COMEDY LISTINGS - June/July 2013 Bumper Summer Edition!

Whether you like it or not, summer's here, and that means it's Edinburgh preview season here in Leicester. Bottle Rocket are putting on the usual fine selection of previews at Firebug, which include Nick Helm, Pat Cahill, Chris Stokes and a DLCF2013 Winners' Special featuring Romesh Ranganathan (Best Show) and Brett Goldstein (Best New Show). The Cookie Jar also hosts a strong selection of preview shows from the likes of Andrew Lawrence, Paul Foot, Paul Chowdry and Seann Walsh.

FESTIVAL DIARY DAY 5 - Rhys Mathewson and Simon Donald

After the explosion of life and laughter over the weekend, the city centre was strangely quiet last night. If it wasn't for all the DLCF banners and posters dotted around the place, one might've been surprised to learn that there was a comedy festival happening at all.
But happening it was, albeit on a smaller scale than over the weekend. I had two shows on my schedule and hoped to make it to a couple more afterwards, but due to a slight logistical f**k-up on my part I had to head home early to avoid being locked out of my house all night (so apologies to those performing in the late shows at the Looking Glass that I never made it to).

Value for money - Rhys Mathewson

FESTIVAL DIARY DAY 2 - the morning after the night before...

It's ON.
The festival has begun with an explosion of colour, laughter and large animals. It all began with the VIP launch party at Chutney Ivy, which has been transformed once again into Dave's Curry House by Reach Marketing - and a fine job they've done, with red carpet and other luxury trimmings, full-size knight in armour, several large animals dotted around the place and photos of past performers adorning the walls. Outside we could see Captain Comedy wandering the streets along with a posse of Nando's promoters led by a giant chicken - which immediately led everyone to wonder whether we'd see Peter Griffin turn up at some point to fight it. Sadly not... yet.

FESTIVAL DIARY DAY 1 - and so the odyssey begins...

Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival Begins today - HOORAY!!!! After months of planning and preparation, the city explodes with comedic mayhem this evening, as the city plays host to over 500 shows over 17 days!

I've been down into the town today and there's banners everywhere, Festival Staff handing out brochures, comedians sitting around in venues drinking coffee and venue owners rushing around making last-minute preparations. I also clocked a mildly terrifying laughing sound, playing on a loop at the top of the High Street, and a life-size bear outside Chutney Ivy! It's all go...

LCS INTERVIEW - Viz creator Simon Donald talks swear-words & comedy heroes

Sultan of Swearing - Simon Donald

If you've ever found yourself sniggering at a copy of the foul-mouthed comic Viz (and who hasn't at some point in their lives?), then the chances are you'll know that it was created in the late 70s by Geordie likely lad Simon Donald and his brother Chris. These days Simon's a stand-up comic and hasn't worked on the mag for years, but is still heavily associated with the cavalcade of sweary, politically incorrect characters it brought to life, such as Sid the Sexist, the Fat Slags, Roger Mellie and Buster Gonad. A hugely popular Viz spin-off was their regularly updated 'bible of swearing' known as Roger's Profanisaurus, which enhanced the vocabulary of filth-fans across the country, and currently holds over 300,000 rude phrases. 

So it's safe to say Simon knows a fair bit about swearing then. That's why he's taken to the road to educate as well entertain you with his show Simon Donald's School of Swearing, which comes to The Exchange Bar in Leicester this Monday (11th Feb). I took time out from huffing and puffing about how busy I am, to bother Simon last week with some questions which he was kind enough to answer, instead of telling me to go f*** myself...

WIN 2 tickets to see THE RUBBERBANDITS at DLCF!

It's competition time again - woohoo!!

Imagine two guys from Limerick in tracksuits, with plastic carrier bags on their heads, performing demented hip-hop songs with titles like "Horse Outside', 'I Wanna Fight your Father' and 'Spastic Hawk'. Intrigued? Of course you are.

FESTIVAL PREVIEW #3: The Best of the Rest of the Fest (part 1)

OK, it's getting awfully close to the start of Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival 2013, and I had lots of preview posts planned, but time waits for no man and I have been very distracted by the twin evils of work and illness (awwww bless!)
So I've combined some of the best bits from the remaining categories of comedy, to give you a few more pointers in terms of shows to look out for at the festival, all neatly pigeon-holed for your convenience (and the performers' annoyance, I suspect!)

