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Andy McH's Comedy Adventures
A comedy fan, failed musician and podcast whore.
Monday 12 June 2017
Saturday 30 April 2016
Earl Slick & Bernard Fowler play David Bowie's "Station To Station"
Strangers who have died that have made me genuiely upset: Kurt Cobain, Rik Mayall, and David Bowie. David Bowie's was the one I felt the most I think as it came almost immediately after releasing his superb final album, Blackstar. His was the first gig I ever went to, in 1987: The Glass Spider Tour. It's not seen as Bowie's greatest period, but having said that, it's still underrated, and I would still recommend that people check out the live DVD of that tour.
The highlight for me, after waiting for so long in the old Sunderland football stadium, Roker Park, for most of the afternoon watching The Violent Femmes (who I hadn't heard of) and Big Country (who I had but couldn't stand), was hearing David start the show by saying "HELLO NEWCASTLE!" followed by the biggest good natured crowd boo I've ever heard.
I bought a ticket to see long time Bowie collaborator, Earl Slick, playing alongside Rolling Stones backing singer, Bernard Fowler, performing the entire Station To Station album, which is definitely in his best 5 albums, if not THE best. It was a great show, and I had a spare ticket, as my mate couldn't make it, and perversely I couldn't even give it away!
I got close to the front but man, it was packed. I got chatting with an older guy who was even more excited than me. He regaled me with stories of seeing Bowie in years gone by. A big guy pushed past us, saying "Excuse me", so I decided to follow, literally in his wake.
Somehow I got to the front and had loads of room. After a while I realised I was in front of the rope, and not long after that I was told I was standing in front of the disabled area and getting in the way. I apologised to both the security and the guys in the wheelchairs and
stood next to the bar. Bad, bad Andy!
But still, now I had loads of room! Anyway they played the entire Station to Station album all the way through, pausing for Bernard to tell us that this isn't a time to think about death, but to celebrate life. We all cheered and we all were on the same page. After the album ended, there were renditions of Diamond Dogs, Valentine's Day and Win. What a night! They then went on to play some blues stuff by Buddy Guy, and although I'm sure the rest of the gig was fantastic, I felt I had all I needed. Sure, they may have tricked us by playing more Bowie later, but I was happy to slip away, having seen exactly what I came for.
Friday 1 January 2016
Podcast: The Complete Guide To Everything
Podcasts are great aren’t they? I’ve been listening to them since I discovered them back in 2009, mainly accompanying me to and from work, which is around 2 hours most days. The ones I really got into first were what I like to call “two guys talking” podcasts. Collings & Herrin and Precious Little being the ones that spring to mind. But as time has gone on, the podcasts I listen to have generally got more focused:
· Comedians talking to other comedians: Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast, The Comedian’s Comedian Podcast with Stuart Goldsmith
· Panel shows: Do The Right Thing, Pappy’s Flatshare Slamdown
· Comedy and sketch shows: The Bugle, As It Occurs To Me, ManBuyCow, POTOm
· Comedy review shows: Film Fandango, Vitriola Music
I heartily recommend all of these shows, but there is one “two guys talking” podcast that I have fallen in love with that I don’t think many of you know about. I’m talking about The Complete Guide To Everything.
Tim Daniels and Tom Reynolds (from now on known as Tim and Tom) are two friends based in New York who, at the end of 2015 have over 300 episodes under their belt. Tim and Tom aren’t professional comedians; however they could easily take up that career if they chose to do so. Tim is shrouded in mystery but we do know that he is a drummer, while Tom is a successful author, having now written the third book of his superhero series, Meta.
Every week a subject is chosen and in the 60 minutes or so that the podcast runs for, they may spend 10 minutes discussing the topic before getting distracted by each other and veering off, quite often into territories such as Tim’s dislike of baby boomers and teens as well as his fear of horses (especially on aeroplanes) or Tom’s latest Apple product or the latest Batman movie. So you can really pick any show to get started and not worry too much if the topic is one that interests you.
They are based in New York, but not long after the show started they got picked up by the UK iTunes and were made a featured podcast. This has led to the strange situation of them being an American podcast that has a substantial UK listenership, which is often addressed. This has also meant that Tim and Tom have come to the UK on a number of occasions to do live shows. I went to one in Kings Place in June and had a whale of a time at the show, and just as much fun when a suvstantial chunk of the audience joined the guys in the bar for a few beers afterwards.
