Seriously Funny Attempt

[slemslempike]

Yesterday I went to A Seriously Funny Attempt to get the Serious Fraud Office in the Dock with stewpotc and lsugaralmond. It was tres good. Beforehand we went to a Thai restaurant for dinner, and Carrie and I were very brave indeed. We seem to have the same ultra-sensitive taste-buds, and the yellow curry we had was delicious but a little spicy for me. Really nice though. I might try and make it myself some time. Then we went to Hammersmith Apollo to find out more about exactly what it was we were outraged about. It's the campaign to get the Serious Fraud Office to reopen its investiagation into BAE Systems dealings with Saudi Arabia, of which more details are here. And they said that they'd raised about £40,000 to do the challenge, which is really good. "Do the challenge" sounds a bit like they're going to run a marathon dressed in a wacky rubber outfit, but I can't think of the proper way of putting it. Raising the challenge, probably.

Anyway. The first half was compered by Jo Caulfield, who I don't like terribly much anyway, and this was exacerbated by the bit in her blurb which said that she was an inspiration to would-be fmeale comics, and chose this quote from The Times - "Jo Caulfield is the sort of female stand-up who makes you feel better about female stand-up". Jo Caulfield makes me feel slightly worse about stand up in general. I suspect that they mean she tends towards quite a laddish style of humour, so she doesn't make the review think of icky women things. Huh. Anyway, she was bearable. Did her Argos thing, which I could have done without.

The second half was compered by Phil Nichol, who was largely imcomprehensible, and when he wasn't being incomprehensible, was very loud. I did not warm to him at all, though I did like his song, "The Only Gay Eskimo".

I can't remember what order most of these were in, but the acts were:

Simon Amstell (doing bits of his Edinburgh show, which I still enjoyed the second time around)

Ed Byrne (also very hard to follow when he started because he was speaking so fast. Did stuff about homophobes thinking that Hurricane Katrina was sent to kill The Gays)

Mark Steel (annoyed me a little bit by saying that once you found out that Isaac Newton was gay it made you think of him in a whole new way, and then illustrating that by making double entendres in a camp voice, but was pretty good apart from that)

Omid Djalili (was lovely and very funny, but kept slipping out of his accent before it seemed that he meant to)

Josie Long (pleased to see her, as I've heard a lot of people's opinions (mostly very negative) about her, and hadn't been terribly impressed by the bits I'd seen on youtube, but thought that probably wasn't a good way to find out about someone. I thought she was okay, and I think I might have enjoyed her a lot more in a smaller gig, when she was doing a longer set. Also, although I am also a big fan of enthusiasm, I really dislike it when people describe everything as "amazing" and "lovely" as if to show how special they are not to by cynical. But I would make a minor effort to see her again, I think.)

Mark Thomas (hurrah, funny and right)

Robin Ince (good, more about science vs creationsim in schools)

Stewart Lee (oh, lovely lovely man. Bits from Edinburgh about BB racism and the values of the Carphone Warehouse, which when I saw him before he continues with a bit about Russell Brand having to do an apology for racism on BBLB, and so I was a bit gleefully hopeful that he might do that here, but he didn't. Which was possibly because the next person was...)

Russell Brand (I really, really like his legs. I could happily watch them for a long time. I think he's quite funny as well, though his faux-naivety can be a bit wearing)

and then at the very end there was a surprise thing, and it was Bill Bailey! Which I was very excited about, even though it meant I missed my train and took up the very kind offer of a bed from lsugaralmond. Thank you again. I enjoyed the evening very much indeed, and at some point today I must dig out the postcard we were given and find out who my MP is and send it to him. I do know that he's tory, and I think he might be called Ben something, but I don't know his name. I have corresponded with him before (mostly about abortion) but through that writetoyourmp site.

