Numberwang.


Tonight’s Mostly Comedy at the Sun Hotel with Arthur Smith and Phil Wang was a great way to draw a line under what's been a truly exceptional year for the club.

Arthur Smith, on-stage at The Sun Hotel, Hitchin (13.12.17)

We’re all too aware of how lucky we are to be running an event with such ardent and consistent support. Just the last few months have been a case in point, with Jack Dee, Phill Jupitus and Henning Wehn’s dates all selling out in a matter of minutes; a few years ago we would never have dreamt this possible and yet here it is; we always hoped the club would become a hot ticket that stayed in a smallish room and didn't lose it roots and that’s exactly what’s happened; it’s extraordinary really.

Doggett & Ephgrave being weird, pre-show.

It shows how much we’ve grown to accept the calibre of line-ups we host to have an act of Arthur Smith’s stature play the club again for us to barely bat an eyelid. It helps that he’s such a nice guy who’s the epitome of being down-to-earth and easy going, but there’s still that frisson of excitement when he steps onto the stage for the first time: it’s nice to have maintain that little bit of theatre to proceedings and build momentum.

Ephgrave at the window.
The only thing that would have helped tonight’s gig would have been to switch the bill so Phil Wang was in the first half and Arthur Smith was in the second, as having Arthur at the top meant we’d metaphorically shot our load early (this was absolutely no reflection on Phil who was great, but Arthur’s obviously the bigger name). Phil had to close though as he was doubling up with a gig at the Bear Club in Luton, and perhaps our gig wouldn’t have been so appealing if he hadn’t already been in the area, so that’s the way things go.

Arthur Smith plays a sold out room at the last Hitchin Mostly Comedy of 2017.
So, in summary, 2017 saw thirteen shows with an impressive roster of acts, many of whom hadn’t played the club before - and 2018 already looks set to follow suit. Not bad going for something we set up on a whim.

"You have been watching..."

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