I got back last week from my first ever time performing at the Edinburgh Fringe, which was mightily exciting. I’ve been going there as a punter since 2004, so it was slightly scary to be on the other side of microphone. Careers are made and broken in Edinburgh, though my set of guest appearances at small gigs was highly unlikely to result in either… Nonetheless, I was extremely nervous beforehand as Edinburgh is very much the pinnacle for stand-up comedy on these isles, and to play even a small part in it was quite intimidating. As it turned out, things went pretty well. I did 10 gigs over 4 days, which was more than I could have hoped for really. On the Friday, I ended up doing 4 gigs in the space of a few hours, as several shows phoned me to offer spots. Cycling around between venues trying to fit everything in was stressful, but quite exhilirating, a proper Fringe experience. Audiences ranged from about 12 or so, to over 100. Though the smaller numbers were in tiny venues, so none of the gigs felt empty, which is the main worry. Was slightly odd playing to sober afternoon/early evening audiences, but making sober people laugh out loud is certainly satisfying when you manage it. The general sobriety also meant no heckles, which is always a good thing, as beyond my one fake heckle response, I don’t have a notion what I would do.
I am very grateful to those who offered me the gigs. I did 3 shows in the guest spot with The Earl and the Instrumentalist, which were very enjoyable. A fun show and pleasant audiences. Abie Philbin Bowman was kind enough to invite me back a couple of times to his Oklahomaphobia showcase, which had some very good bills and an excellent host. Probably the highlight of the week though were the shows at Footlights Present… Over 100 people each time crammed into the basement of an Italian restaurant, with Roman standards lying around and Mussolini quotes on the wall. Both the audiences and the other stand-ups were great, and was lovely to have the opportunity to be part of it. The other highlight was receiving my first ever payment for doing comedy. 11 whole English pounds in one day, from the proceeds in the Free Fringe bucket at the end of two of the shows. (Given to me by the hosts I hasten to add, I didn’t just take the money from the bucket.) The amount matters not, but the principle was exciting.
Anyway, just thought I would give a short update on how it all went. Was fantastic to do so many gigs over such a short time, and I certainly feel like I learned a lot from it. Would be great to go back and do a full show sometime, though given how exhausting it was being there for a week, I dread to imagine how tough the full month is. The flyering alone would break your spirit. Thanks again to all those who gave me gigs, those who came to see them and to everyone who helped out, including poor Paul and Nina whose floor I monopolised for the first week in their new flat. There is an element of anticlimax now it’s all over, though the main source of sadness is that I now have to retire my ‘Scottish material’.
Nonetheless, I have a bunch more gigs coming up over the next few months in Dublin, Belfast and (hopefully) London, and will keep updating the gigs page as I go on for those interested in attending. Wrote some *shock*, new material on the flight home as well, which needs some, erm, tweaking before I do it again, judging by the first time I tried it.
Back in the old days, this thing used to be about the music (man), and my blatherings were but a sideshow. Since I haven’t made a proper podcast in years, I have finally got around to finishing a mix I started making at the beginning of 2010 during a heavy period of listening to 20th century minimalist classical music. Halcyon times. The mixing isn’t exactly stellar, as you will see, (though many of the pieces are heavily edited from the original) but the music is wonderful I think, and hopefully you will find much to like. It serves as something of an introduction to contemporary classical music made by the barely initiated, the blind leading the blind. As someone with virtually no backing in classical music, I discovered that a lot of the pieces that I instinctively loved all tended to be bestowed with the label of minimalism.* Maybe all of these pieces individually couldn’t necessarily be described as such, but their composers have at some point or other. As a bonus, the mix remains untainted by my warblings. Further musical offerings may return now I’ve broken my proverbial duck. In the meantime, enjoy.
RIP Henryk Górecki (I intended to finish this in more timely fashion after his death last year)
Listen here: MNML (right click-save as to download)
Tracklisting:
Arvo Pärt- Fratres for Violin and Piano
John Tavener- A Hymn to the Mother of God
Michael Nyman- The Other Side
Max Richter- On the Nature of Daylight
Gonzales- Gentle Threat
Henryk Górecki- Symphony No.3- I. Lento
Steve Reich- Electric Counterpoint – 2. Slow
John Adams- Shaker Loops- Part I. Shaking and Trembling
Terry Riley- In C
Ludovico Einaudi- Dietro Casa
John Tavener- The Protecting Veil
Gavin Bryars- Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet
Philip Glass- Prophecies
*Possibly due to the significant influence minimalism had on the patterns and dynamics of post-rock.
