Another fun-filled weekend...
We arrived at The Cresset in Peterborough and enjoyed the culinary delights of McDonalds, before joining the queue of approx 150 people. Around 30 tables awaited us as the doors were opened, and we sat to the left of the mic, midway between stage and rear-exits - a perfect view.
Drinks were purchased and we anxiously awaited the promised acts of the evening - Patrick Monahan, Russell Howard and of course, the uber-camp Alan Carr.
After being more than a little bit excited about the prospect of seeing the headline act, as well as hoping to be wowed by the supporting acts, we were actually let down by his no-show (which was only revealed and explained afterwards).
However, that disappointment was more than made up for with his substitute - the absolutely hilarious Steve Gribbin.
A truly old fashioned comedian/songwriter/satirist, with lots of topical gags. It actually hurt to laugh at times, such is the quickfire nature of his routine, and many tears of laughter were shed throughout the performance.
Being a scouser, there was lots of ever-welcome Man Utd abuse, coarse language and left-wing anger - all in all, a very entertaining act. When you have a comic doing "Morissey sings Dr Who", you know you're in good hands.
Unfortunately, the other act of the evening, Hils Barker - replacing Russell Howard, who was also a no-show - died on her arse. I suspect the audience felt sorry for her more than anything, as she seemed a very pleasant young lady. But the comedy just wasn't there, and the crowd laughed out of politeness, rather than genuine amusement. A few of her songs were mildly funny, but all in all, she didn't quite fit the mood of the night.
The compare, Patrick Monahan (hailed as a half-Irish, half Iranian Middlesborough lad), was a delight - he worked mainly with the crowd, picking on everyone who turned out, from students to RAF pilots.
Again, the heckles were dealt with in such a quickfire manner, it's hard to recall any as I write this, although one comeback sticks in the memory. After being told his flies were open, an audience member shouted "it's small!" to which Patrick replied "it won't be when it's in your mouth!"
(See www.chortle.co.uk if you wanna know more).
I can't deny that the non-appearance of Alan Carr was gutting, and I did feel a little cheated. But we were assured he would be appearing at the venue sometime in the near future, so it may be a case of keeping an eye out. Overall, however, the night was a success - one I thoroughly enjoyed.
---
I also had the pleasure of seeing a local band, Melt, performing on Saturday night. A trio made up of two brothers (drums, guitar/vocals) and an extremely talented bassist, their original songs impressed everyone who turned out to see them. A few covers were slipped into their hour-long setlist, but their own material shone brightly. Despite being told to bring the volume down, then bizarrely back up again a little later, they came through the sound problems and gave a performance you'd expect from a major-label group. Having seen their name on posters all over the county, and with the lead singer telling us their first EP is about to be recorded, I suspect I'll be hearing from them again very soon. A true talent.
---
Before the band came on, however, the night was more than tainted by the sheer fucking ignorance of a wedding party who were at the same venue that evening. We decided to get some grub in the restaurant part of the hotel, and with the main area of tables taken, we had to sit on the sofa chairs in the lounge area. The waitress told us this wasn't a problem, as meals were often eaten here on occasion. We ordered our meals (I went with the starter of battered calamari and a main course of breaded scampi and chips) and sat down with our drinks for a chat. All of a sudden, an elderly lady decided to sit on a vacant chair at the table, although in fairness to her, she did ask if she could sit down briefly, as she was clearly having trouble walking. Then, a relative of hers went to sit on another of the seats, and the already seated lady said "is that seat taken?" to which the second lady replied "oh it doesn't matter if it's taken". Well, excuse me you ignorant fucking bitch, yes it does. We're about to eat and you're barging onto our table. No no bloody no!
I was close to saying something, but I was only on my first beer! Then, my anger was fueled further when the rest of the bastard family decided to turn up in the bar area and crowd round our table. I tell no lies when I say they were literally stood round our table, facing us and staring. We're talking about 10 or 15 people, most of them pre-pubescent teens!
I didn't want to be forced off the table, but when my starter was brought, I felt far too uncomfortable, and we asked the waitress if we could go to another table - she told us we could and I started swearing under my breath, yet loud enough for the bunch of rude fucks that had just forced us to move!
They kept staring as we moved, and I continued to shake my head in sheer disgust. I'm sure they were aware of my anger, yet not one apology was uttered by the party of ignoramuses!
