I am not a performing monkey!
Hello,
When I left you, I was about to do 10 minutes as Aaron at the Reckless Moment in Leamington - I did, and I had a horrible gig - Aaron really wasn't on very good form and appart from a decent ad-lib at the start didn't say much of note. The Moment is such a nice gig, I really didn't have anyone to blame but myself! It was a stark reminder not to rest on my laurels.
Next up, Aaron did the Comedy Balloon in Manchester - this gig has change venues a few times since I first did it. The new venue is good, and the people nice. As always there were lots of comedians in the audience so I did a couple of ad-libs which they went for. This is going down as Aaron's best gig to date. I messed up a lot, but it was much more confident and the jokes were much better received than previously. I went back to the hotel happy - and then the next day spent the day in Liverpool (although we ended up giving up on Liverpool and went to Norton Abbey at Runcorn which was lovely!) and did a run-through for a comedy pilot for ITV2 (it's looking increasingly like Ithis isn't going ahead anymore :-( But it was fun and I got paid a bit - which was quite exciting - also got to meet some pretty important people in the TV comedy scene. Go me).
After that Aaron did a poetry night in Leamington at Jug & Jesters. This was fun, although I might do it as myself sometime in future. I felt a little bit like I was dressing up and doing a play wot I rote wen I was a kid. The night was alright, and the quality of poetry was higher than I expected. The poetry was intentionally not comedy (although had funny bits) and it was received ok (but not brilliantly). For my first comedy night - it's going down as an interesting experience.
The day after that I closed a small gig in Wolverhampton as myself. Yay! Me being me :-) It was a very quiet night (about 10 people in) but I had a really nice gig, it was nice to run through all my old stuff and make sure I was still funny. Also - the sound guy was the spitting image of Noel Fielding but had a Brummy accent (genius!) which made my night. He also said that one of my new songs (co-written by my partner in all things) was one of the best things he'd ever heard (which made my night).
Then I went to Bath to do 10 mins as Aaron at a nice little gig (I also stayed in a very nice Hotel which was fun). This was Aaron's last gig for a while (more about that later) and I played flute for the first time on stage since I was little. I played a meddley which started with a 12th century medieval chant, turned into Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, then English Country Garden, onto Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Scarborough Fair and finally the Countdown Theme. They liked that. The gig went ok, not brilliant but not terrible.
A couple of days after that I went to Newcastle Under Lyme and did a nice little gig in a rock venue called The Full Moon. It was quiet (only a handful of people in) but they were nice enough. I felt like I didn't have a great gig, I think because I wasn't really on top form. The reaction dipped towards the end and I felt unhappy with it. Andy (the promoter) seemed pleased enough though and I got paid, so I can't complain.
Finally last night I MCed the Reckless Moment in Leam. I was a bit shakey to start with as it's been a while since I last compered, but I soon picked up my feet again and did a decent enough job. I fell back on some old material a few times to keep things ticking over and had some good moments bantering (the best one probably doing a monkey impression - then being asked to do it again by the audience - the second time they asked me to I shouted "I'm not a performing monkey!" which worked really well). I have resolved to try and get some more MC gigs as I like it and want to be better at it.
I'm also toying with the idea of starting something weekly in Cov which I could MC (but that's just an idea at the moment - nothing I've considered in any great depth.
Tomorrow night I'm off to Birmingham. I've decided to put Aaron on the back-burner for a while because if I can afford it next year, I'd like to do a show. I've already started working on material and got a few possible preview dates booked - so watch this space.
Anyway, hope you're all well.
Owen Niblock
Owen
NOVEMBER - 2006
08/11/2006: Atticus, Bearwood, Birmingham - 10 mins
12/11/2006: Aldershot - 15 mins
16/11/2006: Breakspear Arms, Uxbridge - 10 mins
17/11/2006: Queen's Head, London - 10 mins
22/11/2006: White Bear, Bristol - 10 mins
24/11/2006: The Melton, Melton Mobray - 10 mins
26/11/2006: Aberystwyth - 20 mins
28/11/2006: XS Malarkey, - 15 mins
DECEMBER - 2006
17/12/2006: Essex - 10 mins
JANUARY - 2007!
18/01/2007: Frog and Bucket, Manchester - 10 mins
19/01/2007: Baby Blue, Liverpool - 10 mins
FEBRUARY - 2007
07/02/2007: Comedy Balloon, Manchester - 15 mins
11/02/2007: Mirth Control, Bath - 20 mins
25/02/2007: Aberystwyth - 10 mins
MARCH - 2007
28/03/2007: Pear Shaped, London - 20 mins
APRIL - 2007
20/04/2007: Totton - 15-20 mins
25/04/2007: Twisted Whimsy Preview, Jersey - 1 hour
MAY - 2007
01/05/2007: The Guildhall, Gloucester - 20 mins
23/05/2007: Twisted Whimsy Preview, Ship of Fools, Leicester - 1 hour
When I left you, I was about to do 10 minutes as Aaron at the Reckless Moment in Leamington - I did, and I had a horrible gig - Aaron really wasn't on very good form and appart from a decent ad-lib at the start didn't say much of note. The Moment is such a nice gig, I really didn't have anyone to blame but myself! It was a stark reminder not to rest on my laurels.
