Edinburgh Fringe. Day 2.

After having a proper night's sleep I headed down the road to The GRV to see Martin White's 'Accordian Of The Gods'. It was the first show in his Edinburgh run which resulted in a few technical hitches. "B flat" was such a laugh, I can't wait to hear that song again.

Today was the day in which Team Tiernan were finally going to show their support in a 3D way rather than purely virtually. I had only seen Tiernan MC in the past, so it was rather different seeing him do a solo show. I really enjoyed it, a lovely and charming performance (after seeing the show, I now want a badge that says "I am not a concept"). I assume he appreciated our support judging by the smile on his face when we posed for a photo.

Next up was Pajama Men all the way over at Assembly @ George Street. I'd heard only good things about thier show and although I did enjoy it, I wouldn't rave about it. After speaking to a friend who had seen it on an alternative night, I have come to the conclusion that they had an off night. I felt they broke character a lot and their mimes where quite sloppy.

David O'Doherty's O'Doh-Party was one of my highlights of the Fringe. His light-hearted comedy and silly songs are such a joy to watch. He played in a kick-arse venu too which just added to the charm.

The last show of the evening was Daniel Kitson at The Stand. It was a work in progress and i'd heard mixed reviews. It went for a whopping 2 hours and 15 minutes and I have to say that I was a little relieved when it ended. The funny bits were extremely funny, but it really needed to be edited. He seemed to be quite distracted at times and lost his temper with an audience member which made me feel very uncomfortable.

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.

Robin Ince vs The Moral Majority.

On Tuesday night as part of the Camden Fringe Festival, I went and saw Robin Ince vs The Moral Majority.

It was one of his many preveiws that he's doing before he heads up to Edinburgh. It was clearly a work in progress, but I enjoyed it regardless (he left the middle out apparently). His material about religion was excellent, I especially liked the bit about having "a rape for Jesus".

I look forward to seeing the completed show soon.

A thought.

I seem to patch things up with one friend only to annoy another.

The Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra/This Ambitious Orchestra

I've had a busy but nice last couple of days in London town.

On Thursday evening I went to Covent Garden with Karena as she wanted to check out a food stall run by a blogger she liked. After we'd located Eat Like A Girl, had a little chat and tasted her smoked salmon we went and schmoozed over frozen yogurt at a quaint little cafe.

On Friday my friend Georgie (who's visiting from Australia) and I went and had dinner on the southbank and then went wondered around London by night. We walked from the London Eye to Big Ben to Trafalga Square to Leicester Square to Piccalilly Circus and then to Green Park. It was the most fun i'd had in ages.

Last night I headed over to Kilburn's 'The Luminaire' to see The Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra and This Ambitious Orchestra. I'd seen The Mystery Fax Machine Orchestra quite a few times in the past, so I knew i'd like them but This Ambitious Orchestra were a great new discovery.

MFMO played all my favourite songs (I do love 'Maybe' so, so much) and also indulged the audience with a lullaby which was written and arranged by Martin White and sung by Catharine Rogers. I think the song was called 'I Sleep Among The Tall, Tall Flowers'; a great finish to an amazing set.

This Amibitous Orchestra had come all the way from New York and as some band members hadn't been able to make it, MFMO had stepped in. Their songs lacked the whimsical element of MFMO, but they made up for it in rock. The audience were more than willing to bop along to their twisted love melodies, as was I.

A thought.

I'd love to date a musician.

Kick The Plug.

Last night I went to The Wilmington Arms in Farringdon to see 6 Day Riot headline Kick The Plug. The other band performing were called The Mariner's Children (an alternative folk band) who were equally as awesome. I will definitely be checking them out again.

6 Day Riot gave a brilliant set, a lovely mixture of old and new songs and finishing up with one of my favourites 'Ya da da'. The space was just right and I liked being able to feel the music; the double bass and drums pounded on my chest. It was a perfect summer's evening in London town.

A thought.

Twitter was unavailble for a few hours this afternoon and I was absolutely lost without it. I am a twitter addict. Ben Goldacre wrote my favourite tweet(s) today:

"OK hivemind: someone once told me that Daily Mail readers make up the majority of listeners on Radio 4 . True? Provable?/ Because if true, since it's mostly made by Guardian wankers like me, then Radio 4 is like the Guardian marching into the Daily Mail's kitchen/ ...flopping it's cock out and starting to shout in a VERY PATRONISING VOICE."

School For Gifted Children.

Last night I went to Robin Ince's School For Gifted Children at the Roundhouse. The line-up of Scientists/Comedians/Broadcasters/Musicians was a dream come true and included Andrew Collings, Marcus Chown, Natalie Haynes, Gavin Osborn and Simon Singh.

Andrew Collings taught us all how to "Secret Dance" while on public transport. He was joined by an audience member, Rose, for a brilliant display of physical comedy. Marcus Chown didn't disappoint (loved his set at 400 Billion Stars too), he gave a recount of Scientists and the awards he thinks they should have one (very funny stuff!).

Gavin Osborn, Natalie Haynes, Simon Singh and Robin Ince were all on fine form and I absolutley adored Mr Ince's material about trying to find out how his son's mind works.

After last night i'm already looking forward to 9 Lessons And Carols For Godless People.

A thought.

Is it a little bit sad to sit outside a venue and get extremly excited as all the performers arrive? I so do that.

The Return Of Two In One.

Last night I went and saw another two shows in an evening. First stop was Leicester Square Theatre for Sammy J and the Forest of Dreams and then onto Soho Theatre to see Reggie Watts.

Sammy J and his smutty puppet friends had me crying with laughter, albeit I laughed harder at the fuck-ups than anything else. I think it's definately one of those shows that I could see over and over and still enjoy. I woke up this morning with 'In the Forest of Dreams' in my head which made me want to sway in time.

Words can't describe what Reggie Watts does; an incredible talent who's in a league of his own. Breaking down jokes and delivering somewhat weak punch lines in theory wouldn't work, but it did for Reggie Watts. The Time Out Sydney review puts it quite eloquently:

"I'm staring at a blank page, wondering what to write, and in a funny way it makes me wish I were Reggie Watts. He would love a blank page, or a silent room, or an unsuspecting innocent mind. He would appraise it the way a vegetable carver eyes a radish - as an opportunity. An opportunity to fill an empty space with endless random oddness.

That is really the best way to describe what Reggie Watts does. He escapes categorisation; his show comprises offbeat comedy, social satire, physical theatre, beat boxing and song, though not enough to actually be any of those things. He appears on stage with a keyboard, a couple of microphones and a loop machine, and proceeds to amuse and confuse in equal measure.

Mostly he just talks. And talks and talks. And then talks some more. And the talking isn't about anything and doesn't really make sense. And it might pass through a number of different accents and octaves. But then again, it might not. And in between the talking he plays songs, which will generally have a bit more narrative than the talking, but not necessarily. There was a heartfelt rambling ballad about the funny side of seduction and a hip hop parody that had the whole audience chanting "shit fuck stack". But sometimes he was just making sounds, which was the most impressive of all. Watts is a vocal maestro with a ten-octave range who can create any sonance audible to the human ear somewhere in his oesophagus.

In fact, I wonder why he makes weird semi-comedy instead of just creating awesome music? I suspect he enjoys messing with our heads too much. And I will gamely admit that it is fun to have your head messed with, and that's really the best reason to experience the show. Seeing Reggie Watts is a bit like sexual or chemical experimentation - you're not entirely sure what just happened, but you think you liked it and you'd probably do it again."

A thought:

I don't have the time or patience to talk to people who don't agree with me. If you agree with me however, I have all the time in the world.