A girl who just wants to be entertained

My general experience of attending comedy TV recordings

2010-06-16T11:31:00.000+01:00

I finally saw Mock the Week being recorded, which was ace. I will post specific experiences of the show on Friday once it's been broadcast so I don't reveal spoilers and also know what wasn't shown so I can reveal exclusives. So instead I will write about being an audience member generally and what it involves.

The first thing that being an audience member of a TV recording is waiting. For the most part, your place in the audience isn't guaranteed even if you have got a ticket so you have to get there early to get in. Then you have to wait when you're in for the studio to be ready. When you're in the studio there is yet more waiting for the seats to be filled, the stars to be ready and technical stuff to be sorted. And even at the end there may be other things to be done. You need a lot of patience, although it will be worth it.

There is a warm up to get the crowd ready for the show. I have been lucky that the 4 shows I have attended that the warm up artists have been funny and good at getting the audience in the mood.

The recording itself takes a lot of time. For a half an hour show, there will be nearly 2 hours of filming. This is because of retakes, extra recording bits and bobs to allow rearranging of parts of the programme and also ads for the show.

There is a lot of clapping and laughing, a bit may be forced as you may be asked to laugh at something you have already laughed at. Your hands may hurt!

It is a lot of fun and cool to know stuff that the TV viewer won't know.

Youtube post- Mock the Week (again)

2010-06-15T09:05:00.001+01:00

Because I am (hopefully) seeing Mock the Week being recorded, I'm just going to put a video up!

Youtube post- Mark Kermode

2010-06-14T09:37:00.000+01:00

There were too many awesome videos to choose from, but I had to pick this one as Mark does a brilliant impression of Danny Dyer!

Youtube post- Chris Addison (again, again)

2010-06-13T08:43:00.000+01:00

Quick video of Chris Addison

Pete Firman, Jokes and Tricks, 11/06/2010, Hen and Chickens

2010-06-12T09:20:00.000+01:00

This is the second time I've seen Pete's new Edinburgh show, so this is an interesting review for me.

What I was pleased about is that Pete did some new jokes. One of my issues with his previous preview was that for the most part he was using last years jokes. It was still his style but at least he hadn't used them before, or at least I haven't seen them!

I was also impressed that he had a few new tricks. Admittedly, it has been 2 months since I had last seen him but it did seem very put together. I loved the shoe cake trick and the teleportation one, I couldn't work out how either were done. In general, Pete loves fire as he did 3 things that involved flames!

He did a lot of silly tricks, which is expected. What I was disappointed with is that he cut the chase the ace trick and he also cut the explanation of his paintball catch trick. Considering he had time to do one of his old 'sexy' tricks, it was annoying.

It was still a good show, it's hard to be very excited about him however when I saw Barry & Stuart last week!

Youtube post- Pete Firman (Again, again!)

2010-06-11T07:24:00.002+01:00

Seeing Pete this evening, so I wanted to post one of his older tricks which is very cool!

Youtube post- Mitch Benn (again, again)

2010-06-10T08:53:00.000+01:00

I had a brilliant gig last night but it has made me lazy, so I am posting an actual video of Mitch

Youtube post- Adam Hills

2010-06-09T08:29:00.000+01:00

I am stupidly busy today so it's just a video, will do a proper post tomorrow.

As it Occurs to me- 07/06/2010

2010-06-08T12:28:00.001+01:00

I can't be bothered to do a full review as you can download it and it is quite difficult to review. Although during the warm up we were picked on again! Here is the link to download

http://www.comedy.co.uk/podcasts/as_it_occurs_to_me/

Creativity: Collin(g)s and Herrin(g) podcast icons

2010-06-07T09:08:00.001+01:00

I'm seeing As It Occurs To Me tonight so I'm going to post relevant icons.

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Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

Youtube post- Fist of Fun

2010-06-06T09:47:00.002+01:00

I wanted to post some FOF goodness!

Barry and Stuart, Chris Cox et al; Magic Night; 4/6/2010; Madame Jo Jo's

2010-06-05T09:02:00.001+01:00

I had the good fortune to see Magic Night last night and wanted to write about it.

Neil Henry (end image) was the compare, and he has compared 4 out of the 6 Magic Nights that I have attended. All the jokes and tricks he did were ones I had seen before and he even joked that he could get away with it as most of the audience hadn't attended before. He was only the compare so it didn't matter if he was the weakest performer.

Slightly surprisingly, Chris was on first. I had seen a few of the tricks before, but it didn't matter as he was so good. He bantered with the crowd and all of his tricks worked. He did do a new trick which involved him wearing wet look leggings, which was epic.

Then it was Mr. B, the Gentleman Rhymer. He was excellent. Generally, the non magic act of Magic Might tends to be the weakest person on, but he was fantastic. It's quite hard to describe his stuff, and I would advise you to go to YouTube to see his stuff. He did a song criticising Tim Westwood and did covers of Hip-Hop songs using the Queen's English and a banjolele.

I had seen James Pritchard at a previous Magic Night and he was all right. He was very good, dealing with the first trick going wrong slightly, a balloon swallowing trick, as the balloons kept bursting. I loved this trick he did using maths, which is gloriously geeky! He did the needle swallowing trick that he did in January, explaining its danger using a scar he got as a child then doing it anyway!

I don't think I ever understate the epicness of Barry and Stuart. I had seen all the tricks before, but it didn't matter. They are always so amazing and I hadn't seen these tricks since March, so it was nice seeing them again. I also had a friend with me who had not seen these tricks and he enjoyed them so much and laughing at their jokes. I have reviewed these tricks before, so I don't need to go into detail, but they all worked and they were just fantastic.

It is fair to say that this was the strongest line-up of Magic Night that I have seen.

Creativity: Chris Cox icons

2010-06-04T10:02:00.002+01:00

I'm seeing Chris, alongside Barry and Stuart, so I thought I'd post some icons I made of him.

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Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

Youtube post- David O'Doherty (again)

2010-06-03T08:49:00.000+01:00

I've booked tickets to see David at my local comedy venue so I wanted to post another awesome video of him!

Youtube post- Idiots of Ants

2010-06-02T11:02:00.001+01:00

This is just amazing!

Youtube post- Dara O'Briain (Again)

2010-06-01T14:52:00.001+01:00

Creativity: Mixed bag of icons

2010-05-31T09:39:00.002+01:00

I thought I had put up too many of my Barry and Stuart icons (as much as I love making them), so to balance things off I have decided to put up some other icons that I have made from the last few months. They are of a lot of different people (and animals and puppets) and I'll list those mentioned on the tags.

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Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

Youtube post- Charlie Brooker (Again, again)

2010-05-30T08:22:00.002+01:00

Charlie Brooker on My Super Sweet 16

Youtube post- Jon Richardson, Rhod Gilbert and Lloyd Langford

2010-05-29T08:27:00.003+01:00

I just found this audio clip from Jon's show and had to share. Lloyd broke Rhod's gnome!

Youtube post- Mitchell and Webb

2010-05-28T10:21:00.000+01:00

Ok, it's BBC not YouTube but I can't be bothered to change the categories for this video. Anyway, in honour of the iPad being released in the UK today, I'm posting this video of a viable alternative.

What Comedy has Allowed Me To Do/Be

2010-05-27T11:56:00.000+01:00

I decided that I wanted to be a little bit more personal in terms of comedy (and magic but I'm putting them together here) and what it has done for me. I think since getting into comedy in a big way (i.e. seeing stuff live) about a year ago, I have changed as a person. It has also allowed me to do things that I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise and I wanted to write about it.

Firstly, I think I am more confident as a person. It is a combination of the various things I have done because of comedy that had caused this, as it has generally made me feel that I am ok and not totally weird, or at least weird in a good way!

