North Star, Ealing Broadway, Sun 28th Oct

Soooo, after an amazing 2nd fortnight at The Corner House, Windsor, where the crowd went wild for Manos, Peter White, Nick Beaton and MC Dave Chawner we wind our way with our comedy woadshow of wit back east to The North Star in Ealing Broadway.

This month we have the guitarrific Gwillum Argos 

The lustrous Luke Benson

The elegantly effusive Elena Procopiu

And the japeworthy joker himself, Jimmy Bird

And it's all free!

The North Star

43 The Broadway

W5 5JN

Bizarre & Wonderful Venues: Zero Degrees, Blackheath

Had a fantastic meeting yesterday at a surprisingly wonderful venue in slightly posh Blackheath, Zero Degrees.

What first appears as a small shop front extolling the virtues of a micro brewery, replete with big silver big, opens into a huge, wonderfully designed space, Tardis styley.

A lower level restaurant, cavernous bar, huge mezzanine level, open kitchen and glass enclosed brewery all decked out in a sort of Andy Warhol meets Jackson Pollock style.

The new manager, former actor Vincent, cut his teeth in some of LA's best bars and is looking to revamp the bar, turning it into a SE London go to place for really good beer and all sorts of events. We'll be looking to run comedy on a monthly basis as well so will keep you posted as to what and when.

In the meantime I'd really encourage you to have a look if you're in the neighbourhood. Hell, even if you're not its worth the trip.

Zero Degrees

TELEPHONE: 020 8852 5619

EMAIL: BLACKHEATH@ZERODEGREES.CO.UK

29/31 MONTPELIER VALE

BLACKHEATH

LONDON. SE3 0TJ

7 On Red Comedy Club is Back! FREE!

After a short break 7 on Red @Walkabout Covent Garden is back! AND IT'S FREE!

Dave Chawner and Myself - Under the guise of D2 Events - have joined forces with 7 on Red's Ria Lina to see what we can do with this rather wonderful night.

Firstly we've moved it from Tuesday to Sunday. This Sunday for the 1st one in fact. Sunday the 14th. Sunday 14th October. Sunday 14th October at 8pm to be precise.

Secondly, it's now FREEEEEE!
The idea is to make this a regular, relaxed 'hang out' type gig for comics and punters alike. If you're not gigging or you finish early come down for a beer or two. Raucousness is encouraged, clothing optional, and networking only permitted if it's sufficiently lubricated.

Oooh, and the beer and food is like... well cheap, with regular offers provided by the bar!

And it's still a gig so to get you endorphins flowing we have:

Hill & Weedon

Julie Jones

Malcolm Head

Stevie Gray

All controlled by phenomenon that is THE ROGUES!

Corner House, Windsor, Tues 2nd October

Huge thanks to the Corner House and the people of Windsor, sorry, Slough. Full house last night for our inaugural comedy venture at this newly refurbished and newly managed venue.

More technical sound issues despite two hours trying to re-wire an amp beforehand but a great night nonetheless.

A really nice room to play with own bar at the back and a great attentive crowd. Lot's of laughs despite my best efforts to deaden it;)

Next one will be Wed 17th October from 8pm. It's FREE again and will be busy so drop The Corner House and email or call them on 01753 862031


Huge thanks of course to:

Danielle Ward

Dave Chawner

Dave Green

Stevie Gray

Julie Jones

Joy Carter

Last Chance: FREE COMEDY Windsor!

Even though it's a free gig, space is being rapidly booked up for tomorrow night's free Anarcomedy @The Corner House.

Grab your table now by calling James on 01753 862 031 or email thecornerhousewindsor@gmail.com.

Featuring Danielle Ward, Julie Jones, Joy Carter, Dave Green and Stevie Gray.

NEW VENUE: The Corner House, Windsor, Tues 2nd Oct, 8pm - FREE!

Remember the Alma in Farnham? Remember? Well James and Dan have been such good boys they've now taken over the running of The Corner House in Windsor too.

And they want ANARCOMEDY! Well who wouldn't really.

The lineup for our first Windsor gig is out of this world with some of the UK's favourites coming down so bloody get booking your tables. AND IT'S BLOODY FREE!

So who's on?

The defiantly defibrillating Danielle Ward - Yup, the famous one on the wireless and sometimes talking box.

"... silly, sick, surreal or just plain showbiz glitzy. Great fun" - Chortle

The sublimely schitzophrenic Stevie Gray - Famous among pirates and the families of former Beatles.

"Stevie Gray is a rare find of a comedian - not just very funny, he oozes warmth and charm"  - Jamie Glassman, Writer, Da Ali G Show

The perennially prison worthy Julie Jones - Infamous. Really infamous.

“The act that shone out the most… her comic timing was impeccable, and just her facial expressions were enough to set me off.” - Large Manchester

The scintillatingly surreal Dave Green - Fish.

“One of the most original, inventive and creative acts on the circuit. Oh, and most importantly, he’s spectacularly funny too.”
- James Gill, Always Be Comedy

And the jubilantly jovial Joy Carter - Wireless famous with a great signal. And telly famous.

