I’ve spent the last full week doing stand-up again. I can’t believe how much I’m enjoying it. Even though the material is new and not yet quite as sure-fire as I’d like it to be, I’m loving being in front of people who want to laugh and saying stuff that I think about stuff in order to make them do so. What a lovely way to spend an evening.
Of course, being at the Edinburgh Fringe means I’m getting to see some amazing comics. That means that, no matter how pleased I am to have made a slight return, I still occasionally want to kill myself and give up…not necessarily in that order. I won’t, but you know what I mean. They’re just so damned good, damn them.
I’m not a natural at the medium – I have to work really, really hard at it. Improvisation is my natural home, so being onstage on my own, with stuff I’ve already thought of (that may or may not work) can inspire a dread in me equalled only by dentists’ drills. But when it goes well, man, that’s fun.
I’d been doing a lot of the same ol’ same ol’ stuff when I stopped gigging about two years ago. That’s why I decided that – if I was going to put myself even tentatively out there again – this time it’d have to be all new. So I apologise to anyone who saw me last Wednesday and Thursday when I was like a bike you’ve left out all winter, during the first ride of spring; the wheels and everything are functional, but the bell and some of the moving parts may need an extra bit of lubrication to get ‘em moving. I was still likely to forget the words, or get the order and timing wrong. Those of you who were there were still really generous with your laughter. Bless you a million times. I’ll make it up to you somehow. You’re great. Ding ding!
A couple of the new bits aren’t firing right every time, but a lot of that’s down to me being an idiot – ad-libbing inappropriately or picking a chat with someone who would rather talk to Inland Revenue. Mind you, that’s what my life’s like a lot of the time, so at least my set is authentic.
If you’re in Edinburgh, come to Best of Irish at the Stand on Friday night. If you’re in Glasgow, I’m at the Stand there tomorrow. You can always bring some WD40 with you if you’re worried.