This blog has also been set up because of comedy. I had in the past tried to blog, mainly Livejournal, but I was never motivated enough to post regularly. The blog didn't have a specific enough idea, just tried to write about myself, which wasn't that interesting. By focusing on comedy, it has motivated me to write more or less daily and improved my blogging.

I have been more involved in things generally. I have been picked on during comedy shows, twice by Richard Herring alone; mentioned in podcasts, again Richard; been up on stage to help with magicians tricks, numerous times with Barry and Stuart (one trick I have done 4 times alone), Piff the Magic Dragon and even helped Chris Cox a bit too. This has helped my confidence and feel less embarrassed about stuff happening to me and am generally happy to sit front row for comedy.

I have also met interesting people. I have set up a group on Facebook to do with Richard Herring and how he is unconventionally good looking and have chatted to people on there and even said hi during a gig of his. And it is not just fans I have met. I have chatted to both Chris Cox and Barry and Stuart and they all were lovely and seemingly pleased to have me as a fan, Chris and Stuart actually made a b line for me and my sister on occasions (separate by the way!). Barry and Stuart in particular were not freaked out by us seeing their shows so many times, which was a relief!

As you can see, I love comedy for so many reasons but the way it has changed me as a person had to be one of the most important.

Youtube post- Robin Ince

2010-05-26T17:46:00.000+01:00

Lacking ideas, I'm just putting a video of Robin Ince up.

Youtube post- Stewart Lee (again)

2010-05-25T18:30:00.001+01:00

As I saw him Sunday and thought he was brilliant, I just wanted to post a video of him.

Lyric Comedy Night, 23/05/2010, Lyric Hammersmith

2010-05-24T10:17:00.000+01:00

I saw Richard Herring's Comedy Night at the Lyric Theatre and I just wanted to write about it.

So, Richard Herring compared the gig and was funny as usual. He bantered excellently with the crowd. He did a mix of new material and old, and whored himself a little too with his book and AIOTM (AIOTM!).

The first act on was Rufus Hound. He honestly left me cold. It wasn't that he was totally terrible and unfunny, but his style didn't suit the gig. He even admitted that his stuff didn't really work with this audience verses a comedy club audience. He unintelligently attacked religion and too much of his stuff was sexual, which gets boring and is a cheap laugh. He was very repetitive and he couldn't work it well. He was certainly the weakest act of the night.

Rich Hall was next and he was funny but it's hard to put my finger on why. I think he is just a funny person. He told a lot of long stories which he sometimes he didn't quite get to the point. I think the set was too short for him to totally get into a pattern.

The headliner was Stewart Lee and he was extremely funny. Unlike Rufus, he can do repetition well, using the pattern of his voice and evolving the joke to keep it funny. He mixed up slight absurdity, whimsy, satire, meta-jokes and observation and made it work. He even sang and played guitar, which he was actually pretty good at! And he even ripped his trousers when he wondered around the stage and tried to climb up this bit and couldn't. He was generally brilliant and was the strongest act on the bill.

I had a good time overall, and would like to see Stewart again if poss, and I am seeing Richard Herring again.

Barry and Stuart, Séance Show (preview), Etcetera Theatre, 22/5/2010

2010-05-23T08:15:00.001+01:00

I saw the fabulous Barry and Stuart last night and wanted to review it. I have seen 3 times now, so it won't be very detailed, but I'll talk about it anyway.

Like last time, there were technical problems. Unlike last time they were so severe that they couldn't use the projector or the camera. I think that mediums have cursed them! These problems didn't really matter as the show still worked really well.

They had added another trick and the banter had evolved, which really worked and were extremely funny.

None of the tricks went wrong, which was good considering the other issues.

The audience were brilliant. The women they got up went with it and had fantastic reactions to the tricks.

It is still a must see show.

Additional stuff: 1. My friend got a needle stuck in and my sister tied Barry up!
   2. Andy Nyman was in attendance!
   3. Barry and Stuart must be mind readers as me and my sister both thought that they should use a dustbuster and they finally have! This is the second time this sort of thing has happened as I joked that we were 'official stooges' and then they did a t-shirt saying that!
   4. We chatted to Barry and Stuart afterwards and they gave us an autograph and were generally lovely!

Creativity: Barry and Stuart icons, third set

2010-05-22T09:05:00.000+01:00

So, seeing Barry and Stuart this evening so it's the perfect time to post some more icons that I have made. Will be review of the gig tomorrow.

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Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

Things I generally like...Back of the Net

2010-05-21T11:23:00.000+01:00

I have a confession before I start this- I don't get football. I find it for the most part boring and less skilled compared to other sports. I am dreading the TV schedules being filled with the World Cup this summer. I hate the assumption that you have to care about it because the national side is involved. I can't be bothered to be patriotic in general. I only vaguely care about my local side (Charlton) but that isn't that much.

So it is odd then that I really enjoy reading a blog about football. Back of the Net is a very different type of football blog. It is run by Mark Watson (who I like anyway as has previously mentioned), his brother Paul (who also runs the national football team in Micronesia) and John Foster. Rather than talking about fixtures and transfers of players etc. it makes up stories and are whimsical and very silly. Things like players making cakes, shopping during penalties, being lost in ticker tape parades and Flight of the Conchords being named in the New Zealand World Cup squad. They also satire the nature of football, the over played players, the general commercialisation of the game and the desire to keep things the same.

Even if you don't like football, read this blog: http://backofthenet.markwatsonthecomedian.com/

Youtube post- Ed Byrne

2010-05-20T06:41:00.002+01:00

A quick video of Ed Byrne.

Youtube post- Chris Addison (again)

2010-05-19T06:23:00.000+01:00

I am very busy today so here is a quick post of a video of Chris Addison, who was brilliant on Have I Got News For You? on Friday.

Richard Herring (et al), As It Occurs To Me, 17/05/2010, Leicester Square Theatre

2010-05-18T10:32:00.000+01:00

So I had the good fortune of seeing the recording of the first episode of the new series of As It Occurs To Me (AIOTM) last night. It's difficult to review as it is a podcast and you can hear it all online
(This is the link to download it and it is on iTunes). But I will talk a bit about it.

Unlike the first series, there was now a full warm up and a break between that and the podcast recording itself. Richard was very good. It had become a running joke during the first series that he was doing the same set of jokes during the warm up. It was not the case this time, as he did new material, a lot of stuff that he couldn't fit in the show. There was also a lot of banter with the crowd. This was where me and my sister were picked on, as he knew us from Collings and Herring Podcast 100 as the twins whose birthday it was on the day of recording (our dad dobbed us in!) That was a combination of funny and a little embarrassing. Richard may put up the warm up online later on this week to show what people who don't attend what they are missing. There was also someone else who was also mentioned on Podcast 100, so there was a lot of call back generally.

The podcast itself was very good, as I knew it would be using previous experience. It was nice seeing Christian Riley finally doing the stings live as he didn't do the shows that I attended. He even did a topical song alongside the stings which was cool. Everyone else was of course funny. There were a few call backs, although the joke was they were avoiding using old material like 'cumpkins' and the roulette wheel sound effect, and being different in general, although that didn't stop him using a very old joke from his 'Lee and Herring' days.

It is definitely recommended to see live, at least listen to it if you can't. I am attending the last one, at the Bloomsbury, and maybe another depending.

Youtube post- Richard Herring: As It Occurs To Me

2010-05-17T06:25:00.000+01:00

I'm seeing As It Occurs To Me being recorded tonight, so I'm posting the documentary about it.

