I'm All Right Jack.


Last night, Jack Dee played Mostly Comedy; something we would never have dreamt would happen when we started the club, back in 2008.

Jack Dee at Hitchin Mostly Comedy (22.11.17)

I regularly have to catch myself when another big name comes to Hitchin, which happens these days with alarming regularity. In 2017 alone we’ve hosted an impressive list of acts who’d never been to Mostly before, such as Ardal O’Hanlon, Reginald D Hunter, Mark Watson, Angelos Epithemiou, Katy Brand and Hal Cruttenden, not to mention some of our favourite regulars, like Arthur Smith, Norman Lovett, Richard Herring and Hattie Hayridge. For an event that started solely as an excuse to write more material, it’s crazy how it’s snowballed, and having a household name like Dee come to town is the icing on the cake; I’m already searching my mind for who to try to book next.

Ivo Graham at last night's gig.


The unexpected treat for many last night was Ivo Graham's set, which was fantastic, not least for the wonderful coincidence that he shared a house at Eton with local MP Bim Afolami; a person of some infamy among the non-Tory local community (myself included). While it was clear from the audience reaction that Bim hasn't exactly won over his naysayers, the pantomime boo that filled the room at the mere mention of his predecessor Peter Lilley warmed my heart, as our run-in with him a few years back proved the man's an unutterable cunt.

Admittedly, the lead-up to yesterday came with its stresses, but by the time we got to the show, everything was ironed out and we were able to enjoy a great night. The roar from the room when I introduced Jack was pretty extraordinary; here’s hoping he comes back soon.

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

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...
Read more