Andy and Tim outside Kings Place, June 2015 |
So guys, our podcast listening habits often get stale; sometimes months go by without looking for new things to listen to. Sometimes we keep listening to the same shows that we have grown tired of and never get round to unsubscribing. So give your podcast app of choice an injection of freshness, and subscribe to The Complete Guide To Everything today.
Monday 6 July 2015
ARGComfest 2015
The cool kids |
I had made a list of who I was planning to see on both days, and I
didn't necessarily stick to it, and made a few decisions on the spot.
Ed Aczel |
Ed Aczel opened the festival with his usual low key performance, now complete with extremely well shot video clips. What a lovely way to start the festival. Although Ed doesn't have any jokes to tell as such, his "anti-comedy" kept everyone happy throughout, though I'm not sure what the latecomers must have thought. Part of Ed's show is for us to ask him anything from a set of specific questions, such as "Why does Venus spin the wrong way?" and "Who did not win pipe smoker of the year?". I'm seeing Ed support Stewart Lee on Tuesday so must try and remember not to ask the same questions this time.
Stuart Goldsmith |
Rhys James |
Caroline Mabey |
Neal headed off to see the highly recommended Joseph Murpurgo and I stayed in the Garden Studio to catch Rhys James. When you hear older and more alternative comics talk about young comedians who have trendy haircuts and wear t-shirts and skinny jeans, Rhys's is the face you should see in your head. I had first come across him via Twitter (where he is great value. Follow him!) and seeing him do his stuff live is a treat. he is (as he said himself) pretty mainstream, but he knows how to write great, proper jokes.
Matthew Crosby |
Back upstairs to see Mike Wozniak. You'll know him, if not as a stand up, as Greg Davies' best friend in "Man Down". He told a long "shaggy cat" story about his "gruelling" drives from Exeter to Edinburgh after finding a cat in his car and deciding he needed to return it to his owners. this was interspersed with some facts chosen by us before going back to the cat.
Mike Wozniak |
Phill Jupitus |
Lazy Susan |
likable, with extremely well written material comprising of sketches that when put together told a story of 2 young boys who fell out and then made up again when they were grown up as well as a successful business woman and her two slightly less talented assistants.
Michael Legge |
Bridget Christie |
stay on for Bridget and even though Acaster is a genius and never has a bad gig, I think I made a great decision. Bridget has yet another great show ahead of her, continuing on with her feminist themes, and this time is exploring the issues of race and transgender issues as well.
Nish Kumar |
Ivo Graham |
Simon Munnery |
To finish the festival I decided to go to Joke Thieves. What a great concept for a night. We had 4 comedians; Lou Sanders, Al Lubel, Jenny Collier and Paul F Taylor. A guy in the front row was asked to pair them up (so we knew it was the real deal and not worked out in advance). The comics all had to do 5 minutes or so of their own stuff, then after they had all done so, to swap sets.
Joke Thieves: Al, Lou, Jenny and Paul |
So another great ARG. Big thanks to James Lowey and the team for all their hard work yet again, and roll on 2016!
What? you fancy finishing this blog with Pappy's doing a song about gloves? OK sure, let's do it!
Sunday 7 December 2014
ManBuyCow - LIVE!
The majority of you that follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook will have seen an increase in the rate of posts involving ManBuyCow and have either ignored them or have been curious about what ManBuyCow means but have been too shy to ask. Well read on.
I got introduced to their podcast just over a year ago and was instantly hooked. Rufus and Howard bring us a mixture of chat, sketches and characters all making their mad little world come to life. They have done two series now, with a third on the way, with the Grett Binchleaf portion of the show becoming a podcast in its own right. When they announced that they would be performing a full length show I snapped up my ticket quickly.
So I headed to Kentish Town and I met up with Dom and his lovely wife Verity at The Rose and Crown around 630 just as they had polished off a very well reviewed pizza. Verity was there as part of a marital deal which involves Dom having to go to Lord Of The Dance, so she is one up. We headed downstairs where we were met by Dennis Quaid*, harangued abot our names and frisked. We aimed towards the front but as Verity was a little shy we sat in the second front row. This was to know avail as Quaid* strongly suggested we sit at the front.
Soon a newer longer version of the familiar theme music began and we were off. Our small but dedicated band of comedy nerds were getting all excited and at the point of no return. Rufus and Howard arrived and soon pronounced that Dom was their "Beryl" for the night. Tom Baker Doctor Who was soon up. Nomedy Closh was forever delayed for various reasons (being on the underground and up a tree), and we wondered if he would ever arrive.