Youtube post- Mark Watson (Again)

2010-05-16T08:42:00.002+01:00

Just posting a video of Mark Watson on Mock the Week, because it's awesome

Creativity: Barry and Stuart icons, Second Set, Arty

2010-05-15T09:19:00.001+01:00

I have been a little bit arty with icons so wanted to share. Also new images, which is awesome!

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Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

Youtube post- Richard Herring (again!, again!)

2010-05-14T09:55:00.002+01:00

I have a headache so another video, this time of Richard Herring, again.

Youtube post- Piff the Magic Dragon

2010-05-13T19:20:00.000+01:00

Another magical video! Piff the Magic Dragon this time.

Youtube post- Pete Firman (Again)

2010-05-12T19:11:00.000+01:00

Too tired to think of much, so here is Pete doing some geek

Creativity: Barry and Stuart icons, first set

2010-05-11T13:46:00.004+01:00

I want to mix things up on the blog so have decided to post some icons that I have made. I'm breaking my internal promise to myself that I wouldn't post too much Barry and Stuart stuff, but I have made some pretty cool icons and I want to share. These lot are from their Chatroulette video, that I posted a few days ago.

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Created with angelamaria's Icon Table Generator @ Bauble

Youtube post- Charlie Brooker (Again)

2010-05-10T19:04:00.000+01:00

Lazy post, so just posting a video of Charlie Brooker and his Cocks and She-Cocks in Advertising

Youtube post- Barry and Stuart (again)

2010-05-09T19:24:00.000+01:00

I can't resist putting up Barry and Stuart's new video about Chatroulette. Note: they really do look like they've put the time into this one!

Recommendations: Richard Herring- How Not To Grow Up

2010-05-08T20:02:00.000+01:00

I have just finished Richard Herring's book and I want to review it so here we go.

It is a memoir of sorts detailing the time surrounding his 40th birthday and evaluating his life and pondering whether or not he was living his life right.

He has a very engaging writing style and draws you into his world. He makes you emphasise with his situation, even when you might not necessarily agree with his choices.

He is also very honest. Some celebrities may blot out things that might make them look bad, he doesn't. I don't want to reveal some of the things he says, as I want you to read it, but it can be slightly shocking at times.

My favourite thing about the book is when he writes about his girlfriend. He is just so wonderful about her and so romantic about how he feels it makes you want to hug him. I am such a sucker for romance, so I lapped up the story about how he met his girlfriend.

It is a brilliant read and something that people should pick up.

Youtube post- Jon Richardson

2010-05-07T17:52:00.002+01:00

Still feeling poorly, so another video I am posting.

Youtube post- Would I Lie To You?

2010-05-06T17:15:00.000+01:00

I've been ill, properly, so haven't been able to update. I can't really be bothered to do 5 days worth of updates, so I'm just going post this video that contains the winning elements of both David Mitchell and Jack Whitehall.

Does it Offend You Yeah? Well...

2010-05-01T15:39:00.000+01:00

I've been inspired to blog my thoughts about comedy and swearing and offensiveness, as Richard Herring has mentioned he is doing a debate to do with offensiveness. I talk a lot about swearing and things in comedy with my parents so it's nice to put my feelings on here without arguing with them about it! I'm going to look at each and just write about them.

So, swearing first. I don't swear really myself, I think there are only a few occasions in my life where I have properly sworn, although I do use words that few people would have an issue with nowadays. However, I'm not inherently anti-swearing. I think it can be used effectively. It can be used to reflect passion about a subject, whether that is hate or love. People in real life do this, so comedians can too. People like Rhod Gilbert and Richard Herring do this very effectively, they swear a lot but it has context and makes sense. It can also be a ridiculous character that the comedian has created to highlight something, again 'podcast' Richard Herring is a good example of that.

What I really dislike about swearing is when it is used in lieu of jokes. Some comedians seem to treat swearing as a get out clause to be funny without having to properly craft a joke. Yes, sometimes swearing can be funny but when it's used all the time it gets stupid.

What about controversy and offensiveness. I think if used well, offensive material can work. A good comedian should be able to take a distasteful subject and use it to make the audience think about how they view the world. It can be used ironically, although care is needed as to whether the audience understands they're being ironic and this is not what they actually think. Richard Herring is very good at this.

Like swearing, what I dislike about controversy in comedy is when it's overused and done instead of crafting a joke. I think that some comedians are just being controversial for controversy sake, trying to overstep as many boundaries as possible. I think that's my main issue with Frankie Boyle, who just likes being offensive and not funny. I personally think that his most funny jokes on Mock The Week were inoffensive and a little silly.

People I generally like- Pete Firman

2010-04-30T10:10:00.000+01:00

I wanted to write a post about why I like Pete Firman, because he's pretty awesome.

Firstly, he is a skilled magician but also an innovative one. He does a lot of old school tricks, but he presents them in quite different ways. He likes to explain the tricks, without revealing them, especially looking a little at their history, like the bullet catch. He tries to be different and it works. He doesn't do just cheap tricks and tries to push himself.

He is also funny. He mixes magic and comedy brilliantly, using his tricks to amuse. He also has funnier jokes than quite a few comedians.

He's also unpretentious, trying to get away from the clichés that dominate the magic community. He has in the past made a point of talking about avoiding the pretentiousness of some magicians and admiring those that avoid.

Also, he has brilliant hair. It is rather impressive as to how thick it is.

So there are some of the reasons why I think Pete is made of win.

Youtube post- Mitch Benn (again)

2010-04-29T19:19:00.001+01:00

With the election a week away, I thought I'd post a relevant video.

Youtube post- Richard Herring (again!)

2010-04-28T20:09:00.000+01:00

Feel lazy, so here's a clip of Richard Herring doing some stand up!

Youtube post- Russell Kane (again!)

2010-04-27T09:37:00.000+01:00

Lazy video day. Russell Kane on Melbourne last year.

Things I have noticed about comedy

2010-04-26T19:41:00.000+01:00

As a change from posting YouTube videos and recommending things, I just wanted to write a quick post mentioning themes surrounding comedy. The first one is that how newspapers are being attacked is changing. It's not just the traditional targets of the tabloids that comedians are criticising but also the broadsheets. I think this is because a lot of broadsheet's comedy critics forget that they are only one person with the good fortune of writing about their opinions in print and not some know it all whose word is law when it comes to comedy. Subsequently they don't realise that comedy is subjective and their reviews reflect this. I'm not saying that the public are always right about things, but neither are the critics and you need balance. I have seen the criticism at first hand when seeing Jack Whitehall, Robin Ince and Rhod Gilbert to name a few.

A more sweet theme is that more couples are doing stuff on the same night, in a double header. I first saw this when Sarah Millican and her other half Gary Delaney were doing the Hen and Chickens on the same night, although because of the volcano that had to be changed. I then saw that Russell Kane was doing an Edinburgh preview on the same night as someone called Sadie. I know that his wife is called Sadie so did a little research like the curious person I am and found out that the Sadie on the same night was 'his'. Then just today I found out that Stewart Lee and Bridge Christie were doing a double header at the Hen and Chickens. I'm not sure if it's the case that because women are slowly increasing in numbers in comedy so are more likely to date fellow comedians and it makes sense to do stuff together as you can spend time together between your sets. I think it's also likely that the more famous one, which is not always the man, can help boost the others career.

There's my random thoughts on things.

Rhod Gilbert, ...and the Cat that Looked Like Nicholas Lyndhurst, 24/04/2010, Hammersmith Apollo

2010-04-25T17:46:00.000+01:00

Saw Rhod last night so here is my review.

