As part of The Stand Newcastle's 'Newcastle Alternative' to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Dylan Moran was performing a work in progress show. Dylan Moran hasn't been doing many gigs recently, but there was no trying to cover it up, he turned his 'rustiness' into hilarity, with little stories and talking to the audience. It was great to see a comedian so genuine about his work, he openly said he was nervous and unprepared but he had the entire crowd on his side and it didn't matter the material didn't flow as one, well rehearsed piece, because the moments wouldn't have been the same.
You never really got the gist of what this show he's building is going to be about, he covered a few topics, technology, the inner monologue, getting older. It was just a show about topics that were relatable to everyone, but all of it was really funny. He never took himself seriously, and the gig was better for it. He fit a lot of material into an hour and a half, so picking out highlights is hard, and also may spoil it for if some of the material makes it onto a tour, although his erotic novel bit was incredibly funny!
Jon Richardson is one of my favourite comedians, and his latest tour 'Nidiot' did not disappoint. Richardson strutted on wearing a cowboy hat which he proceeded to throw at the mic stand. When if landed on the stand the whole crowd erupted. You could tell everyone was there for a good night, the weather had been nice all day and it was a Friday night, so we were all up for a laugh.
'Nidiot' is a tour about not being an idiot. The title itself is a joke from his last tour, when he said he doesn't say "an onion" but rather "a nonion", it's a nice little call back for those who saw his last tour or got his DVD. Jon Richardson is famed for being pessimistic and having a general hatred of humankind, but recently this hasn't been the case! The tour comprises of some very funny stories of Jon's efforts to thwart his own happiness. The jokes were non-stop, tales of Jon's search for love, his time on stag do's and more. For those going to the second leg of the 'Nidiot' tour I won't spoil the jokes, just know you're in for a great night!
Last night I went to see Carl Hutchinson at The Stand in Newcastle. I've seen him three times before, the first was supporting Chris Ramsey, then I saw his solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe, and then took my friend along to see him at the Friday Show at The Stand last November. As you can tell, I'm a bit of a fan. It's great to follow a comic's journey when they've not been on the circuit for long (Hutchinson has been doing stand up for 5 years, having done his first gig at The Dog & Parrot in Newcastle).
The first act of the night was Anth Young, a comic I hadn't seen before. His set was only short, but he got in a lot of laughs. You could tell the audience were up for a good night, which must make the comedian's job much easier! After Anth Young was Lee Kyle, another North East comic who the audience really seemed to love. Personal favourites from his set were his impressions, or lack thereof, but that's what made them great. Never has an impression of Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic been as good as in a Geordie accent saying the words "howay Winslet help us ya bitch", I think that line will stick with me, and just make me laugh at random points in the future.
Photo from http://www.carlhutchinson.net/photos/
Then came Carl Hutchinson. He's only a young comic, but the room looked pretty much sold out to me, so he's clearly doing something right. He started off by having a chat with the crowd, an array of birthday-based hilarity ensued, it's those unplanned moments in live comedy that I love so much. The ridiculous amount of people knocking glasses over last night was another instance of this! Carl is certainly not one for sticking to a "script", he often begins telling a story, tells another in the middle, then returns to the original story. It's all funny, it all works, you never get lost or confused with what he's speaking about. He has you laughing constantly. The show is new so any kinks that have yet to be ironed out are all fine, not that there are many!
If your sort of humour is that of Russell Howard or Chris Ramsey then I think Carl Hutchinson will be right up your street. He's touring all over the place until the Autumn and then he's embarking on Chris Ramsey's 'The Most Dangerous Man On Saturday Morning TV' tour as his support, which is sure to be a great night!
Have a watch of a clip from Carl's last tour, 'All The Rage', and if you like what you see, all his tour dates can be found here
On Sunday, I went out with my housemates to The Stand Comedy club. It's definitely one of my favourite places in Newcastle and I never turn down a chance to visit. I suggested going because one of my housemates does a placement at Tyneside Mind, who were holding a fundraising event. Live comedy is great, and while not for everyone, I've never not had a good night out watching it.
The comedians on were Lauren Pattison, Hal Branson, Stephen Frizzle, Rob Gilroy, Seymour Mace and the compere was Mat Reed. I've only seen Mat Reed before out of the lot, so that was great to see some new acts. They were all very funny, a real mix of styles too which is always so welcome! And the best bit was that £1167 was raised for Tyneside Mind!
I would definitely say that if you live in an area with a local comedy club, go down, chances are it'll be a great night!
