Jupitus and Us.


Tonight’s Mostly Comedy was easily one of the best.

I normally wouldn't say this so unreservedly, but it really, really was. Running a comedy night can sometimes feel like wading your way through endless admin, but tonight things really fell into place.

It helped that Phill Jupitus was lovely. Glyn and I have have been to a few of his gigs in the past, but never had much direct contact. It turns out that he's incredibly easy to talk to. We sat down to interview him for our podcast during the interval and ended up so engrossed in our conversation that we nearly forgot to start the second half.

I don’t think anyone in the audience really minded. They were all just delighted to see him.

Barry From Watford also played a blinder. It’s fair to say that Alex - the man behind the prosthetics - has the same love / hate relationship with performing stand-up as us; he also knows first-hand how your attention can be split when you also run the night.

You wouldn’t know this when you watch him. I’ve never once seen him not have complete control of the audience; and of all the times we’ve had him on the bill, tonight was definitely one of his best.

I was also pleased with how tonight’s gig went for us. Sometimes our multitasking can leave us looking like a pair of rabbits caught in the headlights. Thankfully, tonight that wasn’t the case. We managed to hold our own and not be too fazed by performing alongside such illustrious company.

(If you squinted, you might even be forgiven for thinking we were real stand-ups. Almost.)

Anyway, that’s enough praise for one night; it’s clearly past my bedtime. Thanks to Phill and Barry for being great and thanks to everyone who helped out.

As Barry From Watford would no doubt say himself: “Nn-night.”


Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Image
Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...
Read more

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce...
Read more

Hoo-ray and up She Rises.

So much has happened since my last post in March that this blog risks sounding like an itinerary. The main news is that Hitchin Mostly Comedy will return in the summer at a new venue, the Queen Mother Theatre . The road to this decision was convoluted, though enough fell into place en route to leave me optimistic about this new start. The catalyst was a survey I ran via our mailing list a few months back, in which I asked, "If the club returned in the current climate, with tickets still around £15 (and with similar line-ups), would you still attend?"; the response to which, in simple terms, was a resounding yes. Nearly 250 mailing list subscribers responded in a single week, with around a hundred also taking the option to leave some feedback. And only two people were abusive, which counts as a win when you consider they posted their comments online anonymously. Imagine how many more insults we would have received if the comedy club was a woman. Particularly if she was Diane ...
Read more