Gig report - Summerhouse @ Cornerhouse

Date: 30.08.09
Band: Summerhouse
Venue: The Cornerhouse, Cambridge
Type Of Gig: Pub/venue
Venue Vibe: Merry, very merry
Audience: Good turnout, very drunk
Set List: I'm really not sure. The evening was Jo's birthday; Jo runs several local venues and is pretty much responsible for most of the good things that happen on the Cambridge music scene. She's also a musician herself, playing with her band Summerhouse, and at her birthday BBQ on Sunday her band reformed for a special show. They were without a drummer so I was asked to guest, and it was a cracking night. Ended up 'winging it' for nearly an hour - I did not know a single Summerhouse song or even what genre of music they play, but the audience didn't seem to mind and it's up there with one of my better gigs of this year...

Moving on

The post-Edinburgh blues have been typically difficult to digest. From going from being a proper, fully-fledged producer/playwright strutting around the greatest arts arena in the world, to being back in the office where the work is fun but I generally don't move my legs for 8 hours is difficult to adjust to. Still, I've been doing my best to keep busy, and the Edinburgh show itself isn't done with just yet, last night our production of 'With Arms Outstretched' ended up in the tiny village of Burwell. Burwell is an odd little place; just out of the way of Cambridge, past Lode but before you get to Fordham. Geography lesson aside, it really does have a nice little atmosphere going on. The venue felt like a school hall, and smelt of the WI, who are regulars there. More traditional am-dram rather than the dark indie theatre underworld scene I try to associate myself with, but a highly enjoyable evening all the same. 42 people in the crowd, taking the tally up to 341 people in total for this show so far, and that audience laughed at everything - just such a jolly bunch. More of that please, and I might actually start to think my work is actually funny...

I know I've said it before, but actors do amaze me. Last night they went straight back into the show after 2 weeks off, with no rehearsals and merely a quick line run whilst eating a takeaway. It was the best the play has ever looked - these guys are so fresh, so sharp, I get the feeling I could keep this run going for another 6 months and they'd still preform it with as much enthusiasm as the premiere. Colin, Kevin, Vaughan, Victoria - I salute you. London is the next destination for the show - and sadly the final destination, but fingers crossed we can end things on a real high note. We're at The Hen & Chickens Theatre in Islington. For the first time, I've not booked the venue - the venue have booked us. Our/my stock is rising, it's a genuine sign, I'm thrilled. We're there for 2 nights, and unlike the more unconventional venues we've have to produce the show in previously, this is a 'proper' theatre, with fixed, rigged seats, full lights, PA, it's what the guys deserve after all their hard work. This is also the venue where The Mighty Boosh got spotted, and where Frankie Boyle still performs on a regular basis. We're not in the big league yet, but we're edging closer to things that are just a bit better than what we've had before, which is really good for morale. To cap it all off, we didn't even get a slating from 3Weeks Magazine for our Edinburgh run, and lets face it - they slate me every year. We got a 3 star review from them, not flattering but hardly insulting either, which will do me for now. Although not sure if the term "mildly entertaining" will help sell the show if put on a flyer.

Writing-wise I've kept myself busy, still working hard on my debut novel, 'Johnny In The Real World', which seems to be working well, if in a long-winded-process kinda way. I've also finished a new play, 'Sugar Sugar', which is a typical Boy Richards awkward young man kind of affair, whilst dealing with the difficulties of diabetes at the same time (I sit next to a diabetic at work and get some really useful insights from him). I was really happy with the play, and then on the same day in which I'd finished the first draft I got an email from a London producer contact who was asking me about my latest work, I foolishly sent it to him. Foolish because I didn't stick to my 'four week rule' of coming back to a draft four weeks later and re-reading with fresh eyes. Two days after I submitted the script, I had a re-read and I'm not keen on it at all, in fact as a play it doesn't really work on many levels, and even on the bits where it does work structurally the dialogue just drags. Amazed I didn't spot this the first time round, and now concerned that I've just sent a very useful contact a pile of shite. Oh well, at least there's still the cabaret evenings coming up which I'm putting on; a cross between Vic Reeves' Big Night Out and Later With Jools Holland, with more than a hint of Generation Game thrown in, a glorious, bedazzling hour of entertainment that will both shock and excite at the same time, and all recorded for a weekly podcast. That show is called 'Jiggery Pokery Cabaret' and is going to run for 6 weeks in a Cambridge venue, very, very soon - going to sort out the exact dates tomorrow. Exciting - but coming up with 6 hours worth of entertainment is a hell of a challenge. I'm meeting up with fellow writer Gytha Lodge next week for an ideas session, and in a couple weeks time I'm also having a creative chat/piss-up with my old mucker Jack Gibson, so I'm not in this alone, at least. Looking forward to booking the bands and other acts to go with the show too, I think it's going to be absolutely brilliant.

