Reg Anderson's Comedy Explosion Tron Ceilidh House, Edinburgh mm
00 M COMEDY CLUB REVIEW
Comedy is listed by date, then by The Stand 5 York Place. 558 7272.
city. Shows will be listed, providing Doors 8pm. £5 (£4). Susan Morrison that details reach our offices at least marshalls the troops - in this case the
ten da s in advance of publication. extremely busy Vladimir McTavish. Tony Come y listings compiled by Rob Law and Neil Shackleton. One open spot Fraser. for the brave or foolhard
Reg Anderson's Comedy Explosion T“ R DAY 21 Tron Ceilidh'House. Hunter Square. 226 u s 093l. Doors 8pm. £4 (£3). Dingo the
Dog emcees. Raymond Mearns headlines
GlaSgOW while Craig Hill and wild-eyed strummer Rolling With Laughter Alaska. l-l2 Peter Buckley Hill do the supportive Bath Lane. 248 l I77 (venue); 287 55 ll stuff.
(ticket centre). Doors 8pm. £5. Vladimir McTavish ably supported by Jo
Mackenzie and Mark Bratchpiece. Jane Mackay com eres. Glasgow
Cosy Come y Cafe The State Bar. I48 Cosy Comedy Cafe The State Bar. I48
Holland Street. 332 2159. Doors 8.30pm. Holland Street. 332 2 I59. Doors 8.30pm. £4 (£3). Billy Bonkers competes a night £4 (£3). Billy Bonkers comperes a night
ol'stand-up. of stand-up.
. The Joke Box Mister P's Bar/Diner. 42 Edlnblll'gh Wellmeadow Street. Paisley. Sol 7] l7. Christie's Comedy Cellar \VJ. 10.30pm. Free. Multi-media titan Fred Christie’s 228 3765. 9pm. £4 (£3). Dave MacAulay headlines. with David Kay. Williams does the hosting duty. David Skank and MC Raymond Mearns filling Kay does two gigs in one night (see out a bill splendid enough to make Daffy . below) and HM. Bayonette has another Duck green with envy. stab at finding an audience. Mvsterv .
uesl loo. i v ' Edinburgh
he Stand 5 York Place. 558 7272. Navel Gazing The Pleasance. 221 ()40l. Doors 8pm. £4 (£3). Canadian Tony Law Doors 8pm. £5 (£4). h‘lulti-media pop hits town for a Stand debut. while David culture sketch artists. Kay and poet Brendan Moohan are kept The Stand 5 York Place. 558 7272. in good order by resident compere Joon Doors 8pm. £6 (£4). Vladimir McTavish. Broon. ()ne open spot also. who clearly has no home to go to. pitches
up once tnore alongside Neil Shackleton
m the back-for-more Tony Law. in...
Mackay hosts.
Edinburgh
Al's All Night Joke Shop Bongo Club. W New Street. 558 760-1. Doors l()pm. Five
hours“ worth ol‘cabaret. live music. DJs ‘ Glasgow
the whole nine yards in a new monthly Rolling With Laughter Alaska. H2 Bath night. Drew Fairley does his down under Lane. 2-18 ll77 (venue); 287 55ll (ticket musical comedy hit and the Chippolatas centre). Doors 8pm. Michael Smiley. Bill do street theatre things but in a good way. Dewar and Sandy Nelson with your host Ambitious and intriguing at the very Jane Mackay.
least. The Comic Club Blacklriars
Navel Gazing 'l‘lie Pleasance. 22l ()Jlll. ' Underground. 3() Bell Street. 552 582-1. Doors 8pm. £5 (£4). Multi-media pop * 8.30pm. £5 (£3.50). Willi Joe Heenan. Jo culture sketch artists. l Mackenzie and Dougie Dunlop.
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a. - . “f ‘R Light the fuse and stand well back: Reg Anderson (1 ' You've got to work really hard to pull off this natural talent thing. When "i". , " ' you've got that sussed, only the right set needs to follow. In Reg " " Anderson’s Comedy Explosion, there was much in the way of the in-built comedy gene but a sweet and sour assortment of material. The gaudily- attired and lively Anderson ably perfomed his duty of keeping the packed crowd ticking over — making especially fine use of the air vent. Highlight: turning Kundun, Martin Scorsese's ode to the Dalai Lama into a ’fuck, fuck, fuck, you fucking mook' fest.
Headliner Michael Redmond is a man you may recognise from the critically-unacclaimed first series of Father Ted, playing the laconic, slow, dead-pan Father Stone. On stage, his act is laconic, slow and dead-pan, leaving his audience unsure on how to take his meandering strolls into nowhere. When all else failed, a toothy grin from the side of his moustachioed mouth would be enough of a filler before the next non- sequitur. Highlight: his confrontation with a James Whale-lookalike who may or may not have been a plant. Either way, Redmond's put-down that this was merely a bitter ex-lover was enough to get public opinion back on his side.
Craig Nelson may be carving himself a niche/digging himself into a hole as Scotland’s answer to Bill Bailey, but in truth he is at his best with a guitar strapped on, getting tore into corporate music scum. Once removed, Nelson was left to a string of insights and anecdotes which did little justice to his bounding enthusiasm. Highlight: his Cornershop spoof.
Opening act Joe Heenan has the gift of nature which allows him to ramble himself into a corner before racing out of it with material which sounds old-hat — people dialling the wrong number, what to say to your . , , f _ lover in bed - but is led down fresh and funny paths. Highlight: Cindy
, " ‘ 1 Crawford and cream cakes. Unfortunately, perhaps, the best had been «’1 ’-v‘ - -
saved for first. (Brian Donaldson)
Tache the way I like it: Michael Redmond in Rolling With Laughter at Alaska, Glasgow, Thu 28 Jan
84 THE LIST Zl Jan—4 Feb 1999