This show was always going to be interesting for me for two reasons. The first was that this would be the first time I was going to see a comedian in a large venue, rather than in small theatres and comedy clubs, so the experience would be different with different sorts of people turning up. Secondly, I had actually seen a preview of the show in May last year, as Rhod had done a turn at my local comedy club to prepare for Edinburgh and it was already good then. So it was going to be interesting how it had changed. Another thing that made it interesting that I did not know before hand was the show was being recorded for the DVD, as I was only aware that the previous night's show had been recorded.

There was also a support, which was something that I had not experienced before at a solo comedy show. Andrew Bird was funny and actually matched Rhod in terms of physical style and whimsy. One thing I hope that goes into the DVD is when Andrew mocked Rhod for having a giant sign and accusing him of being like Elvis just because he did the Visit Wales ads and Rhod, who was at the side of the stage, threw a banana at him!

The things Rhod are mainly known for are ranting about small things and this was a theme that was continued. Instead of togs and torches it was hoovers and washing machines. He also attacked the media for their criticism of him, especially targeting The Daily Telegraph and asking people if they read it then having ago at them. What I really enjoyed was when he combined the rants with brilliantly surreal visual ideas, which I don't want to spoil, but he made it so you couldn't always tell what was true and what was a lie and that made it so much more compelling.

He is also very physical in his work, a lot of use of the stool which he has on stage as well as moving a lot around the stage, certainly not just being a stand up.

In the second half he goes on to talk about his time at anger management therapy, reliving childhood memories, having a go at his Radio Wales listeners (which he does on the show anyway!) and cats that look like people. He even does a bit that involved his Radio Wales co-host Chris Cochran (who on a side note I am seeing in May). He is just so brilliant generally. He also did a meta joke to do with some of his older material.

The audience definitely laughed a lot, which you would hope considering the relative expense of it compared to other comedy shows at smaller venues. I would call the audience masochistic, yelling things out so that Rhod could rant and rave at them, which made it all the more fabulous. It was certainly a contrast when he thanked the audience profusely after swearing and hand gestures at them!

Overall he was fantastic, he did almost two hours of material, which was good for the price and it was certainly worth it. I do want to see him again, although I don't think it will be at least until next year as he is continuing touring The Cat... during this year, including another limit run at Edinburgh because he sold out before the festival had even began. Do try and go and see him and if not go buy the DVD when it's out!

Youtube post- Rhod Gilbert (again)

2010-04-24T08:47:00.000+01:00

Seeing Rhod tonight so I'm putting up another YouTube post, this time from Michael McIntyre's Comedy Road show

Youtube post- Chris Addison

2010-04-23T09:06:00.000+01:00

Feeling rubbish so another video, this time of the fab Chris Addison

Youtube post- Andy Zaltzman

2010-04-22T20:30:00.001+01:00

Listening to Answer Me This! has inspired me to put an Andy Zaltzman clip on here (he's on the most recent ep with his sister!).

Jack Whitehall, Edinburgh Work-In-Progress, 20/04/2010, Hen & Chickens

2010-04-21T17:49:00.000+01:00

So I saw Jack Whitehall last night and will now attempt to review it.

As the title suggests, it is an early work-in-progress show, so I couldn't expect anything amazing. But it was actually very good. He did repeat some older material, stuff that was actually on TV, and he did steal a few jokes too. They were mostly small give throwaway things, but he has been accused of stealing other peoples jokes before. The problem for him is that because of the internet and the popularity of stand up on TV it is harder to get away with it. However, I do forgive him as it's only an early preview and he has loads of time to sort out other jokes.

The new stuff there was, was generally very funny and worked. He did a lot of up-to-date themes, like the leadership debates and the volcano, but he also dicussed general issues with ads and Hugh Fernley Whittinstall and other things.

A key part of his show, and it seemed to be the case last year, is his family. He is very honest and funny about himself and his family, which makes me wonder what they actually think about what he said about them. Although he did mention his dad being very pleased at being the focus of his previous Edinburgh. And now he has a girlfriend to embarrass too (which will probably cause a mass heart break considering the number of Facebook pages fancying him and that fact that 'Jack Whitehall Girlfriend' is a top google search!)

Interesting fact: He went to school with Robert Pattinson and he goes on for quite a long rant about that in the show, as well as mentioning something libelous about a royal. He also deals well with microphone malfunctions, although that meant abandoning it!

The audience were up for it and laughed a lot. He asked if anyone had been to school with anyone famous and people said Paul from S Club 7, Lewis Carroll and Posh Spice, which was interesting.

He doesn't have an hour of material, but what he had was very funny and I cannot wait until he has a full show. I am planning to see him later on in his series of gig at the Hen & Chickens.

Youtube post- Mock the Week/ Jack Whitehall

2010-04-20T06:44:00.002+01:00

Seeing Jack Whitehall tonight (review tomorrow) and have struggled to find a video that is just him so am using a Mock the Week video that contains him.

Recommendations: Dara O'Briain- Tickling the English

2010-04-19T19:39:00.000+01:00

A little post about Dara's book. I really like it because he is a very good writer and encapsulates what makes the English tick and what they are like, as well as comparing them to his native Ireland. How sets it out, like a tour diary makes it more compelling as well as easy to dip in and out of. It is also interesting to see how different shows are around the country. He is also funny. It is definitely something that people should read.

Youtube post- Ben Goldacre

2010-04-18T19:46:00.003+01:00

Late post, but my brains not been all there. It's true I usually focus on comedians, but I think Ben is made of a lot of win and he is funny in his science rants that it seemed appropriate to stick a video here. It's audio from the Now Show.

Youtube post- Carl Donnelly

2010-04-17T08:44:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post of a video of Carl from last years Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Youtube post- Russell Howard (again!)

2010-04-16T09:24:00.002+01:00

Feel a bit bleh and ill so just posting a video of Russell Howard talking about micro pigs.

People I generally like: Rhod Gilbert

2010-04-15T11:53:00.001+01:00

As I promised, here is the second post to make up for not posting yesterday. I'm going to write about why Rhod Gilbert kicks ass.

I think is this obvious but he is very funny. What makes him especially brilliant is that he has a different style from the other observational comedians, being very angry and passionate over minor things. He did do surreal, fake stuff originally and this does come out in his rants, making the small things seem big and the big small.

He is also very honest. He's not shy to reveal a lot about himself, which makes him more personable and interesting.

As mentioned, he does get passionate about what he does, and some times seems to suffer for his art, The Award Winning Mince Pie show a reflection of this.

He's Welsh as well, and I like Welsh people, so he's double win.

He is generally brilliant and am lucky enough to be seeing him next Saturday.

Youtube post- Mock the Week

2010-04-15T06:36:00.002+01:00

Didn't blog as I was coping with my first day at a new job, but will try and do two posts today to make up for it. To start I'm posting a clip from Mock the Week.

Youtube post- Tiernan Douieb

2010-04-13T12:27:00.000+01:00

Just posting a video today of Tiernan.

Recommendations: Rhod Gilbert podcast

2010-04-12T07:00:00.002+01:00

I am ill, so I'm keeping the post simple and just giving a recommendation of something I think you could get into. Rhod Gilbert does a radio show for BBC Radio Wales on Saturdays from 11am to 1pm and it is brilliant. His co-host Chris Cochran is also good and people should try and listen. I've put down the podcast as it is available world wide. It's on iTunes so subscribe.

Youtube post- Stewart Lee

2010-04-11T09:23:00.000+01:00

Not feeling well, so another youtube post of Stewart Lee as he is now the 12th best stand up ever!

Youtube post- John Van Der Put

2010-04-10T08:34:00.000+01:00

I've not felt much inspiration and am feeling rather rubbish, so I'm posting another video of John, because his tricks are awesome. This is his interpretation of The Box trick, with Alexis Terry singing all the way through the trick. Enjoy!