There were guests too. The self-described geeky comic, Pete Dillon-Trenchard, the easy to love Joz
Norris and towards the end of the show, Bec Hill (ably assisted by Beryl). Of course Nomedy Closh did arrive and sang a song accompanied by Doggity Dog. Even Mr Fluck managed to sneak in an appearance when Rufus wasn't
looking, and the Grett Binchleaf choose your own adventure book "Grett Binchleaf and the case of the missing leg" was fantastic, even though Grett died far more times than expected.
The end of the show involved the ManBuyCow fans favourite, Hitler^, and the "Everybody Loves Hitler, Hitler Is Our Friend" mass singalong was apparently heard in the main pub upstairs, which without context could sound a little bit naughty.
What a great night, and here's hoping that this becomes an annual pre-Christmas event.
So the moral of the story is a simple one. Listen to ManBuyCow. Now.
* Not the real Dennis Quaid
^ Not the real Hitler.
Tom Baker Doctor Who |
So I headed to Kentish Town and I met up with Dom and his lovely wife Verity at The Rose and Crown around 630 just as they had polished off a very well reviewed pizza. Verity was there as part of a marital deal which involves Dom having to go to Lord Of The Dance, so she is one up. We headed downstairs where we were met by Dennis Quaid*, harangued abot our names and frisked. We aimed towards the front but as Verity was a little shy we sat in the second front row. This was to know avail as Quaid* strongly suggested we sit at the front.
Soon a newer longer version of the familiar theme music began and we were off. Our small but dedicated band of comedy nerds were getting all excited and at the point of no return. Rufus and Howard arrived and soon pronounced that Dom was their "Beryl" for the night. Tom Baker Doctor Who was soon up. Nomedy Closh was forever delayed for various reasons (being on the underground and up a tree), and we wondered if he would ever arrive.
There were guests too. The self-described geeky comic, Pete Dillon-Trenchard, the easy to love Joz
Norris and towards the end of the show, Bec Hill (ably assisted by Beryl). Of course Nomedy Closh did arrive and sang a song accompanied by Doggity Dog. Even Mr Fluck managed to sneak in an appearance when Rufus wasn't
looking, and the Grett Binchleaf choose your own adventure book "Grett Binchleaf and the case of the missing leg" was fantastic, even though Grett died far more times than expected.
Hitler |
The end of the show involved the ManBuyCow fans favourite, Hitler^, and the "Everybody Loves Hitler, Hitler Is Our Friend" mass singalong was apparently heard in the main pub upstairs, which without context could sound a little bit naughty.
What a great night, and here's hoping that this becomes an annual pre-Christmas event.
So the moral of the story is a simple one. Listen to ManBuyCow. Now.
* Not the real Dennis Quaid
^ Not the real Hitler.
Wednesday 1 October 2014
Andrew O'Neill's History Of Heavy Metal aka "SIT DOWN LARS"
(c) Sophie Garrett - sophiegarrett.co.uk |
I met Neal at the pub over the road where he had been joined by a random woman who was going to another comedy show, and after a lot of detective work we worked out that it was at the Hen and Chickens round the corner. She was nice, but rather loopy. Anyway, we had a beer and headed to the venue, where luckily we didn't need to queue up. We walked straight in and found the room extremely busy already. I made the right decision of getting the first round in, which didn't take too long compared with Neal's round in the interval!
It was definitely more of a metal than a comedy crowd, and we were initially horrified at it being an all standing gig. We are very old. However I think it definitely gave it a much more rock'n'roll vibe, and of course meant they could probably fit everyone in, because before the gig started, the room was packed to the rafters.
This was the first time Andrew had done this show with a live band (the guitarist, bassist and drummer from Reprisal). They took to the stage first and were eventually followed by Andrew, striding on to the stage with his flying V ready for action.
The gig was fantastic, starting out with the most famous metal riff of all, from the opening song, "Black Sabbath", from the Black
Sabbath album by Black Sabbath, running through classic riffs from Motorhead to Slayer and Metallica. The show took the form of a history lesson, starting back in the proto-metal bands such as The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, through Sabbath, on to Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Venom, then on to Metallica and the big four of thrash and on towards death and black metal, punctuated with riffs and short versions of classic songs, mainly with altered lyrics. The vocals could have been louder as I missed a few of the gags during the songs.
Andrew joked about Sabbath's rhyming structures, Rob Halford hiding in plain sight before he came out, Slayer opening their classic album with the word "Auschwitz", Dave Mustaine's vocal style and of course, Lars Ulrich constantly standing up. The crowd were noisy, but fun, and only once did Andrew have to tell someone to use their ears more than their mouth.
