This week I have had two gigs, performed the same new-ish set at both and they have been pretty well received.
The first one was in Hammersmith, ran by my former co-promoter MissD. It was a really good night, with a friendly and large audience. The new material went down well, what was strange was that a few older lines fell flat that I know I can usually rely on. But never mind, I was quite pleased with how my set went, which is quite rare.
My gig last night was at a venue I do every couple of weeks or so, and as I’ve said about it before, it can be a tough room to play and if something you do gets a laugh there, then it counts for something. The last time I was there, I was working through a new set and didn’t do particularly well. But this time, I did pretty well indeed. In fact, it may have been one of my best gigs there. It’s quite a sordid set, not something I generally do, but it was met with some decent laughs and an American girl saying “Eeewwwww” in the way that only an American girl can. But it goes to show that if something doesn’t work initially and you think it’s funny, keep working on it until the audience also do.
So, the good news is that based on these gigs, I probably have a solid new three minutes for Edinburgh. I just have remaining 27 minutes to write and hone in the next five months; although we haven’t even been assigned a venue yet.
Now, to disrupt the structure of this entry completely. On Monday’s gig, for the first time in many years, I saw my old friend Deech. I first met him in December 2005 at Havant Arts Centre, in what was my eighth gig (I think). Over the next few years, I’d do the odd spot for him and help out run gigs back home in Gloucestershire. The last time I saw him was back in November 2008, when I’d put comedy on hold. Quite a lot has changed in that time. I broke my ankle, quit my job, had a critically ill dad (he’s fine now), returned to comedy, moved to London, and done two Brighton and Edinburgh Fringes. I don’t really know what the point that I’m getting at, other than a lot has happened in that time and I said that 50 words ago before that unnecessary list.