"... spontaneous, eccentric and a true individual unafraid of
enjoying herself and being different’ - Amy Rich, BBC

So no excuse.

 Anarcomedy @The Corner House, Windsor

8pm,Tues Oct 2nd

FREE!

North Star, Ealing Broadway 23/09/12

Sometimes comedy, like love is a battlefield. We stand, and whatever the rest of the lyrics are.

Last night at The North Star was proof of this.

An absolutely stellar lineup it must be said but the North Star is a difficult room to play and huge thanks to Darren and Amy for wanting to keep pushing forward with Anarcomedy every month. It's a free gig in an open room meaning background noise is a problem. Many punters, despite publicity, stumble across the gig thus lacking the usual investment in having come deliberately for comedy. We're still working on technical solutions for sound as well. Wireless mics are great but generally require a more orally intimate relationship with them reducing their suitability for stand up where gestures and mic movement are significant elements in a performance.

Despite these difficulties the night was opened by the always solid Jason Patterson. He did great work with what began as a distracted crowd, opting for engagement over material as a table of three at the front decided that somehow their drunkenness meant the gig was for their entertainment only and engaged in slurred banter throughout the set. Jason's naturalness is always a great counterpoint to such annoyances and he took them easily in his stride.

Following Jason was last month's open mic winner Zahra Barri. Zahra's style is an off kilter ditziness with some great right angles to her material. It was a shame that mic problems and background noise meant her voice didn't always come through but she survived with aplomb and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more of her.

Closing out the first half was Mark Restuccia, a comedian of whom I've been quite a fan for a number of years. Again, sound quality and the interruptions of our three drunken pseudo-comics in the corner didn't quite do justice to Mark's wonderfully droll approach but feedback after showed almost universal approval of his style and his experience came through in his superbly relaxed approach to both his material and audience engagement.

The North Star is a strange venue in that we tend to see a slight change in audience in the second half with most seats being filled by the time Stevie Gray opened. He's loud, cheeky and charming and having had the benefit of seeing how the room had worked in the first half he charged on determined to take no prisoners. His one legged pirate Linda McCartney tribute song accompanied by an unsuspecting audience member replete with hook, eyepatch and pirate hat is the perfect antidote to a noisy room and reengaged the audience while dragging more punters in from the back rooms.

Closing out the night was the ever wonderful Elizabeth Hotson whose ASBO wielding alter-ego, Julie Jones, never fails to impress. I'm sure none of the punters present will listen to the Casualty theme tune in quite the same way again. The only down side was her close due to the fact she had to reenter the stage to save the crowd from my absence caused by having to mix the music for her set in an office above the pub. Apologies to Julie but you know I love you cos I'm scared of you.

Sooooo, the night was won despite technical difficulties and feedback was excellent on the whole.

And lessons learned?

The night needs to become a more specifically engaged comedy night with the room more obviously set aside for such. 

Better sound management needs to be in place with a more dynamic mic set up and mixing options available in the room itself.

Don't worry, I'm working on it and thankfully The North Star's Darren and Amy are in for the long haul so things can only get better from here on in.

Once again, huge thanks to Jason Patterson, Zahra Barri, Mark Restuccia, Stevie Gray, Julie Jones and of course the Ealing crowd. 

Anarcomedy will be back at The North Star on Oct 28th. See y'all then.

Anarcomedy is back @The North Star, Ealing Broadway

After an awesome first show last month, we're back at the North Star, Ealing Broadway this Sunday 23rd September.

AND IT'S STILL FREE!

Mark Restuccia: 
‘Like Jimmy Carr before he presented mind numbing quiz shows on Channel 4 and when he was fresh, he produces comedy by inverting normal day to day topics into funny yet sickening punchlines’
- Comedy Central Live

'His act was like a Royal toilet - always polished but often filthy' 

-Channel4.com Comedy Police Review

1. -Three Weeks

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      Julie Jones:
      "...convincing, so well written and so funny..." - John Scott, MC and headliner at the legendary Stand clubs
      
      
      “The act that shone out the most was the act who eventually won… her comic timing was impeccable, and just her facial expressions were enough to set me off.” 
       - Large Manchester
      
      
      
      

      Jason Patterson:

      
      

      "Patterson is a natural performer, taking interaction with the audience in his stride and hitting his comic marks with aplomb" - Broadway Baby
      “Jason Patterson absolutely sounds the part. He’s got a rich, deep voice that oozes confidence, and a perfectly measured delivery that gives him instant authority.”- Chortle
      
      

      
      

      
      

      
      

      Stevie Gray:

      
      

      "Stevie is well on the way" - Ed Byrne

      
      

      "Stevie Gray is one of the best up and coming acts on the circuit.  With boundless energy on stage,  a cheeky smile and an enviable warmth.  He continues to impress and is destined for big things". 

