Day 3 - Loretta Maine, I'm not drunk I just need to talk to you; GIT (Dan Atkinson, Jon Richardson, Lloyd Langford)

Loretta Maine: I'm not drunk I just need to talk to you - The Caves

Ever had the urge to leave a comedy gig singing entirely inappropriate material?! Yes? Then get yourself to a Loretta Maine gig NOW! Talk of bleeding record producers, butchered ex-lovers and revenge sought on former bullies has never been so unappealingly appealing. Not that Maine would be pleased with this; she hates life and she probably hates you. But if you make it past her first musical interlude inviting any Loretta-haters to ‘Fuck off home’, then you can sit back and enjoy the ride...

Maine’s bedraggled appearance and make up smeared face make for comedy value alone – that and the fact that her bottle of white wine (screw top, naturally) is clutched with arguably more intensity than her guitar. And let us not forget that her backing band is called ‘Dog Vagina’, yes that’s ‘Dog Vagina’– you couldn’t make this up!

Except of course that’s exactly what someone has done and that someone is Pippa Evans - she does for character comedy what Jesus did with water – no, not walk on it, but turn it into something truly amazing and oozing with alcohol! Comedy abounds before she has even opened her mouth. And yet it is when this Maine-Evans hybrid does open her mouth that the audience are in for a real treat, for if it’s not already obvious, Maine doesn’t mince her words.

She's a straight-down-the-line-tell-it-how-it-is kind of girl. Fuelled by the aforementioned white wine, Maine gives her audience frank insight into her life in the form of musical comedy, from her less than encouraging mother to her sham wedding. Along the way Evans’ distinctive voice gets to grapple with such lyrical gems as (when referring to hiding in an ex’s wardrobe in 'I'm Fine') “...and then your new girlfriend arrived and climbed into your bed, I meant to creep out silently but I shocked you both instead”. If Evans’ talent wasn’t already obvious enough, drawing on her Showstopper background (see review Day 1), she also improvises a song about a random male audience member that has taken her fancy –having not only the ability to make it both lyrically comical and tuneful, but also the gall to serenade him in Maine’s trademark creepy manner.

Maine is the personification of all those thoughts you’ve never dared express. She is freakishly compulsive and her songs are irritatingly catchy. So before you, ‘Fuck off home!’, why not give her a try?! Catch her on tour here.

Comedy Hen


[I feel it necessary for a slight aside before beginning the next review: I realise that this blog isn’t the most up to date in the world given that 3 months post Edinburgh Festival I am still writing reviews - but stay with me! I’m ploughing my way through whenever I get a moment...besides with many of the shows touring, it’s still relevant...and I promise to be finished before next Edinburgh!]

GIT (Jon Richardson, Dan Atkinson, Lloyd Langford) – Gilded Balloon

If you can honestly confess to 1) never having mocked a friend’s photo on Facebook or 2) never having wondered what on earth possessed someone to confess to that particular thought / vice / disease in their status or on Twitter, then this show isn’t for you. The rest of you - which must be everyone bar saints, surely? - can consider yourselves GIT’s dream audience or...the Guys’ Ideal Turnout (these will only get more tedious!), if you will.

For those not in the know, GIT, under the guidance of Dan Atkinson, Jon Richardson and Lloyd Langford, is a quiz show with social networking at its core. Its tangents however are many and varied! Principally claiming to make judgements on anyone and everyone incapable of operating internet privacy settings, along the way the show also incorporates:

• a variety of increasingly surreal rounds including guessing which parts of Lloyd’s head are concealing fruit, Dan’s dubious pictures of animal anatomy, and a somewhat unrelated but hilarious taste test
• some rather imaginative and usually totally non-PC artwork
• a handful of dressing up
• and what every good quiz show needs - a gimp mask (bought second hand on ebay)!

Confused? You may well be. Unlike the (usually) excessively practiced and finely-tuned solo shows, very little about GIT is predetermined. However, instead of this being problematic, it is in fact rather refreshing. This trio clearly ‘get’ each other and the spontaneous nature of the show gives them the chance to bounce ideas (and abuse) off each other and the audience. It allows them to show why they do what they do, that their ability to think on their feet is second to none and that they are all capable of one of comedy’s key ingredients; Greatly Impressive Timing (strike 2!). The audience never knows what’s in store and quite often nor do the Gits. Whilst others believe this has attributed to the failure of the show, I can’t help but feel it’s the very thing that leads to its success. Admittedly as the week went on the show did deteriorate a little, but in the somewhat artificial and exhausting situation that is the Edinburgh Festival, this was to be expected.

Having been one of the privileged few to witness the inauguration of GIT right back at the start of this year, I was particularly looking forward to seeing how the boys had progressed their show. In hindsight I’m not sure ‘progressed’ is quite the right word. Nevertheless in spite of the chaos, or indeed because of it, the Greatly Improvised Trio (surely what GIT must stand for?!) delivered a cracking show. Long may they continue winging it!

Catch them at their GIT Christmas Special on Dec 15th.

