.17

I look forward to every show I run but I was especially looking forward to this evening's. I've been a fervent supporter of David McIver for two years now and this was his Edinburgh preview. 

The audience wasn"t at the usual numbers which was a surprise and a shame. Nevertheless, come 8pm I was on stage reviving Crisis of Conscience for the first time since Edinburgh last year. Air punched and "yeah"s duly shouted we moved on a strong opening from Sella Graham. 

Gates Kandis followed with a mix of new and old material then Sally Firth took to the stage with tales of her son's misdemeanours. James Harris closed the first half with confident commentary and crowd conversations before I told everyone to get a drink and return for the second half - even throwing in some actual crowd chat around new and old Leyton for the recent arrivals.

I won't spoil the surprise when it comes to David's set but suffice to say in involved breathing exercises, a toga and an abacus. As character comics go he's really pushing himself experimentally and pulling it off pretty much all the time. The Travis song was quite the twist too.

So onwards to April and two shows where I actually won't be there. Firstly because I've handed over Tight Tens to the fantastic Sonia Aste and secondly because Peter Merrett will be at the helm of Bear Jokes whilst I'm over in Europe for an Easter break. 

Don't try and break into my flat - I have a housemate and a seriously vicious cat.

Bear Jokes at Pub on the Park, 9.3.17

It's amazing how quickly a vibe can change. At 7.55pm there are 5 slightly glum comedians sat in an empty room fiddling with their phones. 

Fast forward to 8.10 and Darren Walsh is making a room full of estate agents and new media professionals laugh out loud continuously. The good mood continued when Salford-based comedy adventurer Tom Little took the mic and then Lew Fitz injected even more energy into proceedings. I wrapped the first half with a well received West End and we broke for beers.

Gary Sansome previewed his updated for 2017 show, "Bald Man Sings Rihanna", in the second half to a 100% returning audience and jumped from material to simply MCing the now very vocal crowd with slick professionalism. By the end of the night everyone knew everyone's name and four of us were up front singing Umbrella. The donations bucket also made a pleasant rustling noise rather than a miserly clank.

So lessons learned? Less is more. Take three genuinely good experienced acts, add one all singing all dancing MC to top and tail the first half then leave the second to someone who can enjoy and handle 40 minutes on their own.

The run of Bear Jokes / barely any audience is over :-)