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New Opening.


I snapped up a short open spot at a new material night tonight. I very nearly didn’t go, as I wasn’t in the mood, but I’m glad that I did.

I need to get used to turning up to gigs on my own. Until recently, I’ve never done this. The closest I came was playing the odd solo acoustic gig after my band spit up due to my then-constant touring. Even with that, I had an accomplice: my guitar. The banter in-between songs was loosely comedic, but this wasn’t the main focus. The music was the important bit. If I made the audience laugh that was a bonus.

I made the gradual transition into comedy with Glyn by my side. I thrive on the connection we have creatively, and on being able to make each other laugh. We aim to please each other first. We’ve worked together in one way or another for so long that sharing a stage is like putting on a comfy pair of shoes. It’s easy to get back into a rhythm.

Performing on my own is a different kettle of fish  (to use a surreal cliché). The comfy shoes have been wrenched from my feet and replaced with insufficient footwear. There’s no-one to cajole me into being funny, or to fall back on onstage. I don’t even have a slideshow to maintain structure or pull focus (in a good way).

Today was one of the first times I enjoyed it. The material was rickety in places and needs work, but there’s an end in sight. This time last week, I took a friend with me for feedback and moral support. Tonight, I turned up on my own. I was anonymous. This suited me better. I had a nice chat with a couple of the other acts too, which relaxed me. The organizer was lovely and said nice things about my set, which gave me a little boost.

While it’s good to experiment with the solo stuff and try something different, I’m looking forward to Doggett & Ephgrave's forthcoming projects. We’ll soon be hosting a radio show on a small online station. I can’t wait. I’ve always preferred our off-the-cuff stuff (like The Buddy Tapes and our Edinburgh video diary) to our more formal writing. It’s more fun. It’s also less effort, which gets a big tick from me.

That’s enough late-night rambling. I’m going to reward myself by watching the Simpsons episode where Homer adopts a lobster. How’s that for a wind-down? 


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