Saturday Night's Alright For Gigging.

I'm currently on the train back from a lovely gig at Guildford Gag House in - yes, you've guessed it - Guildford.

It was nice to do a set in a 'club' club, having done a lot of open mic gigs recently, to work up new material. The place was run like a tight ship, which was refreshing, and the room (which was in the back of a pub called the Star Inn) had a decent stage and a proper tech set-up. I suspect it doubles as a music venue, but to be honest, I haven't done my research.

I was on in the middle, between Tom Lucy and Mark Dolan, which was good for me logistically, as it meant I could nip off earlyish, which makes for a change after a week of late nights. I felt guilty for missing Mark's set, but I quickly said hello, to hopefully negate my inherent rudeness. I also had a good chat with Tom, who I haven't met before, and enjoyed his set; he's far to self-assured for someone I now realise is half my age; I'm officially decrepit.

My set went well, considering my brain's a bit shot. My wife came with me, which was great, as it's nice to have the company, particularly when you're not feeling your best. I was heartened when I saw how warmly the crowd received the MC Elf Lyons' stories; happy to listen and invest in them. It's good when people are happy to pick up on detail, which is a rarity when playing to a Saturday night crowd. It was a nice way to round off the week; now I'm going off-duty to eat an apple; rock 'n' bloody roll.

Shakerpuppetmaker.

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...

Comedy That's Worth a Letch.

Today, I nipped to Letchworth to meet with illustrator (and one-time - two-time - comedy poet) Mushybees, to discuss an event Mostly Comedy will act as surrogate parents to as part of Letchworth’s Arts Takeover in a couple of weeks. Months ago he got into contact to see if we’d be up for co-organising a comedy stage as part of Letchworth’s weekend of arts-based attractions in July; something I’d provisionally said yes to, before things got hectic in the lead-up to Edinburgh and we didn’t take it any further. Despite not getting down to the nitty-gritty straight away, we managed to pull a line-up together in a back-and-forth of emails yesterday, leading to me getting Glyn’s blessing and us deciding we’d officially go ahead with it (whatever ‘officially’ means in this context). In reality, it’s not complicated: from 12pm until 6pm-ish on the 22 nd July, Glyn, Mushybees and I will host four Edinburgh previews from four acts (including me), before Nor...

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...

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