30TH OF MAY.

This weeks guests - The Flash, James Christopher, John Scott and Tom Mitchel.



So last night was a lot of fun. A success if not a roaring one. Our little comedy club is a very friendly place, and given that we were fighting against a bank holiday hangover, and England playing football it wasn't badly attended. Unsurprisingly, when the football ended, a few more people turned up.

Callum looked after the first section, including material on dance floor do's and don'ts which set up this week's competition.
He introduced Tom Mitchell, a very cerebral guy, with some great imagery to hand. His admiration for pornographers seems very genuine. Finishing the first section was a return of Doctor Who lookilikey James Christopher; who's speccy trekky act is becoming less of a crutch, he is doing more material as himself, which is genuinely funny. Got the moment of the night when he got a big groan. 'oh so puns don't work in the 'dog and parrot'. Yes, it was a location gag, you did have to be there, but of its moment, it was cheer worthily good.

Al introduced himself and did stuff on moving to the north, and struggling with the accent etc. Strangely enough he had mothballed it because he thought it was too geordie, and wouldn't travel. But it certainly works here. A heckle from Callum pointing out that Al's a cheesemaker, not an engineer, brought forth a cheesy take on Charlie and the Chocolate factory.

The other act in this section was comedy magician THE FLASH; cracking stuff. He has a really good polished act now, with gags and some really fun tricks. The audience mind reading bit is so good, and made by the fact that the stooge seldom gets it.

Pete looked after the last section, going over his notebooks for new stuff - this gave us some great quick ones, including beautifying wind farms by including models of two guys choping wood on them, and some longer bits which need a bit more of a polish. The competition took the form of 'you name a dance step, we will act it out' Callum's idea, and it worked really, really well. The winner was the classic dad dance which came with very clear instructions - crouch; lift one leg and twist; repeat with other leg; both thumbs up throughout. The lucky winner recieved a bottle of sanatogen tonic wine (we shit you not.) which comes with the warning that 'tonic' in no way implies health giving properties.

John Scott, fresh from playing rooms with 200 people for actual money, still came down to mix with the likes of us. He was exercising his new idea about sitting down to perform. It was a really interesting change, it took the energy out of the set, but it made everything warm and friendly and fuzzy.

16th May - Long Live Comedy

At this fortnight's Long Live Comedy, we were joined by 5 of the good people of manchester, and about 30 paying punters. It was a lot of fun.

Opening the night was Viscount Al Rosser, Fashionista - Al Dawes in a cravat. A bit of a strange way to start a night, but you have to let him have his fun.

Other than that rather abortive attempt at a character, we had:

Chris Tavener, who boldly took on the opening slot, some nice conversational material, which set the tone somewhat for a pleasant evening.

Following him was the recent competition winner Christian Steel. Great material mix between tried and tested, and brand spanking new. His stage presence shows that he is gigging really regularly at the moment, and is a star on the rise. Plus (and much to our chagrin) he recently won the north east heat of Amused Moose - FLYING THE FLAG

Following the break we had billy-bob-thornton, the oft-threatened cowboy alter-ego of Pete Thompson. It was a lovely set, and I defy anyone else to get as many laughs from the words colaboration, and e-mail. Good stuff, great character.

The toothpaste expedition showed us their thang after that, and they were a strange mix of the sublime, the ridiculous and then back again. And again. Some fine gags, and something a little different. 'Very 80's' one punter was heard to mention. I am assuming this was a compliment of some type, especially as mullets and stripes are back 'in' (take it from a fashionista).

Sadly due to a scary work thing, I had to go home and missed the final section, but I'm told the competition, Sean Moran and Ross Wagman all had a lot of fun. Reviews (may) be posted here soon.

If you didn't see it, bad boy/girl. Still, you can make up for it by coming to the next one on 30th May. Dog & Parrot, Newcastle. Only £2, and you get at least 6 comedians for that. We spoil you we really do.

2ND MAY.

We've been suffering because the last gig, this one and (oh dear) the next one all occur following bank holidays. People have had too much fun by the time they get to Tuesday and aren't looking for any more. However, Long live comedy last night was still reasonably well attended - we aren't breaking records, but the room isn't huge, and it is so nice in there. The audience were happy to relax.

Due to a couple of last minute drop offs we had time to play with, so the acts that were on got to cut loose a little and I hope they enjoyed themselves.

Murray James was on first, he proved a breath of fresh air as he mused about the gramatical and spelling nightmare which is Toys 'R' us and explained his haircut by telling us he'd been raised by wolves. A new face on the scene with a touch of the new surrealism of the mighty boosh, some good material, and nicely different from the tired old knob gags we sometimes hear.

Chris Martin (no, not that one) did a nice set with some old material, some new, and some very smart ad-libbing. Highlights included him 'borrowing' a prosthetic arm and the unusual reason for being bullied at his school - two first names (They obviously weren't Seinfeld fans.) He scared the audience a little with the ghost that was on stage. It's ok, it turned out to be a bottle of blue MD 20/20 under a sheet- our prizes just get better.

Paul Gerrard, already a long live comedy stalwart, came on to try some new material. This is about his third appearance doing all new material - in the coming months we'll have him back with the pick of the bunch which should be a storming set. Paul's gag of the night for me -'If a dripping tap makes you want to pee, does a gas leak make you fart?'

The final section was a mix of Pete and Callum. Pete did part compere, part new material bit. The best bits were Pete wondering why the toilets have the sophisticated detail of a multi volume flush, but no paper or doors; and a critique of the new Australian tourism adverts with the slogan 'Where the bloody hell are ya?'.

Callum did his grade A material for us in preparation of a trip to manchester tonight, this was the first time Callum's done this set at LLC. Good stuff, and even though we have seen him umpteen times doing this set at other venues there are some lines that hit home every time. Charvers in west side story is becoming a classic.

As for the competition, we went with 'your favourite euphamism'. Though Making Rope for the Navy (plop-plops) came close, the winner was Hand-to-Gland Combat (an act of filthy onanism). And who can argue with that?

So, a great night, the first use of our new (hiss free) PA system, and another lovely, friendly audience. Next time (16th May) we have a job lot of comics coming up from Manchester, and I can assure you there are some crackers in there. Come early to the next one to avoid disappointment.

Oh- We forgot the camera this time, so just a nice pic from last time, audience member big Pete triumphantly grasping his blue nun.