Yesterday was Stand Up, Get Down comedy and music event hosted by Jessica Hynes. And it was sooo much fun and slightly surreal.
Arrived early to pick up the tickets from the box office where myself and missy_manic met up with faeriequeen and psychic_house_hunter who runs the Jessica Hynes Fansite. We got some good seats near the stage. The venue was Madame Jo Jo's so naturally there's gonna be music playing. Sadly though it made it difficult to have a conversation which was a shame as it's always great to chat and get to know other fans. Before we knew it the gig kicked off and Jess got us warmed up asking for a sarcastic cheer/whoop. And at the halfway point told a hilarious story about once discovering her mother's "massager." Over the next two hours we saw numerous comics. I wish I could remember all the names. I can't :( And the order below might not be the order of the performances.
The first was the brilliant Stephen Merchant. I felt sorry for the act that had to follow him! There was also Michael "Tyres" Smiley who I'd been looking forward to seeing. Great, easy, charming presence, and made comedy look easy. I loved his stories about his parents and being a parent himself. Simon Amstel was also great. And a nice surprise was Bob Fossil, Zoo Keeper aka Rich Fulcher of The Mighty Boosh fame. I still cannot work out if that guy really is as mental as his stand up persona! His poems are so absurdly funny though.
Of the lesser known acts I adored Piff The Magic Dragon (you may have heard of his brother...Dave) and Josie Long - clever comedy, and I loved her way of seeing things and using it for her stand up.
After the stand up, it was time to get down to the music. Most of the acts of the night stuck around for a drink at the bar. As funny as the stand up was, watching Jessica Hynes and Rich Fulcher dancing together to "Let's Dance" and Prince's "Kiss" was worth the ticket price alone!! - great physical comedy to watch and they looked like they were having fun. Have to say the music was great, and thank god for psychic_house_hunter urging me and missy_manic to get out on the dance floor. So much fun! We briefly said hello to Jess near the bar area, and then later along with others at the event got down to the music, Jess included. That was a little surreal but a heck of a lot fun! I just remember dancing and singing along to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" with missy_manic and psychic_house_hunter and looking to my right to see Jess and friends all doing the same and thinking, this is fab! *dork* And I didn't see him but whilst we were all dancing
missy_manic spotted Michael Smiley watching us all. Let's face it, that's the closest we'll ever get to dancing with Tyres and Daisy Steiner. Just brilliant :D I was sorry to leave at 00:30 but never would've made to work the next day (Work don't deserve this commitment!).
Superb night out, I hope there is another event like it in the future :)