I didn't stay for the Reprisal set after the show (my back was killing me. I am old.) but left satisfied that I had seen the best show of 2014 so far. This is a show that needs to be filmed and put out on DVD (or that new fangled Blu-ray) as it could easily reach a much bigger audience.
Andrew will be doing more of these so keep an eye out. And don't worry if you're not a heavy metal fan. It doesn't matter. It helps, but it doesn't matter. It's a brilliant night out! And remember, what do we shout next time Metallica's drummer stands up behind his kit?
This gig was dedicated to Jeff Hanneman 1964-2013
It was definitely more of a metal than a comedy crowd, and we were initially horrified at it being an all standing gig. We are very old. However I think it definitely gave it a much more rock'n'roll vibe, and of course meant they could probably fit everyone in, because before the gig started, the room was packed to the rafters.
This was the first time Andrew had done this show with a live band (the guitarist, bassist and drummer from Reprisal). They took to the stage first and were eventually followed by Andrew, striding on to the stage with his flying V ready for action.
(c) Sophie Garrett - sophiegarrett.co.uk |
Sabbath album by Black Sabbath, running through classic riffs from Motorhead to Slayer and Metallica. The show took the form of a history lesson, starting back in the proto-metal bands such as The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, through Sabbath, on to Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Venom, then on to Metallica and the big four of thrash and on towards death and black metal, punctuated with riffs and short versions of classic songs, mainly with altered lyrics. The vocals could have been louder as I missed a few of the gags during the songs.
Andrew joked about Sabbath's rhyming structures, Rob Halford hiding in plain sight before he came out, Slayer opening their classic album with the word "Auschwitz", Dave Mustaine's vocal style and of course, Lars Ulrich constantly standing up. The crowd were noisy, but fun, and only once did Andrew have to tell someone to use their ears more than their mouth.
I didn't stay for the Reprisal set after the show (my back was killing me. I am old.) but left satisfied that I had seen the best show of 2014 so far. This is a show that needs to be filmed and put out on DVD (or that new fangled Blu-ray) as it could easily reach a much bigger audience.
Andrew will be doing more of these so keep an eye out. And don't worry if you're not a heavy metal fan. It doesn't matter. It helps, but it doesn't matter. It's a brilliant night out! And remember, what do we shout next time Metallica's drummer stands up behind his kit?
"SIT DOWN LARS!"
This gig was dedicated to Jeff Hanneman 1964-2013
Tuesday 8 July 2014
ARGComFest 2014
ARG has quickly become one of my favourite weekends of the year and I had been looking forward to this day for a long time. (You can read my blurb about ARG 2012 and ARG 2013 by clicking the links) I had spent quite sometime looking at the schedules and had quite a bit of difficulty in deciding what to see. Eventually I came up with a definitive list (subject to change on a whim) and off I went.
Saturday:
I started the day in Wetherspoons with one of their cheap and crappy breakfasts along with one of their cheap and surprisingly nice lattes before heading to the queue to get my wristband strapped on.
In the queue I met Sarah and Neal and we were soon joined by Twon (who had to leave pretty early cos the poor lamb was suffering with some sort of lurgy. He did promise to be there on Sunday though.). Eventually the queue started moving and I saw my first comedy moment of the day. A woman approaching the queue to see what was going on, then getting her heel stuck in the pavement and doing a lovely little dance. It was hard to stop myself laughing and I didn't. She was nice though.
We were near the front of the queue so I headed to the bar and got served quickly. I turned round after hearing my name and it was Dom, a reasonably new Twitter friend who had trekked down from Hull. He had brought his friend Michael along, who wasn't particularly a comedy fan. I could eventually see this due to his different reactions to the straight forward stand ups and the more left field acts.
Cariad and Paul were on first. They were an improv pairing who built a story up around many scenes, the first of which was based on a one word suggestion from the audience. Cheese. This eventually meandered through pig slaughter, poison production, and a true love story, ending up with the death of Cariad's boy character, Meaty, and ended on Halloumi, bringing us back to where we started.
Andrew Maxwell was arguably the biggest name act of the Saturday and he didn't disappoint. There was a serious looking security guard in the corner who Andrew spotted smiling at one of his gags and from then on kept referring back to him and how cute he looked when he smiles like a chipmunk. He spoke about Scottish independence and wasn't scared to take the piss out of the SNP. It will be interesting to see how this goes down at Edinburgh festival.
