GIG 28, 29.

Good greif, nearly 10 days wothout an entry. oh dear. The loyal readers may well have given up on me. Both of them. Ho hum. Anyway, an entry was needed to publicise the next LLC show coming up on Tuesday, it's actually so long since I wrote anything that I'll first have to tell you what happened last time. I finally got round to doing the cowboy material, and it went down pretty well. The second song is still a bit flat, it's religious country and western about how Jesus is always watching us, even when we don't want him to. It ends with the line;

Standin' by my shoulder, watchin' over me,
Why don't you go and buy your own damn magazine.

I like this line, but it doesn't get the laugh of the earlier refrain;

Why don't you stop and think about how it makes me feel,
Not when I'm on the can, are you for fuckin' real.

As usual the line which ticks both boxes wins. (toilets-check. swearing-check.) If I do it again I'll have to swap them round, and finish on the bigger laugh. It was fun to do the character in the compere slots rather than as an act. I enjoyed playing with the idea that I thought I was hosting the country and western part of the show, and acting bemused as to why all the acts weren't country at all. Especially after the surreal vic anb bobesque doubleact 'The Toothpaste Expedition' where I got a nice laugh returning, bemused, to the stage and sayng 'What the hell kind of bluegrass was that?'

Gig 29 was a minor competition in Manchester. Some of the Mancs up for our show had said it was a weird crowd, and they might be enjoying it but not very vocal. I should have taken this to heart a bit more, but when my first 3 jokes got no audible response it really threw me. I got lost, stammered a bit and had to apologise while I worked out what was the next bit of my set. Rubbish. This cannot happen again. I knew I hadn't won the crowd but a promoter might like the material anyway and have me back, but this is unlikely to happen if I also look unprofessional. I thought I knew the routine inside out, but I'd learned it with laughs. It's like being in a play when your partner forgets their line- it's pretty hard to remember your next line until they've done their bit. I've been remembering joke-laugh-joke-laugh. If it goes joke-joke-no laugh it throws me off. So, audiences, remember to do your bit next time.

See you on Tuesday, hopefully. We may be cursed by the bank holiday again. It would be a shame to be back to 10 people watching, especially after last time when we had to get more chairs out.

NEXT GIG:
TUESDAY 30TH OF MAY. 8.30 FOR A 9.00 START. -
'LONG LIVE COMEDY'
THE DOG AND PARROT (UPSTAIRS)
-OPPOSITE THE CENTRE FOR LIFE, 2 MINS FROM CENTRAL STATION.
ONLY £2.

SATURDAY 13RD OF JUNE.
-GLASGOW, 'SO YOU THINK YOU'RE FUNNY?' HEATS.