Edinburgh Fringe. Day 1.

Going to five shows on the first day in an unfamiliar city isn't really the smartest thing to do. There were two shows which I nearly missed (one due to start time failure and the other due to getting lost).

The first show that I went to see was The Hotel. We assembled at the Assembly @ George Street and were guided to a charming little hotel about 5 minutes away. All the guests were encouraged to explore their surroundings. We started off in the restaurant; a very stereotypical restaurant which slightly silly changes. We were serenaded by the waiters who while not singing, created a bit of un-ease among the guests with their bickering and non-sense.

From the restaurant we made our way to the caberet room to hear Pippa Evans as Loretta Maine. It was such a joy to catch her doing what she does best. Other rooms included the chill-out room, the kitchen (where I was scared by one of the chefs and screamed the place down), the wellness centre, the business centre and the meditation room.

My favourite room was the administration room, it was here that I had my scarf taken away by a set of eyes behind a white wall, measured from nose to tit and was felt up by some hands prodruding from a walk-way. The lost and found room was right next to the administration room and in an attempt to get my scarf back I was stared at, shouted at and had a door slammed in my face.

Our stay ended when a "catagory C" broke out and all the guests became stuck on the staircase and the owner of The Hotel had quite a disturbing and public meltdown.

From The Hotel we made our way to the Pleasance Courtyard to see Tom Basden 'Now That's What I Call Music-Based Comedy'. The room was quite stifeling and we were sat on an angle that made it a little hard to see the white screen at the back of the stage, but overall I enjoyed the show. He left out two songs from the preview (Gang-bang Girl and Wan Nee), which I missed a little bit. His new musical instument, which consisted of a fan taped to a cap and a wind-chime was brilliant and I also enjoyed the queuing song at the end which I hadn't heard before (in saying that, i'm not sure it was the right song to end the show).

Next up was Chris Cox at the Pleasance Dome. I had seen Chris's preview back in London and as much as I had enjoyed it, there had been quite a few things that were a little... clunky. This was not the case tonight, everything worked 100% and he played to a very apreciative crowd.

I walked the short distance from the Pleasance Dome to the Udderbelly to see Rhys Darby. All in all I enjoyed the show, however sometimes I did think that fame had gone to his head. His sound effects and physical comedy had me in stiches. It was his last night at the Fringe and he over-ran for a good 10 minutes before smashing up his set and bending a microphone stand.

The last show of the day was Adam, Jason and Friends. Our "friends" included Sowetto Gospel Chior (This Little Light Of Mine gave me goosebumps), Jamie Kilstein (who had a few unpleasant heckles) and David O'Doherty (his ROFL joke was brilliant). I do love the madness that unfolds when Adam and Jason get together, it's almost like watching a hyperactive child and his very lenient and playful Dad.