Adam Riches and The Great Popcorno (aka Dom) |
He was a mixologist and he pointed to Michael's and my drink. Dom had to open his mouth and we each poured a little of our drinks into his mouth before Adam garnished it with a banana and a couple of straws. Later Dom was called up to be The Great Popcorno, which involved him lying mouth open in front of a popcorn machine. Unfortunately the machine was faulty and we never got to see its full glory.
A latecomer was brought on to the stage to be tattooed by Adam (with electric toothbrushes and crayons strapped to his hands and ended up over Adam's knee as the "blood" spurted everywhere. Sometimes audience participation is terrifying, but Adam, who uses it a lot, knows exactly what he is doing. The whole thing is pure fun and joyous without any humiliation. Well, apart from to Adam of course!
John Luke Roberts |
Joel's face was also a delight when he played us some of the recordings by his old band Psirus, as well as a rap that he had written at the worrying age of 20. Psirus were partially reunited using an audience member in a boiler suit / balaclava combination as a replacement for their drummer who they don't see eye to eye with.
I'm a big fan of The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society (ACMS) which is run by Thom Tuck and John Luke Roberts, and it was these two we went upstairs to see next. Thom's new show touches a lot on maths and is called the square root of -1. Thom tries to speak to all the audience at this show which was rather impossible today due to the larger audience than normal. Perhaps he should restrict it to the first two rows/ Anyway we had to complete the sentence "I am...", which then gives Thom the freedom to riff on however we choose to describe ourselves.
Jonny & the Baptists |
I decided to stay downstairs for Nish Kumar, and what a show it was! I have never seen Nish be this funny before and the whole room was absolutely loving it. Again he got the security guard involved in the show and spoke about his old manager asking him not to speak about race so much in case it alienated the crowd. The show ended by... actually I won't tell you cos I think it's a pretty nice surprise when you see this in Edinburgh.
We had a brief chat with Thom, Matthew Crosby, Nish and James Acaster and I headed home for some rest before doing the WHOLE THING again tomorrow.
Blog paused.
-------------
Blog continues!
Sunday:
Rachel Parris |
After meeting Dom at Wetherspoons for a massive breakfast we headed back to The Garage for another day of ARGing. We reunited with Neal inside and got a seat at the front for Rachel Parris. I have seen her a number of times and she has always been ace. I'm not particularly a musical comedy fan, but she has framed the show in Vegas and has a host of characters performing in the show. There has been a lot of thought gone into this as well as talent! She played a liberal country and western singer, a middle-class mummy's boy "Coldplay" type, and the beautiful diva headline act which climaxed with her song "I'm amazing"
We moved upstairs and saw Lucy Beaumont. She was probably a more traditional comic who reminded me a little bit of Victoria Wood, with her world of characters (or perhaps real life friends, it was hard to decide). She comes from Hull and plays a lot on the difference between life in Hull and life down south. Lou Sanders was compering this section which is always a blast, and she regaled us with her erotic stories, and eventually her fruit and vegetable calendar she has produced to fund her Edinburgh show.
Stuart Goldsmith |
Many of you will listen to the brilliant Comedian's Comedian podcast, presented by Stuart Goldsmith, where he chats in depth to comedians about their writing processes and such like. Well he was on downstairs next and the compere eventually managed to get the crowd to move to the front. I still don't know why comedy audiences (especially proper comedy fans) still seem scared to sit at the front. Anyway he spent a lot of the time speaking about his broodiness and eventually dedicated the show to his Scottish granny who keeps going on no matter what life throws at her. We did get a little secret bit that Stuart says won't go into his show cos it is too hacky, but he has worked out which combination of people he looks like. A mixture of a children's TV presenter and "your brother's friend". Great stuff!
Josie Long |
We spotted a lot of off duty comics arriving. Nick Doody (who ended up performing at ACMS later), Nick Helm, Henning Wehn and Matt Kirshen were hanging out. Dom and I ended up chatting with Helm about his upcoming TV show "Heavy Entertainment" which I have seen two recordings of. And guys it is going to be amazing!
Bridget Christie was the first comic to use the main higher stage as she believed that audiences don't like
Nick Doody |
Thom Tuck |
Lou Sanders |
Big thanks to James Lowey and the ARG team for putting this show on. Since it started in 2012 it has grown
from year to year. This was a nice sized venue though and hope to be back here next year.
The McH award this year goes jointly to Adam Riches and Robin Ince & Michael Legge. There is no money or trophy involved, but give yourselves a pat on the back guys! Of course we are all winners here, so don't be downhearted if you didn't win this esteemed award this year. Roll on 2015!
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