Next up, Aaron did the Comedy Balloon in Manchester - this gig has change venues a few times since I first did it. The new venue is good, and the people nice. As always there were lots of comedians in the audience so I did a couple of ad-libs which they went for. This is going down as Aaron's best gig to date. I messed up a lot, but it was much more confident and the jokes were much better received than previously. I went back to the hotel happy - and then the next day spent the day in Liverpool (although we ended up giving up on Liverpool and went to Norton Abbey at Runcorn which was lovely!) and did a run-through for a comedy pilot for ITV2 (it's looking increasingly like Ithis isn't going ahead anymore :-( But it was fun and I got paid a bit - which was quite exciting - also got to meet some pretty important people in the TV comedy scene. Go me).
After that Aaron did a poetry night in Leamington at Jug & Jesters. This was fun, although I might do it as myself sometime in future. I felt a little bit like I was dressing up and doing a play wot I rote wen I was a kid. The night was alright, and the quality of poetry was higher than I expected. The poetry was intentionally not comedy (although had funny bits) and it was received ok (but not brilliantly). For my first comedy night - it's going down as an interesting experience.
The day after that I closed a small gig in Wolverhampton as myself. Yay! Me being me :-) It was a very quiet night (about 10 people in) but I had a really nice gig, it was nice to run through all my old stuff and make sure I was still funny. Also - the sound guy was the spitting image of Noel Fielding but had a Brummy accent (genius!) which made my night. He also said that one of my new songs (co-written by my partner in all things) was one of the best things he'd ever heard (which made my night).
Then I went to Bath to do 10 mins as Aaron at a nice little gig (I also stayed in a very nice Hotel which was fun). This was Aaron's last gig for a while (more about that later) and I played flute for the first time on stage since I was little. I played a meddley which started with a 12th century medieval chant, turned into Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, then English Country Garden, onto Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Scarborough Fair and finally the Countdown Theme. They liked that. The gig went ok, not brilliant but not terrible.
A couple of days after that I went to Newcastle Under Lyme and did a nice little gig in a rock venue called The Full Moon. It was quiet (only a handful of people in) but they were nice enough. I felt like I didn't have a great gig, I think because I wasn't really on top form. The reaction dipped towards the end and I felt unhappy with it. Andy (the promoter) seemed pleased enough though and I got paid, so I can't complain.
Finally last night I MCed the Reckless Moment in Leam. I was a bit shakey to start with as it's been a while since I last compered, but I soon picked up my feet again and did a decent enough job. I fell back on some old material a few times to keep things ticking over and had some good moments bantering (the best one probably doing a monkey impression - then being asked to do it again by the audience - the second time they asked me to I shouted "I'm not a performing monkey!" which worked really well). I have resolved to try and get some more MC gigs as I like it and want to be better at it.
I'm also toying with the idea of starting something weekly in Cov which I could MC (but that's just an idea at the moment - nothing I've considered in any great depth.
Tomorrow night I'm off to Birmingham. I've decided to put Aaron on the back-burner for a while because if I can afford it next year, I'd like to do a show. I've already started working on material and got a few possible preview dates booked - so watch this space.
Anyway, hope you're all well.
Owen Niblock
Owen
NOVEMBER - 2006
08/11/2006: Atticus, Bearwood, Birmingham - 10 mins
12/11/2006: Aldershot - 15 mins
16/11/2006: Breakspear Arms, Uxbridge - 10 mins
17/11/2006: Queen's Head, London - 10 mins
22/11/2006: White Bear, Bristol - 10 mins
24/11/2006: The Melton, Melton Mobray - 10 mins
26/11/2006: Aberystwyth - 20 mins
28/11/2006: XS Malarkey, - 15 mins
DECEMBER - 2006
17/12/2006: Essex - 10 mins
JANUARY - 2007!
18/01/2007: Frog and Bucket, Manchester - 10 mins
19/01/2007: Baby Blue, Liverpool - 10 mins
FEBRUARY - 2007
07/02/2007: Comedy Balloon, Manchester - 15 mins
11/02/2007: Mirth Control, Bath - 20 mins
25/02/2007: Aberystwyth - 10 mins
MARCH - 2007
28/03/2007: Pear Shaped, London - 20 mins
APRIL - 2007
20/04/2007: Totton - 15-20 mins
25/04/2007: Twisted Whimsy Preview, Jersey - 1 hour
MAY - 2007
01/05/2007: The Guildhall, Gloucester - 20 mins
23/05/2007: Twisted Whimsy Preview, Ship of Fools, Leicester - 1 hour