There is no accounting for taste

This morning I decided that I really should get around to ordering tickets for a couple of comedians I wanted to see early next year. If you don’t get in quick I usually find that these things sell out quite quickly. So I dutifully went on line to try and book some tickets. Easy I thought. How wrong I was. The booking office website kept throwing a wobbly. Funny I thought, funny.

I had to go into the city anyway so I thought I’d call in at the box office and book my tickets in person. I’m very pleased to report that I now have tickets for Jon Richardson and Richard Herring who are performing at the Norwich Playhouse next March and next April respectively. The Playhouse has added an extra night for Jon Richardson due to the first one selling out. It would seem that at long last Jon is getting the recognition he rightly deserves. I’ve never seen Richard Herring so I am much looking forward to that.

As I was booking my tickets I learnt why their website had been a problem that morning. It seems as though tickets went on sale for a Michael McIntyre show at the Theatre Royal and the phones and website went into meltdown with, according to the EDP, the tickets selling out in six minutes. Because of this Michael McIntyre is now an even more annoying tit than he was yesterday!

It’s Not Me, It’s You

Jon Richardson’s book

As readers of this blog possibly know I’m a big fan of Jon Richardson. He has to be one of the funniest comedians performing in the UK today. His comedy is intelligent, complex, subtle and gentle but angry. His comedy tends to be based on what he sees as his character traits, his failings and the failings and irritating habits of others.

Subtitled ‘Impossible perfectionist seeks very very very tidy woman’ this book is about Jon’s foibles and his self-styled failure to find a mate. It is hard to review this book without giving too much of the content away, and as part of its charm is not knowing where it is going to lead I wouldn’t want to reveal too much. This book contains some romance, some triumphs and a lot of very funny bits; my favourite being an incident on a train with a twat on a mobile phone. I read this book mostly on train journeys and I could not stop myself laughing out on many an occasion.

I like Jon’s comedy because I identify with so many of his beliefs and so many of the ways he does things. He is blessed with the knowledge of how things should be done, a knowledge that precious few of us are blessed with. Knowledge like how a toilet roll should be hung on its holder. Things like this should be obvious but it is surprising how so many people get so much wrong.

Jon Richardson at Norwich

Jon Richardson is a very funny man. He doesn’t tell jokes. He doesn’t really tell that many stories. What he does is convey personal anxieties and observations. And, he does it in a very very funny way. It has been over two years since the first time that I saw him. Last time it was in a comedy club and whilst some of the audience would have known who he was I suspect the majority didn’t. Last night was different; people were there just to see Jon. Having made more of a name for himself he was able to fill the Norwich Playhouse. The tickets said that the show started at 8.00pm and as you’d expect from Jon it started dead on time. I’m not sure how much of his ‘This Guy At Night’ show he performed as a lot seemed to be ad lobbing but it didn’t matter, he was most entertaining. I think I find Jon amusing because I can identify with so much of what he says in a ‘been there done that and yes I find that irritating as well’ sort of way.

As Jon said there are only two sorts of people, putters and leavers. Putters know exactly where they have put stuff, and leavers just leave stuff anywhere and wonder why they can find stuff again. Like Jon I’m a neurotic neo-OCD sufferer, and a putter. There was no support act; Jon did an hour and forty minutes including an encore and not including the interval. Jon claims not to do many encores so I guess we were honoured. The audience loved him. The evening was packed full of laughs. Jon Richardson is still on the way up but he has the capability to go to the top. He stands apart from many comedians who tend to rely on similar formulas. Jon Richardson is different, original and extremely funny. Catch him if you can.

Never mind..

It was good to see Jon Richardson on Never Mind The Buzzcocks last night. I rushed back from the pub especially to watch it.

I Laughed

Bury St Edmunds is often seen lacking in the quality entertainment department. It’s rare that you get interesting or well known acts performing in the town. One of the reasons for that, I guess, is the lack of suitable venues. Thankfully we are happily blessed with a pretty decent comedy club. It happens on the second Sunday of the month, which incidentally was last night.

Going to see an act or band that you’ve wanted to see for sometime can be a precarious business. If you are not careful you build up such high expectations that unless they are on tip-top 200% form you are sorely disappointed. Last Wednesday I discovered that Jon Richardson was headlining at the Fat Cat Comedy Club. I had to go, and I so wanted him to be funny.

Last night was a good night. I lashed into the beer. The compere, Rob Heeney, was unusually funny and quick witted. The support act, Stuart Goldsmith, was okay. Then it was Jon’s turn. There was a big build up from Rob Heeney, and on sidled Jon. He doesn’t look funny, just very ordinary. He picked on some people at the front who all happened to work at a fish and chip shop. Jon was in his element. If you’ve ever heard him on the radio you’ll know that he loves food and cooking. He describes himself as a pedant with OCD. An adlibbed conversation between him and the chip shop crew ensued for about ten minutes. Anyone who can get laughs from discussing Hake is a pretty bloody good comedian in my book and a laugh from brown sauce is no mean feat either. He claims to prefer ‘Daddies’, but buys ‘HP’ because the bottle is square shaped, thus fitting nicely in the corner of his cupboard. After that there was a tirade about speeding motorists. I’d like to see him matched against Jeremy Clarkson. I think Jon would easily be the victor against Motor Mouth. More banter with the audience. The time just flew by as we all laughed. And not a mention of the Dyson Airblade. Russell Howard has described him as an old man in a young man’s body. I think that’s why I like him so much, he moans about the same sort of things I moan about, and in a very funny way. He is definitely going places. Watch out for him. Jon Richardson is the thinking man’s* comedian.

*that’s man, as in homosapien, not ignoring the ladies