031_LS498_reviews_Reviews 21/10/2010 18:47 Page 1
REVIEWS 31
L7 Under review Read reviews of every show at the Brighton Comedy Festival at www.thelatest.co.uk GREG DAVIES: FIRING CHEESEBALLS AT A DOG
Capturing those times when you can be purely in the moment, this was Greg Davies’ autobiography told without the heavy bits, but with the gut laughs of the times further their own gut laughs in the re-telling. Lording the ridiculous and the childish, involving his unmistakably massive height, and the familiar family dynamics taken into the personal anecdote, this told his life in moments we all recognised from our own. Davies captured the unseen movement from childhood into adulthood, the confusion and the recognition that nothing inside has changed. A grown up, silly, highly enjoyable monster hug. Pavilion Theatre, Brighton Dome, 16 October JJJJJ Victoria Nangle
RICH HALL
A front row slightly too eager to divulge their tragicomic personal information provided Rich Hall with much fuel for his set. Granted, he wasn’t short on material – this was an eclectic show, ranging from Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury to Raoul Moat and even some adlibbed tunes. Hall is at his best when tearing his targets to shreds and he did this in spectacular style demolishing members of the American ‘Tea Party’ movement. His political material didn’t go down so well with the Friday night crowd but if you like a bit of politics with your improvised songs then Hall’s your man. Pavilion Theatre, Brighton Dome, 15 October JJJJJ Simon Plotkin
IDIOTS OF ANTS
Yes, it was a bunch of shouty boys, with sketches about body parts, bullying, and sex. But, these boys are more intelligent than that, and there was rarely a sketch that felt too obvious or lazy. While this had the suspicious whiff of a TV pilot (and, if we’re being suspicious, we may as well mention our jaded disbelief at the occasional ‘corpsing’ where the gents couldn’t continue due to apparently unscripted laughter) this is probably best summed up as silly jokes for smart people, with a fast-paced approach and clever gags that (rare, this) didn’t come across as cleverclever. Corn Exchange, Brighton Dome, 19 October JJJJJ Andrew Allen
WHITE MINK BLACK COTTON
With long queues outside and no room to swing a hepcat inside, Brighton’s hipsters, flipsters and finger-poppin’ daddios took to dancing on the tables at this CD launch party. Le KKC Orchestra from Toulouse went down well with their Gallic slant on the flavour-of-themonth electro swing sound. With programmed beats, live guitar and keyboard behind him, the singer/rapper delivered an exuberant set that went down a treat. Things calmed down after midnight with the DJ seemingly mixing a selection of old jazz tunes over the same backbeat. At 1am the joint was still jumping with the cool kids cutting a rug to a Cab Calloway number. Brighton Ballroom, 15 October JJJJJ Steve Clements
22-20S
Remember the 22-20s? They were the guys who caused one of the last proper A&R ‘scrambles’ way back in 2003. The Lincolnshire lads put out a live EP and recorded an album with Primal Scream’s producer. Then, just two years later, they disappeared without a trace. After a three year break they’re back, picking up right where they left off, landing guns blazing, in Brighton. Still sounding like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s younger brothers, they played tracks from new album Shake/Shiver/Moan along with a few crowd-pleasing oldies like debut single ‘Such A Fool’. Hopefully this time around, they’ll hang about a little longer. Audio, 17 October JJJJJ Isaac Howlett
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT
Rap’s original eco-warriors returned with a pared-down line-up. Still fronted by the diminutive Speech, the first few songs displayed a rockier sound compared to their earlier work. With African chanting, heavy bass and wah-wah guitar, the band was a funk force to be reckoned with and backing singer, Tasha Larae’s gospel voice was a great addition. Most of the crowd looked old enough to remember their groundbreaking debut album first time and, as expected, the biggest cheers were for the old hits. After ‘Fishin 4 Religion’ and ‘Ease My Mind’, a celebratory ‘Mr Wendal’ segued seamlessly into ‘People Everyday’ to round off a great night. Coalition, 16 October JJJJJ Steve Clements
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
STEWART LEE: VEGETABLE STEW
19 October, Concert Hall, Brighton Dome JJJJJ
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tewart Lee is touring the country, trying out material for his new TV series that will go out next year. This show, a part of that tour, was no new gags night but a carefully structured set, which he characteristically outlined from the off as being on three topics: charity, Adrian Chiles and politics. Although, he pointed out, the material on Adrian Chiles will not be seen on television due to the recently announced rules of the BBC barring attacks on individuals. So that was a one-off just for us... Lee’s vitriol is always appreciated, and Chiles wasn’t the only one under attack. There was a fantastic story about our Prime Minister in his youth, framed in a not dissimilar way to Lee’s considering of Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond last year. This provided a wonderful pay-off for all and a nostalgic reward for stalwart Stew fans. A delightful trip between grandad stories, charity boasts, Japanese monsters and a celebration of crisps – this was hardly a single topic, and more a fantastic Walter Mitty tale, suspending our disbelief seamlessly sashaying around its broad title, picking up further laughs along the way. Lee’s storytelling and considerations kept his audience rapt, trusting from experience that each lengthy set-up would hit pay dirt. They did.
Throughout the show Lee deconstructed his comedy. Of particular fun were the elements when he addressed critics’ claims that he doesn’t tell jokes, and when he used his supposed librarian past to deliberately heavy-handedly parallel his present. His mocking recognition of critics’ problems with his style of comedy and delivery falls on home ground ears, as an audience already attuned laughs with him at them. To write plainly, he went down a storm. Stewart Lee is an ever evolving comic, keeping himself and his fans forever on the move, avoiding the stale. His active mind is what attracts his audience and he gives the impression of amusing himself as much as anyone else staring up at him on the stage. The closest to any personal material he included in the show was in the ‘politics’ section. He remembered stand up in the late ‘80s, when he first started out, and the ‘alternative’ brand comics were claiming. He still is an alternative to the main throng of comics; you’re hardly likely to find him closing Krater on a Friday night. But he’s filling up the Brighton Dome Concert Hall, implying that this ‘alternative’ too is gaining greater momentum. Lee finished with a song. A new direction. Still funny. Like a comedy shark, he stayed sharp as he kept moving on. Victoria Nangle