Youtube post- Dara O'Briain

2010-04-09T17:29:00.000+01:00

Later post because I've not felt very well. I'm posting a video of Dara as I've just started reading his Ticking the English book and am enjoying it so far. Here's him on advertising to men.

People I generally like- Piff the Magic Dragon/John Van Der Put

2010-04-08T16:53:00.002+01:00

Listened to an interview yesterday with John and thought I would do a post as to why I like him and his alter ego.

Firstly, he is an amazing magician. Both as himself and as Piff he has done incredible tricks. I have been spell bound when I have seen them. A couple of favourites of mine are this trick he does with foam rabbits which I was involved with the first time I saw him. He also does this mind blowing trick where he changes one card into another with no visable way he could do that, as my sister has the card to prove it. He sold that trick to David Blaine, which shows how good it is. Here is a video of it in action:

Secondly, he is very different to alot of magicians, at least the American ones, as, not only does he dress in a dragon suit, he also is very anti-ego. John decided to dress as Piff because he wanted to reflect how redicious he felt when doing magic. He finds it stupid that some magicians make themselves look amazing whereas he decides to avoid the ego. I really dislike a lot of the American magicians as they come over as pretenious and fulll of themselves. I think there as a theme with the magicians I love is that they attempt to force magic to have a context and make some sense, as much as it ever would do. They also don't make themselves look like perfect people with awesome powers, as it were, they add a humaness to their acts.

Thirdly, John generally has an interesting attitude to magic. I did mention why he does Piff, but it is not the only way he makes magic interesting. Before Piff, he started a theatre company which mixed stories and magic. I haven't seen this, but really want to see it.

He is also very funny as well as adorable. Piff is grumpy, but he has sweet moments as well as cheeky and arrogent ones. It is such a mix but he balances well and makes Piff interesting. He also has a very cute dog called Piffilicious, which adds to the adorableness of his character.

Finally, he does have respect for his fans. As I mentioned in my review a few weeks ago, he did mention me and my sister on Facebook and Twitter after the gig.

Youtube post- David O'Doherty

2010-04-07T07:40:00.000+01:00

Doing my post nice and early as I have a busy day and also I have just watched this video and thought it was awesome. I've seen David live and he was brilliant.

Book post: Quirkology by Richard Wiseman

2010-04-06T16:42:00.003+01:00

I do enjoy reading books and would like to use this blog to recommend some of the ones I have read recently or ones I just adore. I'm starting with Quirkology, which looks at the interesting experiements that scienists have performed and what this means for our lives.

Richard Wiseman writes in an engaging way and it is obvious that this is his passion. He explains the studies clearly, so you know what he is on about even if you do not have the knowledge to fully understand the topic. The things he chooses to talk about are fascinating and he looks at various scientific experiements that are on the surface silly and pointless but actually tell you a lot about how humans behave. You can learn a lot from this book, like how to spot when people are lying as well as the worlds funniest joke.

I am a fan generally of Wiseman's work, as I have also read 59 Seconds and loved it. I think I love books that inform as well as entertain and I do love learning random information. I certainly recommend Quirkology, as well as Wiseman's other books and am planning to read the Luck Factor soon.

Youtube post- Mitch Benn

2010-04-05T08:40:00.000+01:00

After a busy weekend in terms of seeing magic, I'm making this post chilled and posting videos of Mitch Benn and some of his songs from The Now Show.

Barry and Stuart, Séance Show (preview), Hen and Chickens, 3/4/2010

2010-04-04T11:02:00.001+01:00

Review time again. I have already seen this show and reviewed it here so I won't go in too much detail, especially as it is still in preview, but I'll generally talk about it, the audience and the venue.

Even though it had only been about a month since I had last seen it, there had been changes. Some were just banter related but there were some additions trick wise that were just amazing and it had generally gotten better.

The audience were quite giggly generally, especially in parts that were meant to be scary! Considering that most of the people wouldn't have seen this show before, it was quite cool that there were quite up for it. But there were also some problems with them too. There were quite a lot of people that did not write a card, so there were moments when they had to get around that. They have to enforce that better. Also, there were gaps in the front, so again need to insist that people sit nearer to the front.

Hen and Chickens was quieter than Etcetera, but there was another problem- it was too light. They didn't dim the lights and there were glow in the dark signs. It depends on whether they want to make the first part hilarious or dark and scary. If dark and scary, they need to wear black.

Generally, it is even more spectacular and amazing than it was before and it blew my mind. The stuff they added just enhanced it and I believe it will definitely be an Edinburgh must see.

Bonus stuff: 1. Reece Shearsmith (League of Gentlemen) was actually at the gig, which seemed appropriate, and was vaguely involved in a trick!
2. Also spotted Jack Whitehall at Highbury and Islington tube, appropriate as he's the next person we're seeing at Hen and Chickens
3. Mine and my sister's cards was used in a trick, which was cool
4. Stuart actually made a b line for me and my sister and commented that it was good that we didn't pick up the things they throw to choose people (I agree and joked that we'll duck next time) and said he hoped to see us at their next show, which was nice.

I'm definitely seeing them in June at Magic Night (with the equally fabulous Chris Cox) and we'll see when else I'll see them.

Pete Firman, Edinburgh Preview, 02/04/2010, Canal Cafe Theatre

2010-04-03T09:33:00.000+01:00

I saw Pete Firman last night and will review it.

Pete, as expected, was very funny. He read the audience well and used his humour effectively. This was especially true with his use of 'fake' tricks. Even though we knew it was rubbish, it was still hilarious and got a lot of laughs and claps.

That's not to say he didn't do proper tricks. I adored his trick with the large cards, as well as the cuteness of the spotty handkerchief. I had seen the fire trick at Up The Creek and it had evolved and become much cooler.

Generally the banter does need work. He was using a lot of things he did for his previous shows. Here it didn't matter as most of the audience hadn't seen him before, but at Edinburgh there could be people that had seen him before and would recognise the banter. I definitely understand that he needed to focus on the tricks first then worry about the banter later. I am planning to see him near the end of the previews, around about July, and hopefully he would be able to do new banter, as the tricks are getting pretty fully formed now. He did deal with a heckler really well, as there was this drunk guy who kept shouting out random things and Pete was able to deal with him without getting frustrated or angry, which proves he is a pro.

Also, most of his tricks were very old school, with no real twists to them and it would be nice to see the concepts of the tricks played with.

However, one thing he did do actually could work with the rest of the trick. He did a version of the bullet catch using a paint ball gun. I had actually seen this trick done in February by Christian Lee at Magic Night. I think Pete did it better, as he showed how he came to do the trick as well as add a bit of the history of the bullet catch and how some practitioners died. That was absolutely fascinating and made me really want to research the history of magic. I think that the approach to this trick could work with the other, showing his thought processes behind the tricks and why he chose them. He can mix it up, and it would be boring to just do one sort of banter, but a real mix would be brilliant.

As I said, I really enjoyed the night and the tricks were excellent and am excited about seeing the whole show fully formed.

Bonus: 1. Pete recognised me and my sister as he asked whether people had seen him before and we put our hands up and he said "Oh, I know you two!" We also pondered whether we had inspired some of the banter as he did a little bit of a riff on twins!

2. Although this is actually not related to the banter he used last night, I got the idea to do this a few days ago and thought I do it now:

It's Mr Firmnus!

Youtube post- Pete Firman and Ali Cook

2010-04-02T08:09:00.000+01:00

As I'm seeing Pete tonight, I'm posting a video involving him in a trick, alongside Ali Cook. It's from their show The Secret World of Magic and is pretty cool. Should be a review of the gig tomorrow. And I'm seeing Barry and Stuart tomorrow too, yay!

