Life Without Keys

DOWNLOAD THE 2009 DOUG STANHOPE BOOTLEG HERE!

After what seems like an age, but is in fact only a year, Doug Stanhope graced the Leicester Square Theatre in London in the first week of September 2009. It was a welcome return after Stanhope decided to skip the usual financial H-Bomb referred to in some circles as the “Edinburgh Fringe”.

After a shaky start to the set, something that permeates most of his shows these days, Stanhope launched into three or four particularly strong ‘bits’ that will no doubt find their place in the new CD, and DVD offering.

Look out for venom against the modern perpetual habit of videoing everything on your mobile, an extended dark poetic riff on what sex with Doug Stanhope must be like these days, sniper sex, and the (literally) climactic “Blort” routine, destined, we suspect, for the ending of the new CD. A clever bit on George W Bush and the Queen, most likely destined for UK shores only, offers some new and counterintuitive but correct thinking on throwing stones whilst abiding in a glass house, and look out for the thinly disguised attack on Britain’s Got Talent too.

Whilst looking much older than in 2002 (compare his babyfaced energy in Word of Mouth, a mere 7 years ago), coughing like a madman and clearly unnecessarily down on himself after two rough sounding shows at Reading and Leeds Music festivals (with Jamie Kilstein, an up-and-comer who was Stanhope’s support act in the 2005 Austin Incident video Bootleg and an acerbic New York wit in his own right) Stanhope is nevertheless still a billion miles ahead of most stand-up comedy. If pressed, we can only name his equal in Louis CK, whose show in November in London we will also be covering (and hopefully someone will bootleg it for us again.) Apart from that, there is, as Bill Hicks would say, a “real big fucking drop-off” after those two.

A fan recording of the 3rd September exists and is available at this location for free download – the 68 minute set has been named (by Stanhope himself in the recording) “Doug Stanhope – Before Turning the Gun on Himself”. We will upload the raw .wav file as well in due course, in case anyone else can adjust the levels better than our resident “sound-idiot” – and naturally there will be a torrent with tracks divided up.

Enjoy the hate.

The Edinburgh Fringe is a nightmarish, unedifying and contorted mess comprising thousands of comedy shows, theatre pieces and people yelling at you in the street. Last year alone, there were 84,000 performances of Blasted by Sarah Kane.

And like standing saucer-eyed at Starbucks, permaglazed by the unending variations of Chocolate Cappu-Lattoccino-moccha-frappes, you can be forgiven for your “rabbit in the headlights” approach to choosing a show to see. There are more events on offer than one could see in eight lifetimes with infinity dollars. Fortunately Gerry Howell’s Incubation Hour is one of them in 2009.

Now, full disclosure demands I admit that I know Gerry from Uni days. I also should probably admit to HIM that I once stole a really nice DVD from his room before super-gluing the door shut from the inside and telling all and sundry that “actually I live here now.” But I’m getting off the point. And inventing crimes. To look cool. Which I don’t.

Despite knowing Gerry (vaguely, it has to be said – if there’s ever a biography, I won’t be in it,) I had never seen any of his stand-up. Gerry was a playwright to me, and the only one I ever saw was a smart little number called Fiona off the Hook – one of the rare “student comedy” pieces that deserved to be shown.

But at The Hen and Chickens in Islington on Weds 17th June 2009, I finally got to see what Gerry’s stand-up is like. And describing it is a little tricky, for all the right reasons.

The Guardian did Howell a little bit of a disservice by calling him “A Young Eddie Izzard” – Izzard’s one of those comedians whom one can only come off badly against if compared even in the most glowing terms, as the Guardian has here. And while it’s true, there is one joke in french, plenty of stuttering and Howell’s attention is deliberately refocussed on different audience members throughout like Izzard, the overall style doesn’t really bring to mind the Great Izz.

It’s more of what a show would be like if a mixed media comedy show’s projector, video display and sound gear had been stolen, and the performer had only words at its disposal. In addition to regular “at the audience” stand-up, there is a duologue acted out by only Howell alone, jumping across the room in a manner reminiscent of Tommy Cooper’s Romeo and Juliet sketch, there are whacky Mitch Hedberg-esque and Demetri Martin style one-liners, and tangents aplenty.

If you see Gerry at the Fringe, watch out for a wonderfully observed piece on King Harold and 1066 – a real gem in his routine – if he doesn’t do it, request it at the end.

He’s gonna hate me for encouraging his audience to yell out, but it matters not – the piece is worth it.

Gerry Howell’s Incubation Hour is on Facebook, detailing upcoming events on London and at the Edinburgh Fringe. And if that weren’t enough, the bastard’s even supporting Stewart Lee and Richared Herring in July.

Here’s a quick video to whet that appetite!