This month, my gig diary went from no gigs to nine. That's one hell of a full-on return to stand-up. In fact, I've not had a 9 gig month since August, and even that doesn't count, because it was Fringe-like gigs. Before that, the last month I did 9 gigs in was November 2005, when I was living alone and managed to clock up 14 gigs alongside weekend trips to see my girlfriend.

What do we learn from this? When I live alone, I gig like a mo' fo' - it's been said before, and I guess it's true.

I can't remember the limit, and there is one, at which I lose my mind through too much gigging. It might be 14. In fact, I remember November 2005 as being a curious month - I quit my job in a haze of negativity. Maybe it was the gigging? or maybe it was the job.

Anyhoo, I'm in the saddle and I'm riding high.

Plus, on top of the gigs, there are other trips to take to do things. I've got one or two appointments in London relating to the sketch night I help out with (doing sound and lights). So February is busier than just the gigs. Plus I'm going to see Bill Bailey on my birthday. Sadly my "date" has pulled out, so I'm going to see Bill Bailey on my birthday alone, with a spare seat next to me. Yay! Extra roomey!

Good Gig
I had a couple of good gigs over the weekend. On Friday I did an arts centre and really enjoyed the small but perfectly formed audience. They needed working, but I worked them and felt like it went well. The headline act was especially worth watching, and I'd originally intended to go along just to watch. However, I found out that the opening act had pulled out and so volunteered myself into the empty spot. It was fun.

On Sunday night I did another small crowd, this time in London. I had a reasonable time, though the day's drinking affected my performance. I wasn't especially drunk, but I wasn't on the ball as much as I could be. I managed to offend a family who had brought their 16 year old GCSE-studying daughter into the basement of a pub to watch stand-up comedy. So, perhaps they didn't want to hear a song about anal sex, but it had a very moral spin to it (i.e. don't do it) and so I felt perfectly comfortable singing a bunch of euphemisms and medical terms. In fact, I enjoyed it. Anyway, the family, clearly not in their natural habitat, left.

It was pointed out to me that I have a few "adult" songs in my repertoire and yet seem capable of writing a perfectly non-adult lyric. The promoter suggested that I think about other subjects for new material. "Maybe write a song about a library" he suggested.

So I have.

I think it might even be funny.

I'll try it tomorrow.

Oh, and some people came to see me perform, but they read this blog, so there's no point in playing up to them. Thanks for coming if you came and thanks for not coming if you didn't. It's all good.