Matching last year

Cyclops and I had a very big sleep then within an hour of being awake we'd bought tickets to something and got our asses up to town to see it.

A big Fringe day - six shows - and overall very good particularly as the whole thing was spontaneous.

That's me up to 49 shows now, the same as last year's total. I wasn't trying to match that (I'm best not to get started on competing with myself) especially as we were away one of the weekends, but it looks like I might even beat it.

Fringe show 44: Richard Herring’s Edinburgh Fringe Podcast (4.5*)
I’ve been working my way through Richard Herring’s podcasts, so was excited to go to the recording of one finally. I wished I’d done it sooner. This was fantastic. Two guests (Caroline Rhea and Barry from Watford) and a standup slot (Alex Edelman). Richard Herring just seems like a nice man, and I really like his interviewing style. What works well for me about these podcasts is that Richard sometimes takes the lead, the guests sometimes take the lead, and consequently the tone and approach can be quite varied. It doesn’t matter if you know the guests or not, you always find out something interesting about them. And I like his ‘emergency questions’ as it is nice to be able to compare what the different guests have to say about the same issues.

Fringe show 45: Rosie Wilby - Is Monogamy Dead (4*)
Rosie Wilby explores the notion of monogamy and polygamy and everything in between, and poses the question ‘Is monogamy dead?’ This appealed to the sociologist in me, particularly as she’d done a survey to generate material of the show. Oooh I do love a survey. Rosie is charming, and interesting, and the set was coherent and confidently delivered with numerous witty and whimsical interludes. An extremely pleasant, interesting, engaging hour.

Fringe show 46: Luke Toulson – I don’t know how I feel about my kids (4*)
We were drawn to come and see Luke because we liked his flyer which described him having to watch his kids in what he considered to be a totally racist amdram production of Miss Saigon. I thought this was a really good, solid hour of standup. It was varied and wide ranging in terms of material but at the same time well constructed and well delivered. Luke was likeable and consistently amusing.

Fringe show 47: Sugar & Vice - All the guys we’ve never slept with (3.5*)
These two lovely ladies tell us about a selection of the guys that they never slept with, through song and chat. I liked the concept and this passed a pleasant enough hour. The performers were both likable and had a bit of charisma about them, but perhaps this could have gone a bit further. More amusing songs perhaps? Tighter harmonies? I found myself comparing them to Titty Bar Ha Ha… and Titty Bar Ha Ha won.

Fringe show 48: Magic Faraway Cabaret
We thought we’d go to a magic show, then it turned out it wasn’t on. So we filled the time with another go at the Magic Faraway Cabaret. As always it was packed out and people were up for it. I particularly enjoyed the act with the light-up hula hoops. The Lip Sinkers were amusing, their Bohemian Rhapsody with torches worked very well. I’d say we were also pretty lucky to get a quick and quirky set from Norman Lovett.

Fringe show 49: The Distraction Club
A second attendance at this music comedy compilation show. Brilliant. If I was rating this I would give every single act 4.5*, which is an unexpectedly high standard. I’m not sure how well the Nazi-based Frank Sinatra act (Frank Sinazi) went down with the crowd but I loved loved loved it. Loved Bob and Jim (particularly That’s Not My Gnome) and Johnny and the Baptists was a very funny, charismatic and talented act. Also liked Ria Lina, she’s a terrific singer and her songs are witty and intelligent. It was unfortunate that she singled me out for audience participation to say that I was too prissy and middle class to enjoy her stuff - and I just smiled and sucked it up. That pissed me off – I’d take on anyone in the room in a competition for ‘who likes the most edgy comedy’ and ‘who likes knob gags’ – and I think I’d win both. Ha. Plus we saw Jollyboat and Adam Kay who we have seen and enjoyed before. This is a very good value late night show, and it went on for two hours this time which was awesome.