April Fools Day!

2010-04-01T16:20:00.001+01:00

I have a headache, so can't be bothered to do a proper post, but I want people to this website: http://aprilfoolsdayontheweb.com/ It's made of win!

Bonus Post: Barry and Stuart awesomeness!

2010-03-31T18:31:00.001+01:00

Because it's April Fool's Day tomorrow I thought I would post an explanation of one of Barry and Stuart's online tricks. Try this on someone you know! If you go to www.bbc.co.uk/barryandstuart you'll find the trick itself.

A Brief History of Magic

2010-03-31T18:21:00.002+01:00

Ok, the title is a little bit of a lie, it isn't about all of magic, but my history with magic. I wanted to call the post that because of The Big Pinks album! Anyway, I have mentioned why I love magic, but not really how I got into it. So, here we go.

I think I have been into magic since I was young. I remember loving The Masked Magician's shows when they were on TV, but at the same time I didn't have the desire to do magic like other kids. I didn't have a magic kit, although I wonder if that was seen as boyish.

When I got older I lucked out with programmes, as in 2003 2 awesome magic shows that were on TV. Monkey Magic was a family friendly show that was on Channel 5 and had amazing magic, bringing new life to magic, it wasn't violent, but it wasn't cheesy like magic before it. Pete Firman, Ali Cook and Jonathan Goodwin were the core magicians on the show that are still around. It had 2 series and specials. Pete and Ali did a show together for Sky called Secret World of Magic later on, but I don't remember watching it at the time but have since seen a couple of episodes.

The almost opposite of that in terms of audience was Magick. This was a very dark, edgy late night magic programme that had the first TV appearance of Barry and Stuart. It was weird that I managed to watch it because at the time I didn't stay up late that often, only for gigs, and even that wasn't that regular. But I do remember being amazed by it.

Even with both these things, I didn't do research about any of the magicians involved, as I didn't have my own laptop, which does explain why I didn't get into magic until last year.

So, 2 years on and another 2 shows. Dirty Tricks involved all the magicians mentioned so far and they did more amazing magic. Barry and Stuart were at the core, doing more tricks than everyone else and starting the show. The hosts rotated. I really remembered the Kill Foxy bit.

It was not Barry and Stuart's only project that year. They also did the controversial Magic of Jesus . I made the effort to stay up and it was worth it.I was absolutely astounded by it. I remember commenting about how I fancied both of them, which I still do.

The next year they did the sequel to it, Tricks from the Bible, and again it blew my mind. They actually filmed some bits in my local area, which I found out retrospectively. It was brilliant.

It took three years to see anything by them again. By that time, I had gotten my own laptop and it was my natural reaction to Google things. So, April Fool's Day last year. I have fallen in love with April Fool's Day as I love the creative and silly things that people on the internet. So, as I looked at what was going on I stumbled onto a BBC video that was made to look like it was old. I looked at the people who were on the video and thought I recognised them. Was it the 2magicians? Yes, it was. And I watched the explanation video then got bit obsessive and started watching as much of their videos as I could find. I also found out they were doing live dates and booked to see the. I then discovered Pete was doing stuff and decided to see him too. And we essentially get to where I am now, regularly attending magic shows and even being recognised by them!

I absolutely adore magic and am glad I finally got into it properly.

Youtube post- Russell Howard

2010-03-30T16:44:00.002+01:00

Lazy post as I've been busy. Here's a video from Mock the Week of Russell Howard discussing human behaviour.

People I generally like- Charlie Brooker

2010-03-29T20:25:00.001+01:00

An admittedly late post for me, but I have been busy today attending job workshop things and filling out forms. Ho hum. Anyway, I really wanted to write about why I think Charlie Brooker kicks arse!

One reason that Charlie is so brilliant is that he seems so different from other 'professional' reviewers. He's not kissing bum all the time and actually bothers to question them in a way.

Although he does get very angry and annoyed, there is reason to his rants. He wants to hear actual facts when it comes to looking at his opinions. Some reviewers and other commentators in newspapers don't care about this and want to make the biggest noise out of the smallest things.

He also clearly loves what he does. He gets angry because he loves TV and wants it to be good. He knows its potential and what it can be used for, as it has, but is sick of the rubbish with no soul and just aimed to target a fictional audience.

He is almost an every man in terms of his reviewing style. He doesn't proclaim to be some god of reviewing, like the Sun are trying to make their critic look like in their new ads. He just a guy with opinions and actually probably knows the audience better than any critic or TV producer or commissioner.

I think he's great because of these things.

Barry and Stuart, Powered By Demons, Soho Theatre, 27/3/2010

2010-03-28T11:37:00.001+01:00

Last night I saw the brilliant Barry and Stuart and now I'm going to attempt to review it.

I have mentioned in a previous review of another of their shows that I have seen previews of this show but this is the first time I have seen it as it pretty much was performed at Edinburgh. It had changed a little, mostly with the banter although they now use a projector to put images to add to the story of the tricks. This included a picture of them in just swimming trunks! They also used a camera to allow people to see some of the tricks, like needle in the eye, close up.

I am still amazed at the polo mint trick and cannot work out how it was done, although I have seen it a stupid amount of times. My sister had the honour of putting the polo mint on Barry's tongue, which she has done before.

The audience were really up for it; there was some grossed out reactions to some of the tricks, however. The people they picked all went along with it, some a little confused, and even seemed quite excited about being involved. It was certainly the best audience for this kind of thing I have been in for a while.

It was nice seeing tricks I haven't seen for quite a while, like the record trick, which involved Stuart moonwalking!

The coolest thing was seeing the full version of the person through stomach trick that I had only seen on YouTube clips. I did see Barry putting his hand through Stuart's stomach at Magic Night last year, but this was just amazing. What really confused me is that it started with Stuart swallowing someone's £20 note, and it seemed like he really did it, as it was filmed using the camera. In general, when they do person through stomach they just 'force' the object through, so it slight of hand can hide the object.

They a-freaking-mazing and people should so see they, they're doing the New Zealand comedy festival with this show and their seance show will be doing Edinburgh this year.

Bonuses: 1. I did Super Barrio again, for the 4th time, which was awesome!

2. Stuart raised his cup of tea to us at the beginning and we said hi afterwards and were nice.

3. After something Stuart said about Barry, I did this:

It's Barretor!

Edit: 4. Here's Stuart eating the Bank of England

Youtube post- Charlie Brooker

2010-03-27T10:24:00.000Z

I'm still feeling lazy and uncreative but I wanted to do something to do with Charlie Brooker, so I'm posting his awesome Newswipe section on How to Report the News. I am definitely doing a proper post as I'm seeing Barry and Stuart tonight, so excited. Anyway, here's the video:

Youtube post- Jack Whitehall

2010-03-26T09:36:00.000Z

Feeling rather lazy today, not feeling that well, so keeping post simple by posting a video up of Jack Whitehall from Mock the Week

Youtube post- Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala 2010

2010-03-25T09:17:00.000Z

I saw Editors last night and they were brilliant (fire! confetti!). I'm not reviewing the gig, as I find trying to explain why I like bands really difficult and they'll be reviews elsewhere probably. So, as I'm tired I am keeping it simple and posting a couple of videos from the Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala that happen a few days ago and had a few brilliant comedians.

Here's Sarah Millican's set:

Jon Richardson:

And Andrew O'Neill:

These videos are fab and they all have more videos online.

