After work I headed to Liverpool. There was a preview show to raise funds for the stand-up show I'm doing at this year's Fringe. The show is called The Great Big Comedy Picnic. It's a simple enough concept. Three comedians, for free. Simple really. We want to be able to pay for the show and some of that money comes from our own pockets, and some of it comes from playing benefit gigs to raise funds for our show. Since my contribution to the benefit gig involved driving to Liverpool, I might have preferred to stay and home, send £30, save myself a tenner on petrol and give the pot even more of a boost. However, that's not how things work. Comedy in this case is about live performance, not the money and I was glad of the gig. My gig diary for June was looking pretty empty at this point.
I'd received a phone call detailing the gig as I'd cycled home from work the previous day. That I was cycling is probably a good thing. That I had a gig was even better. I'd only ever performed in Liverpool on two previous occasions, and I thought I might like to engage in the humour of the city some more.
While in Liverpool, which I managed to find pretty easily, I recorded a new message for my answerphone - not interesting, but true. I also grabbed my guitar from the car and wandered off to the pub where we were playing to be accosted my a chap who wished me a good gig. What a nice fellow!
I somewhat insisted that I close the show. This might seem a bit indulgent, but I reckoned I was doing it for the good of the show. There were four of us on, and I knew that I'd be able to raise the roof of the gig if it went well, and pick it up if it dropped. I also wanted to turn the crowd into a bit of a rabble, which can make it harder for later acts to pick up from. So, they let me go on last. It was incredibly good fun. I even did a song which I'd never performed on stage before. It went pretty well. I'd written it in the bath on the previous night, and only rehearsed it briefly during the soundcheck. That's comedy rock and roll for you.
I enjoyed that gig a lot.
I'd received a phone call detailing the gig as I'd cycled home from work the previous day. That I was cycling is probably a good thing. That I had a gig was even better. I'd only ever performed in Liverpool on two previous occasions, and I thought I might like to engage in the humour of the city some more.
While in Liverpool, which I managed to find pretty easily, I recorded a new message for my answerphone - not interesting, but true. I also grabbed my guitar from the car and wandered off to the pub where we were playing to be accosted my a chap who wished me a good gig. What a nice fellow!
I somewhat insisted that I close the show. This might seem a bit indulgent, but I reckoned I was doing it for the good of the show. There were four of us on, and I knew that I'd be able to raise the roof of the gig if it went well, and pick it up if it dropped. I also wanted to turn the crowd into a bit of a rabble, which can make it harder for later acts to pick up from. So, they let me go on last. It was incredibly good fun. I even did a song which I'd never performed on stage before. It went pretty well. I'd written it in the bath on the previous night, and only rehearsed it briefly during the soundcheck. That's comedy rock and roll for you.
I enjoyed that gig a lot.
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