Hot Stew
I went to see Stewart Lee with my brother on Friday. It was a bit of a treack to go to Reading on a Friday evening, especially on the agonisingly slow train, which made about twenty stops. Finally at Reading station, and waylayed by Billy the Tramp. He asked for a fag, I had none; he asked for money, I gave him 2p; he shook my hand, I shook back; he hugged me...
After getting lost, somehow, we arrived at the venue. It was a really nice, small place. It was nice, too, because I'd never been to a comedy club before. I chose seats half way back, as I'd heard Stewart Lee does audience participation, and I didn't want to get dragged up on stage. Neither, it seems, did anyone else. SL tried to grab about three different people, but they weren't budging. In the end, he just wrenched them out of their seats, and got them to pop party poppers over his head, only to tell them to sit down again. There was also a warm-up act, who was fairly weak, as you'd expect. Stewart himself was magnificent, making jokes out of the smallest little things, like the fact that people were laughing. He talked about how Kevin Eldon had given him tips on the show, and why a toaster working in Dixons is not funny. He took the piss out of Eddie Izzard, Ben Elton, Ricky Gervais ('"I hope he does that funny dance!"'), Gary Linekar, GWB, Mel Gibson, Jimmy Hill, Scots and Americans. Great, great stand-up. I'm trying to get tickets for another of his shows.