Up The Creek

2010-03-24T09:21:00.000Z

Continuing my look at various venues that I enjoyed attending gigs at, I'm looking at my local venue Up The Creek. It is fairly large for a comedy venue at around 300 and has its own restaurant. I like it because it has a good atmosphere generally. They get good acts on regularly and I have seen Edinburgh previews from Rhod Gilbert and Stephen K Amos. My favourite night is Sunday Special, as they tend to get the best acts and the audience are generally chill. On Fridays and Saturdays you can get quite rowdy people in, a lot of hen and stag dos, which can be exasperating. However, I still like the venue, especially as I can walk or just get a bus, which is unlike any of the other venues I have mentioned here. If you're around Greenwich, check it out, especially as they have events on Thursday too.

Youtube post- Russell Kane

2010-03-23T13:39:00.000Z

Because I'm feeling crap and couldn't actually see the recording of Rhod's show (Damn SRO for over booking by a ridiculous amount- although they have promised priority tickets to see other shows inc Mock the Week which I adore, sliver lining), I've had to change what I'm writing about. I'm posting videos of Russell Kane doing Live at the Apollo.

Youtube post- David Mitchell

2010-03-22T10:26:00.002Z

I had to post this video which is a collection of David Mitchell's rants on various programmes as they are just brilliant, accurate and most of all funny.

People I generally like- Richard Herring

2010-03-21T15:59:00.003Z

Completing my double bill of these blogs, I'm now going to discuss why I like Richard Herring and how I got into him, as that is easier to pin point to me. I won't list all of his achievements as he's being doing comedy since before I was born, so there would be a lot to discuss. However, as well as being an Edinburgh stalwart, he has also written two books with a third to be published, done radio, TV and been a podcast revolutionary, doing both Collings and Herrin and As It Occurs To Me. So that's partly why he is awesome, we'll get on to what else after I have briefly looked at how I got into him.

Prior to last year, I would have only vaguely heard of him. His television career for the most part finished before I was 11, so wouldn't have had much memory of that, although I do remember hearing of This Morning with Richard Not Judy, probably being a little confused by it, but not actually watching it. But last year I properly got into Twitter, and started following people I liked and thought that were interesting. I think people that I followed must have mentioned him, and Andrew Collins for that matter, and I decided to follow them. I followed many people that I had not previously heard of, so this was not unusual, but I found out about the podcast that Richard did and decided to list and was hooked. I listened to loads of podcasts in a row at points and even got my dad into them! Then I saw AIOTM being recorded twice, a live Collings and Herrin being recorded and Richard doing stand-up.

So, why do I like him? He is passionate about the things he likes and loathes, as his most recent show Hitler Moustache shows. That makes him more interesting than most stand-ups in the business, especially as he looks outside of his personal life.

Part of what makes him funny is that he can be quite rude, but unlike in the case of stand-ups like Frankie Boyle for example, it is not necessarily trying to shock, just being immature and silly, which is in contrast to some of his other material.

Look, I like him so much that I made him a Facebook group I Fancy Richard Herring and am Only Slightly Ashamed to admit it.

Who knows what I'll do tomorrow, probably a video post. I'm seeing a recording of Rhod Gilbert's new show, which is exciting.

People I generally like- Mark Watson

2010-03-20T09:56:00.002Z

I thought I would start a little, probably irregular, series about people I like and why. I know these things do come out in the blog anyway, but some people I won't always be able to talk about regularly as I won't be seeing them live for a while and they have done so much stuff that it just won't get mentioned. This is certainly the case with Mark, which is why I'm starting with him.

He is really funny, which is the case with most of the people I'm writing about, but he has quite a different style to many comedians. He seems more honest about his failures and how he feels about him self and his worries; this allows to be more relateable and seem more human, which some comedians find difficult as they're usually complaining about things and slagging people off in general. He is perfect live as the comedy builds up and is able to suggest random things, like chasing a person that had to leave early at one of the Bottle Rocket shows last year for example.

The other fact that makes him awesome is that, although he is only just turned 30 this year, he has done a ridiculous amount of things. He has done 3 Edinburgh shows, a few 24 hour shows, a theatre-ish project, had a few series on radio, TV, written 2 novels with a 3rd being released this year, written for TV, done loads of touring and generally gone global. I think a lot of comedians who have been around much longer than him would be pleased with the amount he's done in probably double the time. He has become a sort of environmental crusader as well, doing Al Gore's course on the environment and writing another book about his experiences. This all makes him made of win.

I'll do a proper post about Richard Herring, and parallels between the 2 may be seen, considering they have both being kinda revolutionaries in comedy.

Youtube post- Richard Herring

2010-03-19T16:50:00.000Z

I was going to do a proper post about how I got into Richard Herring and why I like him but I've been out and started to feel ill, so I'm posting a video of him pwning a heckler instead

Youtube post- Pete Firman

2010-03-18T17:55:00.000Z

This is much a lazy post today, I'm just putting up a video of Pete Firman, because he is pretty awesome. I'll hopefully have better ideas tomorrow.

Etcetera Theatre

2010-03-17T10:24:00.000Z

I want to continue my look at various venues that I enjoy attending by writing about the Etcetera Theatre. It is above the Oxford Arms in Camden and is the smallest pub theatre in London. It is such a lovely place. It is its intimacy that really makes it. It can only accommodate 42 people and it really works for seeing fringe theatre and magic. I've seen Barry and Stuart there twice and it has really worked for them as you can escape into their world, which would be harder in larger venues. The pub below is really busy and quite noisy, which can be a problem as I found out when attending a preview of B&S's Seance show, but overall it is a nice venue to see comedy and theatre at and if you can go there do.

Youtube post- Mark Watson

2010-03-16T09:37:00.002Z

After yesterdays review blog, which was actually read by Chris and was lovely about it, adding to his awesomeness, I'm just posting a video. Mark Watson is a rather good comedian and I have had the good fortune in seeing him live a few times as well as to recordings of his TV shows. I'll do a proper post about him at another point as he has done so much for someone who has just recently turned 30, so I'll post a video of some of his stand up.

Chris Cox, Mind Over Patter, The Pleasance Theatre Islington, 14/3/2010

2010-03-15T12:07:00.005Z

Last night I saw Chris Cox and his show Mind Over Patter.

I really enjoyed myself. He is very good and read the audience really well. Terribly clever with his brand of mentalism, he makes it clear that he cannot read minds but in his world for the hour he pretty much could.

He uses technology effectively as part of his act, and is clearly essential as part of influencing people. The character he plays, if you kinda get what I mean when I'm saying that, is adorable and very self-deprecating, although there are times when he shows off a little.

I could guess some of the things around that could be significant, although I am into magic generally so I am always aware of what's going on. He did surprise me when he showed something that used one of my guesses and I had thought it would have been relatively obscure.I am being vague here as he is still touring the show both in the UK and New Zealand.

The audience was a slight problem as half were from the same group of Americans, and it meant that they were mostly going up on stage so you didn't get a real mix of people. They also yelled out a lot when one of their number got on stage, which was distracting and didn't help the tricks, although they for the most part worked. Generally, you should so try and see him, although sadly he is not doing Edinburgh this year, he is doing little odds and ends of shows.

Bonus: I waited around to see him afterwards to get a badge and he was just so bloody lovely. He actually made a b line for me and my sister and mentioned us being on twitter and other social networks and generally chatted even admitting he was slightly frustrated by the big group that dominated. As well as the badge we also got autographs and he hugged us before we went home. He also has awesome shoes!

Oh, here is a picture of my badge! ------------------>

Youtube post- Chris Cox

2010-03-14T09:54:00.000Z

I'm seeing Chris Cox tonight, so I thought I would post a video showing his awesomeness.