Nutter: Terry Alderton

WIN TWO TICKETS to see RUSSELL KANE at De Montfort Hall

Okeydokey, we've got another fantastic ticket competition for you comedy-lovin' folk, and it's a biggie!

Russell Kane, the strutting, metrosexual star of Britain Unzipped and Live at The Electric, is coming to De Montfort Hall on 20th February as part of Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival, and Leicester Comedy Scene has two tickets to give away courtesy of the kind folks at Avalon Entertainment Ltd!

Of his latest live show, entitled Posturing Delivery, Russell says: "What if I’m one of the guys who never has a baby? Why is this not a 'male subject'? I plan to give birth, live on stage, then raise it - in front of you. Come along!"

WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS to see Edward Aczel at The Belmont Hotel

Righty, following on from my Offbeat Stand-ups preview post, here's another awesome ticket competition for you lucky folks. Courtesy of Bottle Rocket Comedy Club, Leicester Comedy Scene has two tickets to give away to see the magnificent Edward Aczel performing his show 'Edward Aczel has no clear plan emerging' at the Belmont Hotel on Sat 23rd Feb, as part of Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival.

Edward Aczel is known as a hero of 'anti-comedy'. His style is shambolic, poorly presented and he has no confidence in his own skill as a stand-up. For anyone else, this combination would add up to a terrible, unwatchable show, but somehow in the hands of Aczel, it works. His complete lack of witty material and slapdash approach to delivery make for a unique and very funny show. And to prove it, he won the coveted Malcolm Hardee Award at Edinburgh in 2008 and was a runner-up in the 2005 BBC New Comedy Awards, alongside the then-unknown Sarah Millican.

Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year - finalists announced

The excitement is growing as festival time draws ever closer. Today, the finalists have been announced for one of the most prestigious awards in comedy. Every year, the cream of the country's up-and-coming stand-ups compete for the title of Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year as part of Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival.

The 8 finalists have been hand-picked by some of the country's top comedy promoters, and will each perform a set at The Y Theatre on Saturday, February 23, hoping the competition will be a stepping stone to stardom, as it was for previous winners Rhod Gilbert, Johnny Vegas, Mitch Benn, Seann Walsh and Jason Manford.

WIN TWO TICKETS TO THE OFFICIAL FESTIVAL PREVIEW SHOW!!

I told you I had free stuff to give away!

Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival is now only 34 days away from exploding into life, but before that we are being treated to the tantalising aperitif that is the official Festival Preview Show at De Montfort Hall next Friday. And because they love you so much, YES YOU, the festival bigwigs have kindly allowed me to give away a pair of tickets to this fantastic event, which features snippets of all kinds of shows from next month's festival, and is generally regarded as one of the year's best nights out in Leicester - Damn you're lucky!

JANUARY COMEDY LISTINGS

So the world didn't end. Did you seriously think it would? Come on...
No, I'm afraid we've got to do it all over again. Another January back to work, still hung over from New Year's Eve, still skint from Christmas with about four hundred weeks to go 'til next payday. Or maybe that's just me. Anyway, don't mind me - I'm just a little grumpy due to lack of nicotine. Thankfully there is a bright side to all this 'inevitable march of time' business, for a new year means a new month, and that means a brand spanking new set of comedy listings for you to peruse - hurray!

The big event this month has to be the festival preview show at De Montfort Hall on Friday 11th, hosted by Phoenix Nights' Dave Spikey, with acts Piff the Magic Dragon, Pat Cahill and Suzi Ruffell confirmed so far, with the Other Preview Show happening on the same night night over at Chutney Ivy, hosted by Ed Gamble with Gareth Richards, Angela Barnes and Joel Dommett with more to be confirmed. And keep your eyes peeled on Facebook and Twitter over the next few days and weeks, because I've got some FREE TICKETS to give away!!!