Comedy Hen

Day 2 - Amused Moose Laugh Off Grand Final 2010; Jon Richardson, Don't Happy, Be Worry; Jimmy McGhie

Amused Moose Laugh Off Grand Final 2010 – The Bongo Club

Being the Grand Final of a 6 month search claiming to “showcase outstanding stars-in-the-making” and with thousands of young hopefuls trying to break into the world of stand up, this show should have delivered the cream of the crop. Whether it was nerves that got to some of the finalists or complacency is unclear, but what is obvious is that some of them just aren’t ready for the big time yet. In particular Mark Restuccia seemed to be somewhat lacking, with nothing individual or distinctive to his act and a rather dull delivery. Granted comedy is subjective but in this case it would appear that the majority of the audience agreed, for once the votes were counted, those who struggled ranked nowhere. Having been pitched as a ‘Grand Final’ the overall standard of this show was disappointing and wasn’t much different to catching those up-and-coming acts who try their hand at a 5 minute slot down at your local comedy club.

That said eventual winner Rob Beckett was the show’s saving grace (along with host Stephen K Amos, naturally); personable, imaginative and with a Watsonesque delivery, Beckett is a wealth of comedic material who as a stand-alone act deserves 5* ratings. Runner up Liam Williams also deserves a mention for his engaging style. Reminiscent of fellow comedian Dan Atkinson (another comedian who deserves far greater recognition), Williams slightly chaotic but enthusiastic delivery ensured the audience were on his side even when his content occasionally let him down.

For the majority of these finalists stardom is a long way off; Williams will get there eventually but for Beckett it’s surely just around the corner.

Jon Richardson: Don’t Happy, Be Worry – Pleasance Above

Now I’m pretty sure comedy reviewers are meant to be impartial so here goes my review on my already declared ‘Master of Comedy’. Jon Richardson is AMAZING. Ah, erm, impartiality you say? Yes yes, ok! Admiration aside he’s still pretty darn good, so-called ‘disappointing’ Edinburgh or not (as his fellow GITS wouldn’t let him forget!)

Whilst last year’s show encouraged audiences to avoid life’s peaks and troughs (thereby sidestepping the depression that inevitably follows a high), drawing on his stint on Grouchy Young Men, this year Richardson’s focus is very much on turning molehills into mountains, letting the little things really get you down. In the firing line includes watching the news (too much going wrong in the world), optimists (too damn happy), that infamous Bobby McFerrin song (not enough worrying) and even his true love, football, or more precisely John Terry (too much philandering). All of which is delivered beneath a £500 prop of the very thing that led to this year’s tirade; a set of traffic lights, yes really.

Having experienced Richardson’s gigs numerous times, I didn’t go expecting an hour of carefree comedy (the clue is in the title after all) and therefore accordingly I wasn’t disappointed. Besides, these tales of woe are delivered, rather ironically, with such gusto that they are a delight to listen to. By the end of the show his childlike manner, self deprecation, and cheeky demeanour will mean you want to scoop him up and take him home in an attempt to reassure him that it’s all going to be alright (no? Just me then!).

Don’t let the misanthropic nature of his comedy put you off; he doesn’t expect you to agree with him (well aware is he of his ability to outgrump even the Grinch), and he isn’t there to convert you to his ways, far from it - Richardson doesn’t wish his predicament on anyone. In short he does the worrying so you can do the happying!

Following the unmitigated success of his 2009 show ‘This Guy at Night’, it may appear that Richardson has lost his way a little this Edinburgh but (against his better nature) he’s bound to find it again and in the meantime he’s still bloody excellent. Catch him on tour while you can.

Jimmy McGhie: The All-Powerful Warrior Who With His Endurance and Inflexible Will to Win Goes From Conquest to Conquest Leaving Fire in His Wake – Pleasance Courtyard

From the moment Jimmy McGhie walks on stage you can’t help but like him – affable, enthusiastic and unignorably easy on the eye, he ticks every box in terms of potential stardom. Not only does he get away with causing a ticketing nightmare by having what must be one of the longest title’s at this year’s fringe, but so too does he get away with brazenly adopting former African dictator Joseph Mobutu as the inspiration for his show. As a result of an ongoing (and somewhat reluctant) mission, this is the man that McGhie channels throughout the hour as he endeavours to become a more dynamic and purposeful human being.

As becomes apparent throughout the show, McGhie doesn’t think of himself as one of life’s go-getters. Christened ‘Jimmy Pies’ at school, having just turned 30 he now finds himself living with his older sister (before getting them both kicked out) and with hours to while away in Tesco Metro. And so ensues an hour of largely observational and self-exploratory comedy in which McGhie regales the audience with his inability to move with the technological times, his frustration with estate agents and his distaste for those ‘Gap Yah’ students he encounters whilst taking time out in Kenya. Not only are such tales cleverly crafted and smoothly interwoven, but McGhie also succeeds in bringing the hour to an agreeable conclusion.

So why the mediocre rating? Well, whilst the overall concept of his show is a good one, his ‘inner Mobutu’ is a device he doesn’t make enough use of. Despite it providing some of the biggest laughs of the night, by the end it felt little more than an excuse for McGhie to talk about what he perceives to be his rather lacklustre life. That’s the other main problem with his show; it feels just a little bit insincere, almost as if his material stems not from his own beliefs but rather an attempt to give the audience what they want. It’s what I would term ‘nice guy comedy’, nothing more nothing less.

This Edinburgh McGhie undoubtedly played it safe. That said, he is certainly a talented comedian who is swiftly rising through the comedy ranks – it’s just that unlike Mobutu, he’s not quite yet leaving fire in his wake

Comedy Hen