Review tomorrow

Videos that are not specifically youtube clips but funny

2010-03-13T10:50:00.001Z

I'm going to post links to cool videos from BBC Comedy Extra website, as I was having a bit of a binge last night and loving it. I won't embed as there are too many.

To start with, Adam Buxton. These clips are brilliantly funny, he is such a natural genius, although I didn't like The Persuasionists . The Alone in the Shed clips are from 2009 Unwrapped which are awesome and the others are web originals.

Dan Antopolski has created a character called John Keller who is an insane conspiracy theorist in a psychiatric ward and the videos are great. Ridiculous ideas are created that scarily could be believed by conspiracy theorists in real life.

Harry Partridge makes amazing cartoons that parody various people, like Oasis and Tim Burton. The cartoons are graphically good and its well done in terms of capturing the people he's targeting.

Idiots of Ants have posted some videos that were originally on Youtube that 'explain' how various internet phenomena work, and again they are really funny.

Tommy and the Weeks have created some fabulously surreal sketches that are totally watchable.

There are also clips of some of the songs from the series We Are Klang. I love them, especially The Jew Song with its silly rhyming and catchyness.

That's just a few of the excellent clips from the BBC Comedy Extra website, have a look and see what you might find.

Why I love...The Now Show

2010-03-12T17:50:00.002Z

Yay, I have managed to post today. Uber busy day, wasn't sure I was going to blog but here we are.
As it is The Now Show day today, I thought I'd do look at why it is awesome.
It is funny, that much is obvious, but it also looks at news stories properly, taking the facts apart and getting more of the truth out and providing a different point of view from other programmes.
Marcus Bridgestocke is amazingly funny, cutting, angry but still maintains logic. Jon Holmes also dissects news stories expertly, Mitch Benn makes brilliant songs and Hugh Dennis and Steve Punt are great.
It's currently on Fridays at 6:30 PM, so check it out!

Youtube post- Ali Cook

2010-03-11T16:37:00.000Z

Another busy day means lazy, slightly late post. I decided that I would post up some videos of Ali Cook, as he is cool. I'm posting The Enchanter as it is very funny and shows his magic skills off.

International Day of Awesomeness: Barry and Stuart

2010-03-10T16:31:00.001Z

I found out that it was the International Day of Awesomeness (decided on as it is Chuck Norris's Birthday) and decided I would do a post on some people I found awesome, as the page of this day suggests. So I'm going to write about why I think Barry and Stuart are awesome.

Firstly, they simply do mind blowing tricks. The majority of their tricks I cannot work out how they do it and it looks effortless. They are so inventive and do things that other magicians wouldn't even think of. I'll put some videos just to show how amazing their tricks are, and there are loads online.

Secondly, and related to the tricks being mind blowing,is that they are stylish and have a meaning. Barry and Stuart make the tricks have a point, creating a story that is plausible and fits the trick. They also present tricks differently, so it may have been done before but not in the exact way they do it.

They are also very, very funny. It is very natural the banter between themselves as well as the audience as it does not feel forced, like they just crow barred it in.

Their twistedness and darkness also make them awesome. It is a balance they do really well, they're not clichéd goths, not goths at all actually, but they still have dark elements to their tricks, enhancing the feeling like everything is not as it seems. They also play on the old magic, when it was seen as real and try and evoke that feeling.

They are also really nice. Me and my sister were a little worried that they would think we were a bit mad for seeing them so many times but after Saturday's gig they shook out hands and said they were happy about our attendance.

Finally, and on a very admittedly shallow note, they are so, so pretty and hot. It's a combination of the things listed here and their really good looks, as the videos will testify.

I'll get back to normal tomorrow.

Hen and Chickens

2010-03-10T08:04:00.000Z

Ok, I was rubbish yesterday and didn't post. Combination of getting hair cut, getting back later than expected and having severe ankle pain caused me not to blog. Anyway, to make up for it, I'll do a double post today. First, I'll talk about one of my favourite venues.

The Hen and Chickens is a small pub theatre in Islington. The feel of the pub is comfortable and although it can get busy, it is not as insane as other pubs. The prices of the drinks are ok considering it is a London independent pub.

Theatre itself is a common venue for Edinburgh previews, as it is quite small, 54 people maximum. Frankie Boyle regularly practises his new material there for example. I have been there three times and love it. It is such a comfortable venue and staff are very friendly. The box office guy recognises me and my sister the last time we were there. The general audience that attends are also interesting. I have only seen magic there, and it is so funny the reaction of people to the tricks. I am seeing Barry and Stuart's new show there next and I cannot wait to see how people deal with the darkness of it all.

I'll do another post later

Youtube post- Rhod Gilbert

2010-03-08T08:34:00.002Z

My brain can't think of anything interesting to write about today, it will be back again tomorrow, so I'm going with Youtube video. Anyway, I had an exciting weekend and more to come (I have actually booked to see Barry and Stuart later this month and in April, I am addicted!). I wanted to post about a comedian, and I decided I would look at Rhod Gilbert. I am on purposely avoiding his big video on Youtube, you can find that easily, and instead look at his most recent appearance on Live at the Apollo. Enjoy!

Barry and Stuart, Séance Show (preview), Etcetera Theatre, 6/3/2010

2010-03-07T10:16:00.007Z

So, I saw Barry and Stuart last night and will now attempt to review the show.

It is difficult to review a show like this because it is a preview and I don't want to ruin it for people planning to see it. It is also generally a hard show to review, as it is a big subject. So, as the title suggests, it is a séance and uses various techniques that are used by mediums to summon ghosts. However, unlike a normal séance it is clear that it is not real. Compared to last years show, Powered by Demons , it is darker and has less jokes in it, but it still has moments of silliness that does a lot to balance the darkness of the subject, like 'magic' tidying up for example. It is also much more connected, as all the tricks are to do with 'summoning spirits'.

As a show, it is amazing. It is just jaw dropping and even as a sceptic of ghosts, they make it seem so real. Their acting is brilliant, making you believe that they are unsure what is going on and are just as confused and amazed as the audience. There are some quiet amazing tricks. They are the first magicians I have seen that have done geek on an audience member. It is actually quite educational, they talk a little about the history of mediums and spiritualism as well as the sorts of things that are used by these people.

There are some issues, not to do directly with the tricks, which all worked, but more with the premise. They rely so much on audience participation, not just asking some people to be involved, but everyone has to do something. They ask people to write down nightmares and to sit away from the people they came with. This could be problematic, as some people attending might not know what to expect and be reluctant to be involved. However, there should be enough people attending that are willing to be involved and will allow the magic to work. They also really need a quiet venue, as I was distracted at times from the show by the noise from the pub downstairs and they really need to create a bubble where the audience is totally in their world for an hour. Also they could use a dustbuster.

The show is simply awesome, but if you hate being freaked out by ghost stories and things like Most Haunted then this probably isn't for you. Fans of Barry and Stuart will love it, as will people who like being scared and freaked out. I am seeing it again, as well as one of the Soho Theatre run of Powered by Demons.

Also, little bonuses- my sister was on stage and involved in one of the tricks and couldn't explain how it works, Stuart had awesome socks and they recognised us as at the end they hung around outside the theatre and shook everyone's hands and they were pleased that we regularly attended their shows. They are simply mad fabulous.

Youtube post- Barry and Stuart

2010-03-06T08:07:00.002Z

As it is a.) a Saturday and b.) I'm going out tonight and want to chill the rest of the day, I decided that I would keep today's post simple. I am therefore going to post a video of the mad fabulous Barry and Stuart, as I am seeing them tonight and am dead excited. I've chosen a video of their older tricks as I'm seeing brand new ones tonight. It's from a show Music Hall Meltdown, which was part of BBC4's Edwardian season a few years ago. Enjoy!