.foXinternet - a bunch of stuff by tucola

Thursday, April 07, 2005 :

Comedy

Went to the Royal Albert Hall last night to see “Peter Kay and Guests” — a benefit gig for Teenage Cancer Trust. It was a full house and an enjoyable night. The format was like comedy club stand–up with Peter Kay as anchorman or whatever they call it. The guests were:

John Thomson
Reginald D. Hunter
Barbara Nice
Catherine Tate and Dominic Coleman
Noel Fielding
Ed Byrne

Peter Kay was fine in the MC role, but I’d like to see him properly, as it were. Of the guests, I found Reg Hunter and Ed Byrne the most entertaining. They were both excellent. Barbara Nice and Noel Fielding seemed to go down the least well with the crowd, probably because they were the furthest removed from the standard stand–up format. I must admit that I didn’t get Barbara Nice — just not the sort of thing that I find funny (takes all sorts). I was enjoying Noel Fielding’s unusual and interesting set (although some of the audience didn’t appear to be), until he lost the plot and went off on one on a heckler, which I thought was a bit over the top given the crowd, the venue and the charitable context. Then again, I’m a passive aggressive, middle class, chicken–shit English prick, so I feel uncomfortable around overt confrontation. Ed Byrne soon put things back on an even keel, though, by raising the highly controversial topic: “isn’t bed grand, I feckin’ love bed”. This seemed to be something we could all agree on and things started going smoothly again, ready for Peter Kay to close the show with a Brian Potter medley.

posted by tucola @ 10:24

Comments:

Ed Byrne is top banana. Too nice to bother heckling properly, too funny to get bored, too underexposed for people to know his jokes already. Just what you want from a comedian.

# posted by banderama : 2:10 PM

Yeh, he was just right for this occasion. Got things properly cooking again after a bit of unpleasantness with the previous guy...

# posted by tucola : 2:16 PM

I thought Noel Fielding was excellent and he was right to 'unleash his fury' on the audience member. It was the first time I saw him and loved his style of comedy (even if Peter Kay didn't).

Reginald D Hunter and Ed Byrne were both cracking but I simply didn't find John Thomson, Barbara Nice or Catherine Tate funny.

# posted by Rob : 9:19 AM

Hmm, I'd never seen Noel Fielding before either and as I say I was enjoying his set. Some interesting ideas and a change from the usual. I just thought that he should have let it go with that heckler after the initial salvo. The guy was already dead in the water. That sort of "shock and awe total warfare" is all very well at a comedy club, where people know what they are getting into, but I thought that a lighter touch was called for at the RAH. Getting the whole of the RAH to tell the bloke to f off felt unpleasantly like bullying to me, and I was embarassed. I don't enjoy seeing someone get a real kicking.

I know a lot of people rave about Catherine Tate and I guess it was a well-observed parody, but it wasn't my favorite set of the evening. That award probably goes to Reg Hunter. I thought that Peter Kay did a bit too much of the "hilariously misconstruing song lyrics" thing - although it was funny at first, I groaned a bit when he came back out with his dictaphone for the second time. Then again, he was just introducing rather than doing a proper set, so I guess you can't expect too much. I'd like to see him again "properly", if I get the chance.

# posted by tucola : 1:28 PM