Misfits Mid-Life Crisis Adventures in East London & Surrey (The NEXT Chapter).

Week 141 Saturday 25^th February 2017 until Friday 3^rd March 2017.

Los Angeles last Sunday night might have been the place for the glitz and glamour because of the 2017 Oscars (™ AMPAS).  However the place to see real talent was a small comedy club The Bill Murray in North London.  Why was I there I hear you ask………… thank you for asking.

  Jesse enjoyed his 3rd Bday party.

This was the location of the 3rd Iain and Kath’s Performance Ring.  Hosted by Iain Lee who currently presents a phone-in show unlike any other (© Iain Lee) on talkRADIO Monday to Friday 10pm to 1am, and his producer Katherine Boyle.  This was probably the friendliest environment in which to try stand-up in front of 100 people who have paid cash expecting to be entertained.  The reason this was such a joyful place is because 99.9% of the audience are listeners to the show.  MOZ was among the few people in the venue who were not listener; she arrived just before the show started rushing through London in the rain hoping to be entertained.

  Aunty MOZ modelling her party outfit.

Most of the acts particularly me haven’t got a lot of experience.  I don’t know what this says about me but standing in front of about 200 people didn’t faze me at all.  Hand me a mobile phone and ask me to speak I’ll start to stutter, sweat and wish that a sink hole would open up beneath underneath me.  Holding the microphone while taking it off the stand without hitting my face, and not tripping over the cable was a good start to the set.  I like to think I am a born show off and this was the perfect opportunity to just let everything out and not care.

  Iain and Kath on stage.

During the 480 seconds that I tried to be funny most of the eyes in the room were on me, I say most because MOZ was probably fast asleep dribbling on another friend Penny’s shoulder. I’m not qualified to talk about Brexit or Trump all I can do is take the P out of myself, tell stories about my life and experiences.  I did dry a couple of times, there were things that I wanted to say but they never made it to my lips.  For those few minutes my brain was on lock down and only fed my mouth with a few things, there was so much more I wanted to say but that mass of neurons in my skull wasn’t making things easy for me.

  Some unfunny old bag putting everyone to sleep.

Next time I need to be more rehearsed, because I really wasn’t prepared.  In the future I might make notes and have the note book with me on stage not just as a prompt but a prop.  I loved the opportunity to stand on a small stage in front of 300 with fingers crossed hoping that someone might find something funny.  I have too many regrets in life, but at least I can now cross this off my bucket list.

  The wonderful “Jim The Dancer”, who ended Performance Ring 3.

LA Sunday night might have had more glamorous people than you can shake a muddy stick at, but were they actually entertained.  The audience at the Bill Murray walked away with a smile on their face and a song in there heart.  LA might have had Ryan Reynolds but we had “Jim the Dancer”, who was the highlight of the show it was a thrill to see him live on stage and wonderful to chat to him afterwards.  I am really looking forward to having another go with an audience who may not be as friendly as the one that Sunday night.

 Back at the party, Uncle Tim being taught a lession by Nico and Leo

And now for something completely different.  

 Writing this shiz.

During the pre-digital age when travelling on the tube people used to look over another passengers shoulder trying to read there book or newspaper.  In the 21st century people travel looking at a tablet or laptop but you still have others leaning over trying to read or watch what the other person is enjoying.  This happened to me a couple of times this week, at times like this I get a kick out of messing about with the screen interrupting the show, maybe even changing the programme.  There are plenty of free newspapers scattered around the carriage, why can’t they pick one up and read about all the doom and gloom in the world instead of disturbing me. 

In Other News… 

There seem to be a lot of skateboards around at the moment, has the age of the scooters ended.

Nature highlight of the week.  Watching a field mouse in the rain during my break at work, jumping from a bin into a bush and back.

 Leo wouldn’t wear the silly hat, sensible boy.

The Mid Life Crisis Conts……

This week I have mainly been watching:  “Catastrophe”, (S1, ep 1 & ep 2).  “Cradle To Grave”, (S1, ep 3).  “Inside No 9”, (S3, ep 3).  “Not Going Out”, (S8, ep 6).  “Paw Patrol”, (S1, ep 44).  “Peter Kay’s Car Share”, (S1, ep 2 & 3).  “Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week”, (S2, ep 5).  “Stacey Dooley Investigates: Young Sex For Sale In Japan”. “Taboo”, (ep 8).  “The Graham Norton Show”, (S20, ep XX).  “The Last Leg”, (S10, ep 5).  “The Trouble With Dad”,  “This Country”, (ep 3).  

This week I saw live: “Iain And Kath’s Performance Ring 3”, (26/02/16)                   

This week I have mainly been listening to:  “Iain Lee: TalkRADIO (Bonus)”, (27/02, 28/02/17).  “Iain Lee: TalkRADIO (Highlights)”, (24/02, 27/02, 28/02/17).  “Iain Lee: TalkRADIO (Live)”, (24/02, 27/02, 28/02, 01/03/17).  ”LBC Podcast: Mystery Hour”, (02/03/17).  “LBC Podcast: Nick Abbot (Whole Show)”, (25/02/17).  “Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast”, (ep 120, 02/11/16).  “Scroobius Pip, Distraction Pieces”, (ep 4, 05/11/14) (ep 22, 05/03/15) (ep 36, 20/05/15) (ep 139, 01/03/17).  “Soundtracking With Edith Bowman”, (ep 30, 25/02/17).  “The Rabbit Hole”, (02/03/17).  “These People Podcast”, (ep 15, 25/02/17).  “Morrissey”, “The Black Keys”,  “Pulp”,  “Kings Of Leon”,  “INXS”,  ”Simple Minds”, “CHiPs Theme”, “Kylie”, “James Blunt”, “P.J Harvey”.