Who knew writing a blog about Edinburgh could be so tiresome. Had I been able to do it as we went along, it would've been so much easier. Stupid illness!!
Right. So. To the last weekend of the fringe we go.
Friday 27 August
Bit of a weird day. We felt pretty rough, so didn't actually make it to the first two shows we were booked to see. Oops. Soldiered on to Thomas Craine at the Pleasance. Amusing enough, but not massively impressed. He was amiable enough but didn't seem to have much material. Hmm. Weird one. Then to Jason Byrne at Assembly. It was one of those gigs where you laugh your arse off, but then have absolutely no recollection of anything that was said. All I remember is some folk getting hauled onto the stage to do aerobics with him. I feel sure there was more to it than that. And finally to the Dome for Alex Horne's Taskmaster. Pretty good fun, despite the unexpected absence of Mark Watson due to illness. Some drunken antics, notably by Sir Tim, and a very late finish, but - worthwhile.
Saturday 28 August
A bit of a mixed bag of a day, as will become clear shortly. Went to see Steve Pretty first off. The show was pretty good, though there was a rather annoying amount of audience participation, which I never particularly like, and in this case it took the form of a football chant, which was yet more annoying. Then later Jarlath Regan, who was funny, and his show was enjoyable generally, but he has an odd fan base. It seemed to be almost exclusively loudmouthed chavvy couples in their 40s and 50s who seemed like they'd stumbled in on their way to Jim Davidson or some such pish. Very strange, and a bit unsettling.
Then to what was, in my view, one of the gigs of the month. TRIPOD!!!!! I'd been looking forward to this one for ages and it didn't disappoint in any way. I bloody love Tripod. The inclusion of a (gasp) GIRL in this show could have buggered things up, but she was also awesome. Whole thing = awesomeness. Plus, they remembered us, which was coolio. Did I mention that I BLOODY LOVE TRIPOD?
We raced off afterwards as we had tickets for Axis of Awesome late show, and the rumour was that Minchin would be appearing tonight. That turned out not to be the case, and other than Pappy's, we'd never heard of the guests. Pappy's were fun. The second guy, whose name now escapes me, was appalling, but at least he knew he was appalling and had the good grace to slink off looking embarrassed. And then...oh lord. The last guest was someone called Sam Simmons, who I'd never heard of before, and hope I never will again. He came on the stage looking like a the paedophile twin of Timmy Mallett, and then proceeded, as his whole act, to smash taco shells all over himself and the audience, and then pour sauce all over himself. Disgusting enough, as the entire room now fucking stank, but - seriously. What a cock. Me and Adam and Linzy and Shell were all in the front row, clearly not laughing, much like most of the people we could see around us, but for some reason this twat picked out Adam and started having a go at him for not laughing (coming out with the oh-so-hilarious-and-original 'goth' insults -which is pretty lazy considering none of us are, or ever were, goths...) He wouldn't let it go and started trying to goad Adam into punching him (I wouldn't have had to be asked twice, personally, but A was thankfully more restrained). Anyway, after some pointless faffing about, incitements to fight and then acting like the little injured soldier, Mr Simmons fucked off behind the curtain. After the gig ended, we were talking to Lee and he said the guy wouldn't leave til Adam did...what did he think was going to happen? If Adam wouldn't punch him in the face when invited, he's hardly likely to do it as an afterthought.
We were still standing in the downstairs foyer when he left, and of course he couldn't just let it lie, so he tried to talk to Adam again and apologise - though, least sincere apology ever, which certainly didn't change anyone's mind.
The fact is, if your entire act has to hinge around slagging people off who aren't enjoying your act, perhaps it's time to, you know, get a better act. Harrassing them and making everyone uncomfortable isn't a great way of getting them to change their mind about you. The guy basically ruined what had been, generally, a good night - and all he's really done is make sure that, in future, if we hear his name, we'll remember what a total tool he was, instead of just thinking, ah yeah, he wasn't our cup of tea.
Mr Simmons is everything that is bad about comedy and humans. If you want people to like your act, be funny, or at least be amiable. Don't challenge your audience (who, remember, in this case, were not actually there to see YOU) to a fight, don't cover them in stinking taco sauce that makes their clothes smell and their eyes burn, and don't be so arrogant as to assume that if someone isn't laughing, it's because they don't get you. It's simply that you are a terrible, terrible comedian and an unpleasant human.
Sunday 29 August
Thankfully we still had the Sunday, cos we'd have felt pretty fucked off if our last show of the festival had been that one. First, Nat Luurtsema, who we'd seen only briefly last year at the Twitter comedy club. She was quite a revelation. Excellent show, very funny, very inclusive, and clever. Enjoyed it a lot and will definitely be going to see her next year (if she's on).
Then Reg D Hunter. I've never been a massive fan, as I think he's very one dimensional - yes, you're black, we get it, now move on. I don't really like any comedian who only has one topic of conversation. But Adam likes him, and so does my sister, who was with us. I have to say I was pretty bored throughout. He seems a decent guy, and perfectly likeable, but I KNOW... you're BLACK. Understood. What else ya got??
Last show of the festival thankfully was an awesome one - David O'Doherty. As with Jason Byrne, can't now recall anything he did or said, but I do remember laughing my arse off and that he is awesome.
So generally a good fringe. Mostly good shows, though the ones that weren't good were really bloody awful. A few new finds, and a couple of definitely-must-avoids.
