Preview: Steve Hughes - Big Issues

I’ve been lucky enough to have been able to get hold of some tickets to go and see the excellent Steve Hughes on his Big Issues tour in Wolverhampton next week.

I’ve had the fortune of seeing Steve twice before, both times supporting Reginald D Hunter, so it’s quite exciting to be able to see his full show in a smaller setting.

His act consists mainly of complaining about politics, the state of the world and music; and is absolutely hilarious. He has the canny ability to say the most obvious things that you don’t realise are funny until he points them out.

His funniest and maybe most famous act is him talking about the world of health and safety and how it’s basically common sense. You can watch it here 

His style isn’t really the typical feed line punch line sort but rather more like, dare I say it, Bill Hicks. His fantastic way of pointing out how everyone is a hypocrite and the governments are controlling us will make you laugh but also make you go home thinking a lot about what he’s said.

The gig takes place at my favourite gig in the country which is the Wulfrun Hall. To check out more comedy dates they’ve got on (which is a lot) go to www.wolvescivic.co.uk

We’ll let you know how it went next week, until then, watch his videos!

SB
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TV: Kevin Bridges - What's The Story?

Kevin Bridges is one of the Britain’s brightest and youngest comedy stars, so seeing him get a new show on BBC which delves into the roots of his comedy is great to see.

On first glance, the idea of the show seems a little poor, but it is actually a great watch. At just 25, you may not think Kevin has much to talk about but his comedy has taken the world by storm and looks set to be one of the best comedians of the next 20 years.

The show starts off in Glasgow with his parents and shows clips of his massive show at the Glasgow SECC, which was released on DVD as Kevin Bridges The Story So Far… Live In Glasgow.

It is almost like the show aims to explain every little story behind each joke which, while it’s not always funny, is really interesting. For anyone who has seen his stand up, they’ll know who Chad Hogan is, and for those who don’t, well you should watch the programme, but Kevin is whisked off to Utah to meet the not so fictional character.

An interesting part of the show is when Kevin meets Frank Skinner, to whom he admits that picking up his autobiography is what got him into comedy. From one comedian to another, it’s great to see them chatting and having a laugh and is an insight into what backstage of a gig might be like. It’s also nice to see the respect shared between the two.

How many episodes of the series there are going to be I’m not sure, but if it’s as interesting as the first, it may be a series worth keeping your eye on. The first episode can be seen on BBC iPlayer here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01c09kr/Kevin_Bridges_Whats_the_Story_Growing_Up/

SB
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Retrospective: The Keith Barrett Show

Hi all,

Sorry it’s been so long in blogging again; we’ve been very busy over the past week! To make up for it we’re going to be blogging your heads off over the next couple of weeks, with lots of DVD’s, videos, live reviews and TV shows.

To kick off, while we were on our travels, we managed to sneak in a cheeky watch of Rob Brydon’s character DVD Keith Barrett Live, which was rather a good watch.

Released in 2006 on the back of the successful Marion and Geoff and The Keith Barrett show, the DVD is fantastic in whimsical clever comedy. For some, the character of Keith Barrett may be tiring but hidden in amongst the similar jokes throughout the show are some genuinely clever pieces of comedy. For example, the section where he claims to not be great at thinking of things off the top of his head, and then creates ten minutes worth of comedy while chatting to audience is great.

Brydon plays the harmless aging divorcee character down to a T, which is probably what helped him land the role as Uncle Bryn in Gavin and Stacey. There are similarities in their characters and these are noticeable all the way through; most obviously his inability to be ‘cool.’

On the whole, the DVD is a enjoyable watch but we wouldn’t exactly recommend it to anyone. Lovers of character comedy and people who don’t mind there being no ‘proper’ jokes will find it a joy but many people will find it quite slow (as did my mother).

We managed to pick it up for £1 from CEX so whichever way you look at it, we got value for our money!

Until next time…

SB

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Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy

Now we've all had a few days to let it sink in, we can have a proper look at Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy, and see just how good it really is.

Looking on our Twitter page, it seemed to get a mixed reaction, some loyal Noel fans saying they loved it, while other, perhaps more honest people, said it was lacking a certain something. Many fans believe that his Mighty Boosh sidekick Julian Barratt is what's missing.

For anyone who has seen Noel Fielding's stand up, this sort of crazy, unrelated nonsense babble will seem all too familiar. The only problem is, Noel isn't that good at stand up. It turns out he's not that great at sketch shows either, although he is improving.