I wanna get back into regular updates, so keep checking this place before bedtime for some great sleep-inducing nonsense.
Drinks were purchased and we anxiously awaited the promised acts of the evening - Patrick Monahan, Russell Howard and of course, the uber-camp Alan Carr.
After being more than a little bit excited about the prospect of seeing the headline act, as well as hoping to be wowed by the supporting acts, we were actually let down by his no-show (which was only revealed and explained afterwards).
However, that disappointment was more than made up for with his substitute - the absolutely hilarious Steve Gribbin.
A truly old fashioned comedian/songwriter/satirist, with lots of topical gags. It actually hurt to laugh at times, such is the quickfire nature of his routine, and many tears of laughter were shed throughout the performance.
Being a scouser, there was lots of ever-welcome Man Utd abuse, coarse language and left-wing anger - all in all, a very entertaining act. When you have a comic doing "Morissey sings Dr Who", you know you're in good hands.
Unfortunately, the other act of the evening, Hils Barker - replacing Russell Howard, who was also a no-show - died on her arse. I suspect the audience felt sorry for her more than anything, as she seemed a very pleasant young lady. But the comedy just wasn't there, and the crowd laughed out of politeness, rather than genuine amusement. A few of her songs were mildly funny, but all in all, she didn't quite fit the mood of the night.
The compare, Patrick Monahan (hailed as a half-Irish, half Iranian Middlesborough lad), was a delight - he worked mainly with the crowd, picking on everyone who turned out, from students to RAF pilots.
Again, the heckles were dealt with in such a quickfire manner, it's hard to recall any as I write this, although one comeback sticks in the memory. After being told his flies were open, an audience member shouted "it's small!" to which Patrick replied "it won't be when it's in your mouth!"
(See www.chortle.co.uk if you wanna know more).
I can't deny that the non-appearance of Alan Carr was gutting, and I did feel a little cheated. But we were assured he would be appearing at the venue sometime in the near future, so it may be a case of keeping an eye out. Overall, however, the night was a success - one I thoroughly enjoyed.
---
I also had the pleasure of seeing a local band, Melt, performing on Saturday night. A trio made up of two brothers (drums, guitar/vocals) and an extremely talented bassist, their original songs impressed everyone who turned out to see them. A few covers were slipped into their hour-long setlist, but their own material shone brightly. Despite being told to bring the volume down, then bizarrely back up again a little later, they came through the sound problems and gave a performance you'd expect from a major-label group. Having seen their name on posters all over the county, and with the lead singer telling us their first EP is about to be recorded, I suspect I'll be hearing from them again very soon. A true talent.
---
Before the band came on, however, the night was more than tainted by the sheer fucking ignorance of a wedding party who were at the same venue that evening. We decided to get some grub in the restaurant part of the hotel, and with the main area of tables taken, we had to sit on the sofa chairs in the lounge area. The waitress told us this wasn't a problem, as meals were often eaten here on occasion. We ordered our meals (I went with the starter of battered calamari and a main course of breaded scampi and chips) and sat down with our drinks for a chat. All of a sudden, an elderly lady decided to sit on a vacant chair at the table, although in fairness to her, she did ask if she could sit down briefly, as she was clearly having trouble walking. Then, a relative of hers went to sit on another of the seats, and the already seated lady said "is that seat taken?" to which the second lady replied "oh it doesn't matter if it's taken". Well, excuse me you ignorant fucking bitch, yes it does. We're about to eat and you're barging onto our table. No no bloody no!
I was close to saying something, but I was only on my first beer! Then, my anger was fueled further when the rest of the bastard family decided to turn up in the bar area and crowd round our table. I tell no lies when I say they were literally stood round our table, facing us and staring. We're talking about 10 or 15 people, most of them pre-pubescent teens!
I didn't want to be forced off the table, but when my starter was brought, I felt far too uncomfortable, and we asked the waitress if we could go to another table - she told us we could and I started swearing under my breath, yet loud enough for the bunch of rude fucks that had just forced us to move!
They kept staring as we moved, and I continued to shake my head in sheer disgust. I'm sure they were aware of my anger, yet not one apology was uttered by the party of ignoramuses!
I wanna get back into regular updates, so keep checking this place before bedtime for some great sleep-inducing nonsense.