Skip to main content

Quadrant #3

Well, tonight was exciting, though it could have been tragic. 

That may be slightly melodramatic. Nobody died; just my computer, for a bit. I arrived at my venue in Brighton in good time and switched on my Mac, before setting to work at sorting out the sound set-up. I then returned to my laptop to plug it into the projector and the sound desk, to discover an ominous flashing question mark in place of the usual start-up screen. This suggested one of two things: either The Riddler was present, or my computer was buggered. 

Glyn arrived a moment later - he'd come down to assist me, in place of Steve, who wasn't available (not that I wouldn't ask Glyn first) - and together we started to frantically Google in hope of some technological advice. After holding down various keys to no avail, we searched for the nearest Mac Store...and lo and behold, it was just minutes down the road. I rushed to the nearby shopping centre with my Mac under one arm and my wallet poised for imminent damage. 

The people at the Apple Store were fucking brilliant. I'm happy to go on record to that effect, though no-one in their right mind would want to print it. I explained the situation, and how I was supposed to be starting a show in just over an hour, to which they were remarkably accommodating, despite the lack of Genius Bar appointments available; I'll even forgive them for that wanky name

Spin forward to around 5:30pm and I had a call from the Store to say they'd managed to replace the offending lead inside that Mac which had lost connection with the hard drive. The job they did was brilliant and went above and beyond the call of duty; I may even write them in my will. 

As for the show, it was a little frenetic. The audience were quiet but enjoying it. They laughed so quietly as not afford me time to take a sip of water; why can't they cooperate, damn it? All and all it was enjoyable if a little manic. I felt like I was having a breakdown in the corner at their expense. There were laughs but I think the audience felt intimidated by their closeness. Oh well, I wonder what won't work tomorrow? I'll work on the assumption that nothing wiill. I'm willing to put money on it being the legs. Actually, I hope not. 

Popular posts from this blog

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...