Elswhere, my record label, Cracking Tunes, is set to be a proper label soon, we have a fancy logo and everything, and had dinner with the website designer on Thursday and crackingtunes.com should be live in a couple days time. Now just need a few more bands to my roster, signed my mate Bill Campbell last night though, whilst drinking whiskey, it's how all good deals are done. In the meantime, I've been doing a bit of Myspace promo work for one of my acts, The Matt Corrall Band, and the response has been more amazing than anything I've ever done before - turns out, right, everyone loves the blues, he's actually got proper 'fans' now, not just people wanting to get their friend stats up. Even more amazingly, Vinnie Zummo - former guitarist with Joe Jackson, has asked to collaborate with us! It's all gone a bit crazy, considering we're not actually a proper band, more the case of 5 hungover mates jamming in the studio and releasing the best bits, but if it takes off I guess none of us will say no to taking it a little further.

Musically in general actually I think things are getting back in shape after a slow few months; Eureka Stockade are supporting Charlotte Hatherley from Ash next month - I'm looking forward to this a lot, as well as talk of heading back into the studio, and we've got a few other gigs in the schedule too which is nice. With The Damsons I have a BBC radio session booked in, and elsewhere I've been offered a reasonably well-paid dep gig in October, and also a couple other studio projects, positivity all round.

So, Edinburgh might be done with for another year, but keeping the Edinburgh vibe going, in my head, at least, has proved a little easier than I had first feared. Hurrah!

Edinburgh Fringe 2009

Back from Edinburgh, with that familiar sense of both elation at the achievements of my team, and the odd feeling of dejection that I'm back in my tiny flat in Cambridgeshire that has a leaky toilet and a faint smell of bins. Maybe it's always been like that, I am in the fens, of course, but maybe I just didn't notice because I was so wrapped up in that horrible hole known as 'routine'. I've been out of my routine for the last 8 days, and there is nothing like a shock to the system than the Edinburgh Fringe. I feel inspired by what I can achieve; the reminder that the world is actually yours for the taking. Well, that's the feeling you get when you're there, but somehow, having barely been back 'home' for 24 hours, that already seems to be drifting from my consciousness. I must keep this Fringe buzz going, psychologically. For when I'm at the Edinburgh Fringe I feel I am the best version of me there is available.

About this time two weeks ago there was no way I would be taking a show to the Fringe again; too much admin, too much hard work, too much expense - and for ultimately very little satisfaction. Well, so it appears about two weeks before the festival starts. But within hours of arriving in Edinburgh, being handed a handful of flyers by fellow show producers, glancing down the Royal Mile at the spectacular, colourful and often damn-well strange activities of the greatest artistic event on the planet, I have very little doubt I want to do this again - next year, and then year after that, and so on. Even in the Scottish drizzle, after a 9 hour car drive, the warm glow that can only be generated from so much creativity frantically battling for your attention hits you like nothing else can. For those un-initiated, it's probably a little intimidating. But when you embrace it, you realise your own world stops for a bit - however long you're there for, and you will be entertained. The outside world changes all the time, but despite the constant media cynicism, The Edinburgh Fringe will never change.

Our venue, The Grape, had given us a lot of concerning thoughts before our arrival, simply because nobody knew anything about it. I was told a day before travelling by Sarah Pearce, compare for 'Comedy At The Grape', that it probably wasn't designed for theatre; there was no stage and very little space. From the reviews I'd read online, it was apparently going to be a shit hole. On arriving at the venue, weary after a day of travelling up from various bits of Cambs, we had to check on Google maps that we were actually in the right place, because The Grape was actually rather lovely. True, so it was by no means a theatre venue as Sarah pointed out; we had no stage lights and poor old Alan our resident techie genius was behind the play which made things a little difficult for prompting him with music cues, but it was clean, the staff were friendly and probably a lot more comfortable for the audiences than the preview dates. Unconventional, but nothing is conventional at the Edinburgh Fringe. I've attached a short video of our venue, shortly before the 6th performance of the play. I've got a small camcorder and filmed a lot of random nonsense during the run, most of which I imagine the team won't be too happy about me putting online. That doesn't mean I won't do at some point though...