Hello, just a bit of an update on the stand-up. There hasn’t been a whole lot to report as I was incapacitated for a month after knee surgery (I mainly had the surgery so I could eke more material out of the situation). So after several increasingly encouraging gigs in the Ha’penny and Anseo there was a bit of a break in momentum. However, I was lucky enough to get a gig in Wales last week during a brief trip to the UK. It was a great evening, very nice audience, I met some lovely Cardiff-based comedians and was generally really impressed with the whole set-up over there. The set seemed to go pretty well despite my rustiness, and was endorsed by a cast member of This Is England ‘86, no less. Very much look forward to going over again, and excited about future meetings with further stars of Channel 4 primetime drama.
In the meantime, I’m visiting Edinburgh for a week in August and have some gigs lined up, including several as part of this show, which should be brilliant. I’ve been to the Fringe almost every year since 2004, so to be actually performing there, even in short slots, is highly exciting. I very much can’t wait. I will post more during/after Edinburgh. But in the meantime I will continue to blather more regularly on the twitters. More Dublin gigs in September, for anyone interested.
… New Comedy Award heats. It was a fantastic experience. The Belfast Empire is a fabulous venue, it was quite an honour to be able to play there having done so few gigs. Performing in front of a crowd of 400+ was something of a jump. They were a very nice audience though, none of yer tat. A proper BBC audience, that laugh all together, like on the radio and everything. I got a pretty good reaction anyway, which was a relief, after a somewhat disastrous gig the week before. Started off a bit nervously, but wasn’t too bad once I got going. The spotlights shining in my face meant I could hardly see anything at all, which was definitely a good thing.
I didn’t get through unfortunately, but given my level of experience in comparison to the others, I was just happy to be there. It was great to meet the other comedians, BBC producers and execs. A great evening altogether, that has definitely gave me the appetite for more. CRAVING THE ADRENALINE OF THE BIG STAGE. Erm, anyway, have several more gigs and competitions coming up over the next few weeks, which should be interesting.
Highlights of the evening are below. I make what could be best described as ‘an underwhelming cameo’. Not exactly the most flattering of clips, but it proves I was there, if nothing else. At least nobody’s going to be stealing my material.
Given that clip isn’t particularly enlightening, here is a short section of my first stand-up gig at the Quiet Christmas Pint last year. I decided to go with some populist crowd pleasing material.
Hello again.
Sorry for the lack of ostensible activity on here. I have not been completely idle however, and have started to do some actual stand-up for the first time, in front of real people. Which has been thoroughly enjoyable and utterly terrifying in equal measures. Thanks go to the lovely people of Dublin’s Quiet Pint for giving me a chance to inflict myself on people, and since then I’ve done gigs at Maeve Higgins’ Enlightenment Night, and the Battle of the Axe at the Ha’penny Inn. In the most exciting/terrifying development so far, I have got through to the live heat stage of the BBC New Comedy Award 2011. My round is next week, which should be an experience, if nothing else. I will post further about that in due course. I also intend to post up some clips of my stand up so far, if I can find bits that aren’t embarrassingly badly delivered. I will hopefully begin posting about upcoming gigs at some point as well, as I have several coming up over the next month. Anyway, that about it covers it for now. More regular posting will resume shortly.
Anyway, after a surprisingly and pleasingly warm reception to the video, as tweeted by none other than Miriam O’Callaghan, and enthusiastically endorsed by newswhip.ie here and here , Christmas in a Crisis will be released tomorrow (Friday 17th December) as a download from iTunes and Amazon.co.uk with all proceeds going to Focus Ireland.
Greetings to those still around. Profuse apologies for my lack of creativity this year. I have at least 4 shows of podcasts on their way, but in the meantime this may appease your anger? Please send around to others if you like it. It may leaven the depression of Budget week ever so slightly.
And here we are. At stupid o’clock in the morning. It’s still Wednesday somewhere though.
EDIT: All 4 parts up now at youtube.com/likeheartsswelling, or click on Joy to the World in the left sidebar. It’s actually finished.
A film about hope, about belief, about childhood, about dreams, about disappointment, about loneliness, about farce, about Christmas.
And possibly above all, stupidity.
Written, produced and directed by me.
Many thanks for the help of: Ross, Pete, Paul McC, Ed, Paul S, Teresa, Aoife, Ronan, Rob, Gisela, Doug Sklenki, Kishi and ‘Lookalike’ Mark Chapman, without all of whom this would be a significantly poorer effort. Full credits at the end of the film.
Greetings. Sorry I’ve not posted anything for a while. I have not been idle however. All going to plan, next week will see a completely new 30 minute film, entitled Joy to the World; on the general theme, as you might be able to guess, of Christmas.
In the meantime, here is a preview. After Ireland’s predictably harsh budget on Wednesday, it seemed appropriate to put this up first. Marginally trumping the excruciating embarrassment of my singing voice. I feel naked.
Written, produced and performed by me. (I would recommend clicking on the HQ button)