      - John Soffe, Promoter 

      
      

      Zahra Barri:

      
      

      "A genuine airhead" - Christian Riou 400 Television

      
      

      "Not as bad as I had feared!" - Cate Donnnegoold, BBC

      
      

      "She gets less attractive the more she speaks" 

      - Matt Dwyer, Comedian

      
      

      
      

      
      

      
      

      
      

      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      

The Good Ship Comedy

The problem with having a blog is that you need to actually write stuff... regularly.

It's been a mad week or two so apologies for the radio silence but big news on the horizon, more of which will come in later posts.

In the mean time there's been lots of gigs, meeting venues and comics, and general schmoozing. In particular I had the pleasure of popping in to The Good Ship Comedy on the Kilburn High Road last Monday courtesy of the wonderful resident host Juliet Stephens.

The Good Ship is a cracking venue involving a bar, floor, tables, beer and what can only be described as a cock fighting pit cunningly disguised as a good old fashioned mosh pit. With chairs.

Headlining the night was the guitar wielding, loop FX pedaling (and pedaling) Rob Deering. I've seen Rob a few times and am always struck by how it always takes me five minutes to work out that time hasn't folded back on itself and brought a young Robert Llewellyn (Kryten from Red Dwarf) back to the stage. I'm currently petitioning the Red Dwarf writers to write in a story of Kryten's misspent youth just to give Rob a shot at challenging the mechanoid master.

KrytenRob Deering

Anyhoo, Rob was, as always, awesome, Juliet controlled the night with relaxed aplomb and the only down side was missing out on winning the 99p shop bag raffle.

Considering it's a weekly gig, it's amazing how consistently strong every line-up is.

There are rumours of some changes at The Good Ship Comedy but more on that later. If you haven't  had a chance to liven your Monday's here you really should.

Bowled Over Comedy at The Balham Bowls Club Thurs, 6th September: The Return

Birthday's come but once a year and last night saw The Balham Bowls Club play host to resident night Bowled Over Comedy's 2nd.

And fist gig back after the summer break for the night that has become synonymous with both classy stand up and celebrity studded improv.

The night opened with the occasionally surreal and justifiably loveable Phil Higgins followed by the wonderful Julian England before being closed out by the always hilarious Sarah Pascal.

Unfortunately due to a weird bout of nerves and the fact I was supposed be hosting a Speed Date event I missed the entire bloody half. Gutted I missed those three.

Nonetheless I got to see the irrepressible Don Biswas open the second. I dragged Don down to The Alma in Farnham not long ago and he stormed it there so I was looking forward to seeing some of his new, more political material and he didn't disappoint. I loved him, the crowd loved him and the combination of old and new material worked a dream. If you've seen him before, it's time to see him again and if you haven't, you're in for a treat.

I popped on after Don, a wonderful but intimidating act to follow. Having been focussing on hosting and writing for the last year and a half this was my first proper set in bloody ages and, loathe as I am to admit it, I was bricking it. I've decided to reset the comedy button after such a break and reworked one of my first ever sets. I wouldn't say I knocked anyone out but it was just good to get back on stage, steal a few laughs and at least slap a couple of punters a bit.

Then came Juliet Stevens. I love watching Juliet with her tightly constructed yet rambling tales and she delivered last night. I still can't get 'It's porn... But it's TV... but it's porn..." out of  my head. I'll be popping down to her night - The Good Ship Comedy Club - in Kilburn on Monday so hopefully see some of you there.

And Bowled Over Comedy's 2nd birthday was headlined by the absolutely marvelous Jimmy Bird. Gag after gag was delivered through an occasionally perplexed, often cute, and always confident persona that provided the perfect vehicle for his often surreal set ups. And his Mum and Dad are lovely.






The great thing about Bowed Over nights at The Balham Bowls Club is that it's such a lovely room, the crowd is always receptive and its just a great venue to play.

Bowled Over will be back with an Improv night on October the 4th with Stand Up back on November 1st.

Stay tuned.

Fulham Gig Postponed But 2 New Venues!

Just a quick post this time:

To those of you who were booked or were coming along to the Fulham gig, it's been postponed by the venue for a month. Apologies folks.

However, we now have two new monthly venues on the books.

One in Balham which shall remain nameless for the time being and the other is The Corner House, Windsor. It's been taken over by the lovely James who also runs The Alma, Farnham. We'll be kicking off there on October 3rd. It's already been advertised in the local press so should be quite a good one.

Also will have some Xmas gig news and promotions coming soon so stay tuned.

J

The Dark Balham Rises for a Fiver! Bowled Over's 2nd Birthday!

Balham continues its meteoric rise as the South's leading comedy destination this Thursday at The Balham Bowls Club.  It's Bowled Over's 2nd birthday and still going strong.

                                 
                                                           Headlined by the wonderful JIM CAMPBELL

Plus

 Jimmy Bird

Juliet Stevens

Phil Higgins          Don Biswas

                                                                                           

And:

Sarah Pascal, Julian England and myself

And a quick note, a lack of photo does not denote lack of importance! Just... um... limited time:(


And it's only a fiver!!!!!

Tix going fast and available here: www.wegottickets.com/event/180723 or grab them at the bar