Accommodation-wise we (me, Alan, Pam, Rachel, Victoria, Colin, Vaughan and Kev) started off in the same flat, and then after night one, some of us (me, Alan and Pam) moved over to my friend Steve's flat, realising he had lots of room and realising that the late-night liveliness of certain members of the team would get frustrating a few days in. Night one at 'The Fun House', as Colin later named it, found me angry and frustrated at lack of sleep and throwing my mobile across the room (narrowly missing Vaughan, I didn't realise he was sat there) as I'd been driving for 9 hours and couldn't get to sleep because of the partying of those crazy young actor types. I was rather happy when Steve mentioned he had 3 spare rooms and offered us a chance to stay at his, even if it was, again according to Colin 'The Mediocre House'. That's not to say morale wasn't good though; for a majority of this latest run this cast were by far the most easy to work with I've ever had, we all drank a lot, every night, yet somehow we were still out flyering every day at a reasonable hour (apart from Friday's show - Thursday evening went just a little bit too far). Also, despite the fact this cast are without question the biggest social drinkers I've ever worked with in any form of project (music, theatre), their performances every day were 100% consistent and virtually spot on, which is nothing short of amazing (apart from Friday's show - Thursday evening went just a little bit too far).

Audience-wise, at the Edinburgh Fringe I always set a target of getting at least 15 people in a day, which is still tough considering there are 2000 other shows wanting the same thing. With my second show, 'Frank's Aim Is True' (also starring Vaughan) a few years back we barely hit 5 a day. I'm very happy to report the following audience attendance figures for 2009's show (capacity was 46):

Saturday: 46
Sunday: 36
Monday: 21
Tuesday: 34
Wednesday: 29
Thursday: 24
Friday: 36

Still can't find any press reviews for the show online, even though I know there was at least one reviewer in the audience. Playing 'spot the journo' is a game I like to play, and I'm certain I spotted one of 'them' on the Tuesday. I don't care anyway if they liked it or not - because the audiences seemed to, and as much as a cliche as it sounds, that does actually mean a lot to us. Although a good review would be a bonus as the show next heads over to Burwell for a final Cambridgeshire performance, before 4 nights in London at the start of next month. A good review for the flyer might help things a little.

As always for the fringe I try to catch as many other shows as possible. Due to the fact I was fortunate to have several friends join me for the trip at various times a lot of my time was spent in bars catching up, not actually watching as many other shows as perhaps in retrospect I would have liked to have done. Still, for the record here's the shows I did catch:

Pappy's Fun Club: Somebody should snap these guys up/give them knighthoods/give them the respect they deserve. 5th time in a year I've seen them, 5th time I've come out of the show with near stomach pains for laughing so much. Incredible, incredible, incredible. The introduction of 'Dean' is inspired. 10/10
Stand By Your Van: Chuffed I got free tickets to this. Produced by Menagerie Theatre (from Cambridge), I thought I'd hate it - it was the best piece of 'theatre' I've seen at Edinburgh in years. 9/10
Comedy At The Grape: As always with a mixed-bill of stand-ups it's varied in quality. Lots of enthusiasm all round and some good stuff there, but that woman with the deep voice freaked me out a bit. 7/10
Venus And Mars: Written by my friend Julia Bolden, a decent hour of lunchtime comedy, the least demanding show I've seen in a while and that's a good thing, honestly. 7/10
Matt Kershan: Went on a whim, whilst a little drunk, as wanted to get my 'show stats' up and he was on in 10 mins next to where myself, Steve, Rob and Vicky were drinking. Venue far too hot, very uncomfortable. His act was very 'nice', never a classic but worth a punt. 6.5/10
Farenheit 451: Sorry, I didn't understand this one. I only went because my friends went along and I didn't want to be a loner. Often confusing, 'physical theatre'. 4/10
Improlympians: I usually hate improv but they were in the same venue as us and very friendly. Actually really enjoyed it. 7/10
Luke Tulson: Felt sorry for him - hardly any audience, and a lot of his act revolves around talking to the 'crowd'. Glad he still didn't pick on me though. Struck me as being a genuinely nice bloke, and a decent act. 8/10
The Bone House: Weird shit, whilst pissed. Dull, not sure how you can call this theatre. Annoyed that I was the only person in the room who hadn't worked out somebody would get shot at the end. 2/10
God: A play by Woody Allen. I know the Edinburgh Fringe is for new works, but you can't go wrong with a bit of Woody every now and then. Lovely show, well performed too - 8/10.
James Shepherd At The Piano: Likable, witty songs, some great moments, went on a bit. 7/10
A Personal War: Stunning, heart-breaking theatre, even more incredible considering it's a true story. So happy I saw this - I didn't want to but our director insisted it was worth an hour of my time. Really, really was. 9/10
Newsreview: How can you not like The Newsreview? The longest-running sketch show of the Fringe (30 years). Often hilarious and great performances. The Jade Goody stuff was a close bit to the bone, the Michael Jackson stuff predictable. Bloody funny though. 7/10
Trevor Lock: Like a turbo-charged Harry Hill, I was at times intimidated by his performance but he's a true talent, deserves to be massive. 8/10

