Good news. The Gameboy Colour Scrabble game finally turned up in the post this morning. Although it was supposed to be recorded delivery, but the postman just posted it through the door. The idiot. All is well in my world again.
Tonight I had another stand-up gig, this time at the Amused Moose in Soho. I am trying to get back into doing semi-regular slots and after my favourable experience at New Cross I was fairly confident that everything would be OK. But tonight was a much needed slap in the face which brought me back to reality and demonstrated my lack of stand-up experience. It's not that I was terrible, but I was last on and the audience had become noticeably more lairy and drunken after the final interval and though things started well they were soon chucking in surreal comments that I attempted to incorporate. Stupidly when someone mentioned Princess Diana I decided to go off at a tangent trying out two old bits of material that I haven't done for five years and which I soon realised I couldn't really remember the endings to (or which didn't really have proper endings anyway). I could sense the crowd losing interest and their was a lot of talking coming over from the left. I didn't know whether it was best to address this noise or carry on with the act for the people who generally were listening. I ploughed on through, but my confidence was sapped and I wasn't doing a good job. Finally I addressed a few of the guys who were heckling me and deliberately kept on going longer than I would have done to punish them for wanting me to get off. "I'd have been gone by now if you hadn't said anything," I told them, before informing them that inconveniencing them was sexually exciting me. So it wasn't a total disaster, but nor was it very good and it reminded me of why I'd given up doing this in the first place. I have so much admiration for the acts who can go on in such an environment and make sophisticated and involved routines actually work. It wasn't like I was doing anything particularly high-brow or complicated either. But the only way to learn how to get through all this is to get the experience and I am intending to get lots more gigs and also write new material.
So if you run a gig somewhere and want me to come and perform do get in touch with me!