It will be hard for him to ever top the brilliance of the Mighty Boosh, but is replicating it the route to go down? Is there any depth to Fielding's ability to be funny? Or will he just continue to put random words together and say them out loud?

However, there were parts of Luxury Comedy that were very amusing. Sgt Raymond Boombox was probably the best character he created this series, and with only one show down he'll do well to beat him.

As with all Fielding's musings, there are bits that are quite genius and very, very clever. The Pele 'Is it a football? Or is it the cups saucer?' sketch is brilliant  and really witty when Pele finally crosses the ball to him and it smashes. 

Unfortunately all of these brilliant bits are sandwiched in between what appears to be filler. The random kitchen scene, the lion in his cage, they all appear to be trying too hard to be funny, and it's obvious to see.

The only thing we can do now is wait until this weeks episode, or the rest of the series. What he does after that will show what Noel really thinks of it, and if he reunites himself with Julian Barratt, then maybe the Twitter dissenters are right.

Richard Herring Tour

I'm off to see Richard Herring in a couple of weeks, and I can't wait.


Herring has to be one of the most under-rated comedians in the country at the moment. His former partner Stewart Lee has his comedy vehicle on BBC2 but the man who reclaimed the Hitler moustache for comedy is, for some unknown reason, not on TV very often.


I went to go and see his last tour, Christ on a Bike - The Second Coming, and it was brilliant. I'm hoping for a similar sort of thing this time around and I know I won't be disappointed. Herring is one of the best comedians doing the sort of comedy I like; it involves very few jokes but plenty of laughs. What was brilliant was he'd also paid for a free programme to be put on every seat in the house, even though it was only half sold. And they were hilarious.


This time, Herring tackles love. His latest show 'What Is Love Anyway?' pits him seeking to destroy love before it destroys him again in a show that Chortle calls 'stimulating and exhilarating... utterly hilarious.'


I've got to be honest, I'm really looking forward to it but whenever I see Richard Herring, I can help but think about THAT Bible reading. If you haven't seen it before and don't know what I'm talking about, you can see it here.


It's one of those brilliant pieces of that you can guarantee almost every comedian in the country watched it and thought "Shit, why didn't I think of that?"


Click on the link and you won't be disappointed. It's a classic example of why I find comedy so brilliant. The clip clocks in at over seven minutes but it's worth the wait once he makes his point.


Check out Richard Herring's 2012 tour dates here and go see him.


SB
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Manchester Comedy Store - 19/01/12

While up north visiting the better half, we decided to pop to The Comedy Store on Deansgate Locks in Manchester for a cheeky spot of cheap stand up. Tickets were only a tenner and because she’s a student she got in for a fiver! Every Thursday apparently so if you’re ever stuck for something to do, I’d suggest going there.

It’s not like the acts were matching the price either. Former host of The Friday Night Project Rob Rouse was the excellent compere while Mike Gunn and Sean Collins, who have both been on Michael MacIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, provided the bread in this comedy sandwich, with Mickey Sharma the meat.

Rob’s easy going and relaxed style worked well with the small crowd in the Helter Skelter bar, and despite the staircase in the middle of the room, it still felt pretty intimate. He showed patience with a few members of the audience who’d had a few to drink, but eventually put them in there place with huge comic effect.

Mike Gunn and Mickey Sharma were polar opposites but both fared the same; a few laughs but didn’t exactly have everyone rolling in the aisles. Gunn’s nervous style seemed to be passed on to the audience while Sharma tried too many ‘brown man’ jokes for a predominantly white crowd.

Thankfully, they saved the best ‘til last, with Sean Collins’ relaxed, half-drunk gags going down a storm. He played the crowd perfectly, and his timing in delivering the fatal punchline blow was exquisite, using his bottle of beer as an excuse to pause and draw the crowd in.

From caravans to drugs, and sex to children, Collins covered a wide range of material all to the same result; laughter. He nailed a room that the other comics (Rouse excluded) seemed to find hard to crack and ensured everyone left the building with a smile on their face.

All this for a tenner, some great food and cracking beer, we’ll definitely be visiting again. Check out what is on at the Comedy Store near you on www.comedystore.co.uk.

SB

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Manchester / Frank Skinner

While wondering around Manchester this week (you'll find out more about this later) I heard a young busker playing a song to his mates.


In view of the recent lovefest with Frank Skinner on BBC, and because I think he's brilliant, I thought I'd share the song with you all.


You may have heard it before; I've listened to it hundreds of times and it still makes me laugh every time. If you haven't heard it before then sit back and enjoy.


SB
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