Anyway; back to our own show, With Arms Outstretched, I'm really happy with the way it all turned out. The cast were perfect for their selected roles and embraced them, their commitment to the project was encouraging, and they helped make it my most enjoyable run up there so far. The script held out pretty well too - I think snappy, short scenes is the way forwards. Also, on a rather brilliant note, a random theatre company from Sheffield approached me half way through the run saying they loved it and want to perform the play themselves. I'm happy, and chuffed, but not getting too carried away just in case they were lying. Hopefully more on that soon.

I am actually really happy, looking back at the videos of the week that has just been, as much as the exhaustion of yesterdays drive home is still hitting me hard. I like putting on shows, I love my friends who came up to either see it or just meet up with for a drink (in no specific order; Steve - who I ended up staying with all week, Kerry Dear Old Blighty, Rob Toulson and Vicky Hoffman, Chris Reed, Pam Daniel, Paul High, Carl Fletcher, Tracy Harris, Rachel Peck - who became our head flyerer during the run, Emma (surname I've forgotten) and her husband), putting on a show is so much easier when people believe in you. I need to move on. The Edinburgh Fringe is like Christmas - I love it, but I know it can't be Christmas every day. 'With Arms Outstretched' has 5 performances to go before we archive it. So far, including the previews, 299 people have seen the show, and we've turned away at least another 10. Now, if all my plays were seen by that many people, surely someone somewhere will like my material enough to really help push me on to the next level? Even if they don't, I have big ideas that are well above my station, and I'm going to have a lot of fun over the next few months seeing if they actually work.

Gig report - Eureka Stockade @ Cornerhouse

Date: 05.08.09
Band: Eureka Stockade
Venue: The Cornerhouse, Cambridge
Type Of Gig: Pub/venue
Venue Vibe: Sweaty
Audience: Sweaty, mostly exchange students until they buggered off. Extremely polite crowd considering we've not rehearsed for three weeks, and were frankly a fair way off the pace.
Set List: (I think, but not too sure) Slight Of Hand, Resistance, Sharks, Heroes Fall, Through Every Darkness, Without You, All Alone.

The preview dates

Did the preview dates last night in Cambridge and I have to say I haven't been that stressed in a long time. Was nothing to do with the show itself, was purely down to my lack of box office ability...the show had sold out long before the event itself, and I found myself in a bit of a panic when good friends, who had asked for tickets, turned up but I had forgotten to put them on the list. And then good friends of Victoria's, and a couple others too. I'm sure I broke the Health and Safety regulations somehow, we crammed loads of people into the tiny cellar of CB2 Restaurant, but I like that - there was a flattering demand to see this show, I think it's a clear sign that finally, after 4 years of putting on shows there, my work is perhaps needing a larger venue. Or, people just like coming out on a Tuesday. Anyway, thanks to the bar staff very kindly lending me extra chairs from the main bar we just about got away with it, but can't have been comfortable for those poor audience types. The performances themselves were near spot-on during both performances (we did two, one at 7.30pm, one at 9pm, with a 25 minute break) and the cast energy levels were fantastic throughout. Once again, actors amaze me, and Pam's authority seemed to keep them on their toes. As for how the play was received...well, I felt the first performance was a bit lacking in the laughter department, and was a bit concerned and even momentarily down about it. The second performance went down an absolute storm and we left the venue buzzing. I've been told today by several friends who were at the first showing that it was a great show and that they were laughing, and I'm probably weird/deaf for not spotting this. That's cool then, I may be a weirdo but as long as people like the show.