Comments

[cellardor.livejournal.com]

We were very brave with our tastebuds indeed. And you've remembered much more about what people said last night than me. I remember 'funny' and 'not so funny'. And yes, I have the card next to me so must find out who my MP is.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Mostly I remember because I know the sorts of things they do already, and in some cases exactly what they were going to say! Although also I was trying to work out who Robin Ince's voice reminded me of, and I've just worked out that it's very much Stewart Lee.

[heyiya.livejournal.com]

Ooh, Josie Long is being all successful! That's exciting. I know her vaguely; a couple of my friends went to university with her. :)

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

She seems to be really well thought of by a lot of comedians. She said last night that it was the biggest gig she'd ever done, which might account for some of her mannerisms, which were very distracting. But I would like to see more of her. Tenuous claims to fame FTW!

[heyiya.livejournal.com]

I saw her at the Edinburgh Festival early in her career, I think I've seen her someplace else too. I liked her a lot; though I can easily imagine what you mean with the too-nice-to-be-cynical mannerisms. She is a lovely person, though, from what I can tell. :)

*clings to loose showbiz connections* (I went to uni with Miles Jupp, too)

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

My aunt was taught to play the piano by Jeremy Northam's brother! I think. It may have been a different relation of his.

[morganmuffle]

*pokes Mark Steel* He is supposed to be always shiny and cheering and not be an idiot but that never quite seems to work with people. Oh well.

I feel I should support Jo Caulfield because she's doing well and we need more women on things like Mock the Week but oh she's just not that great really. She was quite good at warm up and sometimes she has alright jokes but then she makes me squirm and it's less good.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Mark Steel's a bit weird sometimes though. He did a good thing on The News Quiz I went to see a while ago about doing an article on a gay bar, and how arrogant he'd been to assume that people would want to talk to him, though. I like your icon!

While I don't think that there is naturally a separate way of being funny for men and women, I do think that her style tends towards a more typically male style, which gets thought of as neutral a lot of the time. And so she is easy for people to slot in because she's not challenging, and it is better when they have more women on things, but it's odd that she gets praised as a female comic when she doesn't really do that. Also I think her stuff about Argos and how "they" all look like criminals is really horrible, and a lot of her other jokes are quite lazy and predictable.

[morganmuffle]

I like it when he writes columns, either I agree or he says something that at least makes me think, and I love the Mark Steel Lectures with a crazy love but every now and then he says odd things and I shake my head sadly and then promptly pretend they never happened which is a bit silly really *g*

Lazy is a very good word to describe her comedy, she tends to go for the easy joke I think which is sometimes funny and sometimes really not and she's certaily not a comedian whose comedy centres on her gender, or even touches on it in anything mroe than passing.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I have the Lectures waiting for me to watch them - I've heard a lot of good things about it so I'm really looking forward to them now!

[notmarcie.livejournal.com]

I wanted to see that but I was in Scotland. I saw Mark Thomas last year at the Dancehouse doing his arms trade show, the last half of which was about BAE, Newsnight and the Hinduja brothers. It was horrifying and funny at the same time. It's the show that was recorded for the DVD including the mini protest at the Beeb afterwards when the police came too late.


Jo Caulfield just isn't very funny. I prefer her to Andy Parsons on Mock the Week but that's because Parson's make me cringe everytime he opens his mouth. SHOUTING DOES NOT MAKE IT FUNNY !

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I think you'll FIND...
...
...
...that it DOES!

I think she's okay on Mock the Week, but then I don't think that Mock the Week is actually very good for comedy - it all seems to blend into one thing with them now. When they used to have more guests (instead of regulars) there were more different styles and opinions, but now that there are four regular people (plus Dara), the guests have to really fit in with that or get lost in the melle. I still watch it, and enjoy most of it, but I'm finding bits of it quite tiresome.

Mark Thomas is in Manchester again in November, I was thinking of going down for that. I saw him there once, but that must have been years ago now. It was the show that was mostly about Coke.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Melee even. I know this. I also know that there are accents, but I am too lazy to do them.