Tue 8th - Laughing Calves feat Maureen Younger @ The Red Tent

Fri 11th  - Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival Preview Show @ De Montfort Hall

Fri 11th - The Other Preview Show @ Chutney Ivy

Fri 11th/Sat 12th - Roger Monkhouse, Junior Simpson, Julian Deane @ Just the Tonic

Tue 15th - Lions Eat Ice Cream: Dr Ettrick-Hogg Takeover @ Looking Glass

Tue 15th - Big Value Comedy Auditions @ Just the Tonic

Wed 16th - Nibbles with Giggles feat Ben Hustwayte and Hannah Silvester @ Entropy

Fri 18th / Sat 19th - Phil Kay, Gordon Southern, Jen Brister, Darrell Martin @ Just the Tonic

Mon 21st - The Mitford Sisters @ The Cookie Jar

Tue 22nd - Big Value Comedy Auditions @ Just the Tonic

Thu 24th - Unidentified Flying Improv @ Just the Tonic

Thu 24th - Should I Stay Or Should I Go? @ Kayal

Fri 25th / Sat 26th - Dave Johns, Pat Burtscher, Mandy Knight @ Just the Tonic

Tue 29th - Lions Eat Ice Cream: Festival Sampler @ Looking Glass

Tue 29th - Big Value Comedy Auditions @ Just the Tonic

There you have it - email, tweet, prod, shout or throw things at me if I've missed anything off. Christ knows what I'm going to do for listings next month - there's over 500 shows on! Tell you what - pick yourself up a festival brochure now, they're all over the city and county, then switch the telly off for half an hour and have a damn good look through it, picking out some shows you'd like to see...  YES THAT'S RIGHT - YOU DO SOME OF THE WORK FOR A CHANGE!! Meanwhile, like the jolly good Samaritan I am, I'll be posting during this month with some of my picks of the festival line-up, and if I'm feeling generous I might even break them down into categories to help you narrow down the somewhat elephantine choice of shows on offer.

Deal?

Good. And keep an eye out for the FREE TICKETS coming very soon!!

Cheers,

Paul.

All Hail The Book of a Thousand Dreams

So the time has finally arrived, comedy fans - the brochure for next year's festival is on the loose! 75,000 copies are now floating around the city and county for you to take home and salivate over, then throw away the sodden mess, pick up another one and try not to ruin it with your sputum.

Obviously I'm particularly pleased to be appearing on page 101 of the brochure (right at the end of the main listings), but obviously the main excitement comes from the 500 or so shows that will be taking place across the city and beyond, in 17 days of comedic bliss - I can't wait to immerse myself in the mayhem! You can book your tickets through the venues themselves, or book multiple shows across venues at the festival website http://www.comedy-festival.co.uk/, so start booking now!

Like a vulture with a biro, I've been hungrily circling shows that I'm particularly looking forward to, and I'll be doing plenty of preview posts between now and February, giving you the lowdown on which shows I'll be seeing. I'll also try and break down the gelatinous comedy mass into bitesize chunks, with posts on which shows will suit which tastes, the best free shows for the financially pathetic (of which I am one), and there will even be a few FREE TICKETS to be won right here (as soon as I've devised a silly enough competition), so watch this space!

In conclusion:

REVIEW: Helm and Alderton shine at the Y Theatre

Saturday 14th April 2012: Fresh from their triumph at being named Best Promoter at this year's Comedy Festival awards, Bottle Rocket Comedy presented their first line-up of the new season at the Y Theatre last night, and I think it's fair (albeit massively clichéd) to say it was a game of two halves.

To begin with, the audience were reasonably reluctant to get involved and compère Ed Gamble may have struggled if it weren't for Ann from Fleckney, who proved to be a constant goldmine of  'isn't she posh and bonkers?' laughs during the evening, although her willingness to talk at length to the compère did begin to grate with some audience members after a while.

First act Pat Cahill delivered some very inventive material from a brain that is clearly adept at sideways thinking, and some of his darker material, whilst not to everyone's taste, drew pockets of heavy laughter from certain areas of the room.

Next up was Roisin Conaty, whose 'chatty girl down the pub' persona and fairly standard observational material never really got the audience going. She seemed at times painfully aware of this on stage, making references to her sweating and occasional stuttering, and failing to engage the audience in any particularly successful banter. Nonetheless, some of her observations were very well received and she ended her set strongly with the 'porn tape' anecdote, leaving the stage to warm applause.

It seemed clear that the audience had come mainly to see the final two acts. First on after the interval was Nick Helm, who was as disturbingly brilliant as always. He simply doesn't let the crowd be placid, and forces them to take part by shouting very loud threats at them until they do his bidding. This proved to be a winning tactic, as his unique combination of bitterness, bad one-liners delivered with gusto, enforced singalongs and uncomfortably intimate audience interaction had the crowd regularly hooting uncontrollably.

