Stand Up Comedy Review Thread

[Dave]

Jon Richardson - “Nidiot”​

Jon Richardson is not a comedian that has been on my radar for a long time. Truth be told, I actually only found out about him whilst watching a British TV show called “8 Out Of 10 Cats”. Even more strange is that I used to watch the same show and he wasn't a part of it. Actually, it was a stand up comedian called Dave Spikey who held Richardson's position. Still, I flicked it one night and found him to be absolutely hilarious.

Since then, I have managed to get a hold of his previous DVD “Funny Magnet” and now his latest addition “Nidiot”. The ridiculous title a call back from his first title, where he says that he has only just realised that he has been saying “An Idiot” as “A Nidiot”. But enough of the back story, let's get onto the real review.

I personally feel as though this was a sterling effort from the Brit. Some people try to reinvent the wheel when they create a new set but what makes Jon Richardson even funnier than most British comedians, is that he talks about his life in a very consistent way. And whilst he will try his best to prove to you that his life is not in the least bit funny, his delivery of that fact is the opposite. He reminds me of a comedian called Jack Dee, who is still one of my favourites comedians of all time. And if you are American, go ahead and google the man and enjoy.

The only difference between Dee and Richardson is that Richardson will allow himself to be happy on stage. And I guess this gives him a really neat humanistic character that is really attractive in a stand-up comic. And whilst Dee also talks about his life more often than not, Richardson perhaps does it even better.

I would like to say that it is better than his first DVD but I can't bring myself to doing so. What I will say is that what Richardson says about his life being more interesting seems right. He manages to teleport his humour from his kitchen to the sands of Portugal and it totally works. His timing is delicious constantly and his stone-face humour only compliments his material.

Best Story: The Train

Best one-liner: “I heard the phrase you better wipe the sick off him or we wont get in the titty bar”

8/10

 

[Dave]

Peter Kay: The Tour That Doesn't Tour - Tour

What more can be said about the legendary comic from Bolton? His stand up specials have catapulted him from relative obscurity to one of the most successful comedians in the entire world. Yep, that's right, the entire world. It has been said that the mark of a good comic is having repeatable punchlines and I honestly feel as though Peter Kay is the absolute master of that. Forget George Carlin's "27 months" and Gabriel Iglesias' "fluffy", no one has mastered the art of punchlines like Kay (Read: Garlic Bread & Rola Cola).

Well, I managed to find his latest special in a trade in shop and couldn't believe my luck that it had been reduced to 75p. Truth be told, I hadn't managed to see it before now and was totally expecting to be let down by it, given how long he had been out of the game by the point he released this special. But I'm very happy to say that he never lost a step and the only regrettable thing is that it might be another whole bunch of years before we see anything from him like this again.

The stand up begins in typical Kay fashion; rifling off cringe worthy classics with startling precision. But it's not long before the story telling aspect of Kay's work is back in all it's glory. Trademarks of Kay's earlier work is well and truly on display with frequent call backs to "Garlic Bread" and "It's over there" but he doesn't rely on it too heavily, thankfully. Instead, he uses it to give you a playful nudge back in time that really adds a lot of sentiment to the show.

And this special has to be considered amongst his best. His homespun humour is not lost on anyone and least of all me. His strength as a comedian is pointing at the ridiculous nature of present day society as opposed to "how it used to be" and you will often find yourself remembering your own memories of certain pieces of his material. Covering everything from school days to the weather, Kay is brilliantly funny once more.

Best story: The Sunlounger

Best line: "I never thought I'd see my Nan water-ski around the living room at 89"

Rating: 10/10