We travel to Edinburgh on Friday, and there's still a few concerns. The flyers have arrived which is a huge relief, but sudden fears on whether our accommodation will actually fit us all in, what the venue looks like and financial concerns still rattle around a little, but that's all part and parcel of the Edinburgh Fringe. When I get there, know that I have a floor to crash on, know that the venue looks like a venue, and have a pint in one hand and a random stand-up comedian telling crude jokes in front of me I know I'll be at home.

Frantic-ness

I'm not entirely sure where the time is going at the moment, but beneath all this frantic energy and occasional bouts of exhaustion I can't help but remain positive about it all. The 'it' probably being the Edinburgh show, which, as expected, is starting to dominate my life, as it does around this time every year. I really wanted to take a back seat this year, and to a certain extent I have; I've left the show completely in the hands of a director for the first time (it's like handing your baby over for six weeks) and Pam, it has to be said, has done an amazing job. I went to the dress rehearsal last night and it's the first time I've seen the play, 'With Arms Outstretched', fully staged. It's incredibly exciting - I'm more excited about this than I have been about any of my other plays, honestly. It's remarkable how all the stage direction and dialogue is faithful to my original script, yet the play still looks completely different to how I originally envisaged it - for starters Kev as the narrator has gone from a slightly dull man in the corner to a Fagin-esque monster of a man, both terrifying yet enthralling to watch. The show itself is working, no question there, and I'm very happy about it all. Yet, still from my 'back seat' view I've found myself working very hard, in the producer capacity of things. I did an extremely hungover live radio interview a couple weeks back (a friend's leaving do in the office over-ran till 2.30am, I was on air at 8am), the last-minute prop buying and have been the one-man box office for the Cambridge dates. And, although we have accommodation sorted for Edinburgh and tonight's 2 preview performances of the show both selling out very quickly, there's still plenty to be worried about. For starters, the flyers (all 3000 of them) haven't arrived yet, and it's Tuesday today, and we travel on Friday, and without flyers you really don't have a show...also, Vaughan's son had swine flu last week - and without our master acting genius Vaughan we really don't have a show...and then there's the whole not entirely knowing what your venue is going to be like situation. We basically arrive at the venue on Saturday, 15 minutes before the first fringe performance, not having seen even a picture of the space we're going to be performing in, that bit is a little scary. I've tried doing my research on the venue and I keep finding myself reading reviews about how terrible the beer is, how rude the staff are, and how the food gives people poisoning. So, I'm not going to be sleeping too easy any time soon until I know exactly what we're dealing with. In the meantime, the premiere of the show tonight - I'm both terrified and thrilled at the same time, which is a confusing mindset to be in.

On the music side of things the Matt Corrall Band will be releasing their debut album on the 15th September, with me on drums and on my Cracking Tunes record label (artwork is attached to this post, video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5uP__3Q468). Played the Secret Garden Party festival a couple weeks back with The Damsons and, despite all the hype surrounding this 'major' festival it was all a bit of an anti-climax. Playing a festival with 16,000 attendees is great, but not when only about 8 of them are watching you, and 3 of them didn't really give a sh*t. The organisation of the festival, from an artist point of view, is totally shocking - how hard can it be to direct us to the right car park? We were driving around for hours. It did actually look like a great festival though, from an audience perspective, but surely basic staff training wouldn't have gone amiss. Meanwhile, gigs with Damsons, Eureka Stockade and Dear Old Blighty all on the horizon, I do feel the need to actually sit down and work out what band is working properly for my needs at the moment, I'm not convinced I'm actually 'getting anywhere' anymore, but lets get the theatre stuff out the way first.

All this fun is happening whilst I'm trying to negotiate with various agents about taking me on as a playwright, and, perhaps the most difficult thing is trying to select my fantasy football team for the new season - Defoe and Adebayor up front? I very much think so.

Currently listening to: Okkervil River - Black Sheep Boy (on repeat, about 8 hours a day)