I had a fan on behind me during the show tonight and it made all the difference in the world. It wasn't distracting, it kept me cool and my brain didn't overheat and I was able to remember everything properly, slow down and get all the timing right. It was probably the best show so far. How annoying that I didn't just leave the fan on yesterday.
Having said that one of the reviewers in on Monday's show
still liked it enough to give it 5 stars so perhaps all isn't lost.
It was a great crowd too, who were really up for it and laughing from the beginning, including a lady with rather a distinctive laugh near the front. Sometimes that can derail a show and shift the focus and put other people off from laughing, but luckily she was having fun and so was everyone else so it didn't matter.
And whilst yesterday's tough show left me drained and zombie-like, today's made me full of post-show energy. I had felt tired all day, but now I wanted to stay up all night drinking and having fun.
I actually had to head to the Gilded Balloon to judge a semi-final of "So You Think You're Funny". Luckily (or unluckily if you are the me the day after writing this) I was provided with wine. I thought I might need it to get through a night of watching eight new comics doing their sets.
But the standard was extremely high and nobody was terrible, even though they had (supposedly) all been going for less than a year. It was between about three of them who were all great in different ways, but then a guy called Naz Osmanoglu came on to close and made it a slightly easier decision. He is a name to remember, however difficult that might be. Very confident, very original and tightly performed. Very disconcerting to see so many great new people working their way up the ladder. The youngest tonight was just 18 and very competent. I started to wonder if Frankie Boyle and Kevin Bishop were right and if comedy is going to become like professional poker, inhabited mainly by new young bucks, keen and clever and sharp, with the few old timers being left bumbling in their wake.
Whatever the case is it is great that new people are finding new ways to be funny and I felt a bit sorry for the two or three other people who would have made perfectly good finalists. But I think probably all of them will have a career in comedy, if they are unwise enough to pursue that goal.
I stayed out later than I meant to drinking with some of the old washed up comedians. It's rather lovely to get a chance to catch up with people who I only see every now and again and there's a familiar face around every corner here. I have done quite well to get home early most nights.
Tonight the magic carpet created by five glasses of white wine carried me down the hill without me really noticing the walk. I was on the search for chips, but luckily the Clam Shell was closed and I was too lazy to go any further out of my way, so made do with some Weetabix instead, before passing out in bed, drunk, tired and reasonably happy with my lot. I am doing a show that is selling out every night and which has (so far) had only good reviews. I wish I could let the me of Edinburgh 2004 or 2005 know about it. It would probably cheer him up.
I'll try and beam it back now by telepathy. Not sure it worked. Will have to go back and check the old blogs to see if they have changed. And if so I might have changed the entire history of the world. You have to be careful when dealing with temporal telepathy. I wish I'd just kept my big mind shut now.