And finally there was headliner Terry Alderton, who was.... erm.... um...
It's difficult to find words that can fully express the bizarre mixture of voices, sounds, facial expressions and movements that is Terry Alderton. His set was like a fever dream, flitting unpredictably and non-sequentially from wordless opera to reverse midget-walking, through talking shoes and Formula One noises, 'pilled-up' dancing and self-deflation. Baffling and edgy, Alderton is clearly a massive talent - a master of physical comedy, expressions and accents, and able to self-criticise and ad-lib during the set without losing the momentum of the show. Some will be put off by the sheer randomness of his act, but those who like to embrace the chaos will want to see him again and again.

The next Bottle Rocket event at The Y is on Saturday 28th April, headlined by Jarred Christmas - for details and tickets, go to this bit of the web: http://brcomedy.com/events/

Five Go Mad at The Y this Saturday

Still grinning smugly at their award for Best Promoter from this year's Comedy Festival, Bottle Rocket Comedy present their first awesome line-up of the year at the Y Theatre this Saturday.
Headlined by the fast-moving and unpredictable multi-award winner Terry Alderton, it's bound to be a cracking night with four other quality acts on the bill.
The first of these is Nick Helm, who epitomises the word 'unique' - let's just say I went to see him in February and he had me up on stage in a pink rain mac, ringing a little pink bell and tap-dancing on bubble wrap. Prepare to be shouted at...
Also appearing are Edinburgh award winner and burgeoning panel show star Roisin Conaty; Tom Rosenthal, who won Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year in 2011 and has since appeared in Channel 4's Friday Night Dinner, and last but not least Ed Gamble - the 'straight man' of comic duo Peacock and Gamble (and by straight man I mean mildly less juvenile, but still wonderfully silly nonetheless).
Tickets are £13 and you can get yours at http://www.leicesterymca.co.uk/y-theatre-whats-on-details.php?listing=1070

Are students funny? Find out on Tuesday night...

DeMontfort University's finest student comics go head-to-head this Tuesday night at Just the Tonic, in the final of the, ahem, snappily-titled 'So You Think You're Footlightingly Funny?!' contest. Judged by Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival supremo Geoff Rowe, funnyman Mark Olver and Andrew Leitch from Big Difference Company (the charity behind DLCF), 11 student funnypersons will battle it out for the title of DMU Footlights Comedian of the Year.
Entry is £5 on the door and bring some ID if you're lucky enough to look like you might be under 18!
Visit the Facebook event page for more details: https://www.facebook.com/events/289877327733197/

2012 Comedy Festival Awards - The Winners

For those of you who missed it, the winners of the Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival Awards were announced last week, in a ceremony at the City Rooms on Hotel Street. Chosen by a panel of 11 judges who were forced at gunpoint to watch more than 400 shows a day (okay that's a lie), the winners are:

Best Show - Chris Stokes for 'An Opera Written On Napkins'

Best New Act - Matt Richardson 

Best Venue with over 200 capacity - The Little Theatre 

Best Small Venue - The Crumblin' Cookie

Best Promoter - Bottle Rocket Comedy 

Special Contribution Award - Curve

Make Me Happy Community Project - Guerilla Knitting

Lifetime Contribution Award - City Council

Jolly well done and pats on the back to all the winners, and while we're on the subject of winners I may as well mention Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year winner Matt Rees, who won the coveted title and £1,000 back in February. Good on yer, sunshine!

Reach inside the Cookie Jar...

The Crumblin' Cookie (next to Dominoes toy store on the high street) used to be a great little place to eat lunch or grab a coffee, but now it's so, so much more... This humble little cafe has grown in scope and reputation immeasurably over the last couple of years, into a great place to have a drink in the evening and a cracking little music and comedy venue (winning Best New Venue at the 2010 Comedy Festival Awards and Best Overall Venue last year).
And it doesn't stop there - for there is seemingly no end to owner Antony 'Tinny' Hopkins' ambitions for this place. In late January, renovation work complete, he opened the Cookie Jar, the Crumblin' Cookie's basement venue, which hosted a plethora of paid shows during this years festival, whilst the free comedy took place upstairs. My recommendation - follow 'em on Twitter, like 'em on Facebook, and get along there to meet Tinny himself - literally one of the friendliest men I've ever met!
Shows coming up include Matthew Osborn + Matt Richardson + Carl Jones + Andrew Ryan MC on Thursday 29th March, and Andrew Maxwell on Thursday 26th April
Go here for tickets: https://www.facebook.com/thecookiejarleicester?sk=app_211526985586920
Go on, do it then...