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ALTERNATIVE COMEDY AD CAMPAIGN

I recently came across an ad campaign for LA Riot, an Alternative comedy campaign taking place in, you guessed it, L.A.

I know we’re British, but it still doesn’t stop these Ads being fantastic. Here are some of my favourites:

Posted on: 16th May 2012 - 0 notesReblog

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WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

By Thom Milson

I just finished reading a fantastic article in the New York about the brilliant Patrice O’Neal and what it means to be a comedian. The article talks about the Tragic death of Patrice last November; the reactions to his death by comedians; Patrice’s personal thought on his career, and what a comedian should be trying to achieve. To say this article had a profound effect on me would be a vast understatement: it’s changed the whole way I think about comedy.

I always believed comedy was an art form and an important part of culture. Comedy is not just about presenting jokes for an audience, it’s about presenting ideas to an audience. Patrice O’Neal was one of a current crop of comedians that understood that these ideas didn’t need to be something the audience agreed with. In fact he preferred the ideas if they didn’t, and he respected comedians who had a strong point of view. If they didn’t, he wouldn’t talk to them.

“he had plenty to say about comedians who cared more about being liked than committing to their particular point of view: “Do you have a life philosophy? Do you have anything that says goddamn ethic? Any ethic, you piece of shit? If you don’t, don’t talk to me. I don’t even have to say sheep.”

His desire to discuss things that made the audience uncomfortable defined him as a comedian, and in turn highlighted what comedy is supposed to be about: a strong point of view. O’Neal constantly examined the role of the comedian and “wondered if the desire to be liked onstage might be coming from the need to protect a belief in oneself as a nice guy offstage. What if you weren’t that guy at all?”

When he had that realisation he was able to break free, just as many of the greats before him had. For this discovery to be able to succeed though, there needs to be an audience that is willing to give something to the performance themselves, rather than simply being a passive viewer. That doesn’t mean heckles, what it does mean is forgiveness, willingness to disagree, and an understanding that it’s still okay to laugh if they do disagree.

In fact, all comedy needs that type of audience to thrive, not just comics like Patrice O’Neal. Sadly it doesn’t seem to exist as much as it should here in the UK. The main reasons for this (In my opinion) are TV, and Gong Shows.

I’m not going to say that the comedians on TV are talentless, awful, or rubbish hacks. They’re not; they’ve clearly worked their way to being on TV, put their time in, and been successful. They deserve the credit that they get. What I don’t like about comedy on TV is that it is covers a very small spectrum of Stand-up comedy that exists live. I don’t really know why this is, but I would probably hazard a guess that channels such as the BBC do not want to face a great deal of complaints.

I mean there are some channels that seem to take risks such as BBC3 (and Channel 4 to an extent) but they seem to feature content that has already been proven in the US, such as Family Guy, which I imagine they still receive complaints about. What I would like to see is at least one regular comedy showcase that features home grown talent that is risqué and niche, even if Points of View do receive a ton of letters asking for it to be taken off the air.

Complaints are natural too. Not everyone likes the same things, and some things that some people love, others will find offensive. It’s just the nature of creativity. If you are offended you have the right to say so, but the party that offended you also has the right to say “I don’t care”. Comedy is subjective and should be treated as such. Not judged objectively X-factor style, like at a Gong Show.

Gong Shows really are the worst. They take everything comedy should be, and they mutilate it without mercy. In a Gong Show, A comedian has to go on stage to make an audience laugh for a specific amount of time (usually five minutes); if the audience don’t find them funny they can vote them off, and they will be “gonged”. Five minutes doesn’t seem a long time to have to beat, and it isn’t. In fact it isn’t enough time. Five minutes is not enough time for a comic’s act to breathe, become playful, and build. In a gong show it must be laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, and if the comedian says ANYTHING the audience doesn’t feel entirely comfortable with, they’re off.

How much I hate Gong Shows is another Blog post entirely, one which will probably appear on my personal Blog at some point, for now what I will say is that they remove the power from the comedian who is supposed to manipulate an audience, into a reversed situation that is not good for the growth and development of comedy.

I recently read a quote by James Woroniecki owner of 99 Club on the matter:

“The nineties saw a shift in the live comedy scene and not necessarily one for the good.  Comedy clubs gradually became more commercial, focusing in particular on stag nights and the kind of comedians whose jokes would service a massive group of drunken lads…it was becoming increasingly difficult to find comedy clubs that treated their acts as artists and gave them a positive, supportive environment in which to practice their craft.”

That quote is referring to NINETIES comedy, NINETIES. That’s two decades ago now. Why is this still happening? Why are comedians still letting it happen? That’s why the 99 Club was started. That’s why we started HOWL. To be a safe haven for the comics that are different and who often find themselves fighting with an audience who are too quick to dismiss them. Even traditional comics deserve this, not just “Alternative comics”. Comedians deserved to be treated as Artists not just entertainers, and we want to do just that, by providing the right audience so that comics can really be free to do what they want.

Posted on: 15th May 2012 - 2 notesReblog

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HOWL #4 AND LEEDS COMEDY FESTIVAL

So Leeds Comedy Festival is under way. That would be awesome news if we were part of it. Sadly we’re not, because we’re too out there. That’s not true, but we still have a show going on during the festival at Santiago Bar on Thursday 3rd May. That’s right: HOWL #4!

Joining us as guests this month:

Mark Hayden

Tom Tolson

Marshal B. Anderson

Jayne Edwards

Master of Ceremonies: Red Redmond

FREE ENTRY.

Doors: 8pm

Show: 9pm

HOWL Alternative Comedy Night Episode IV

Santiago Bar

1-3 Grand Arcade

Leeds

LS1 6PG

Posted on: 29th April 2012 - 0 notesReblog

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HOWL #3 AND OTHER THINGS WORTHY OF MENTION (PARTICULARLY CUT-UP)

By Thom Milson

So we did the 3rd HOWL last Thursday. It was the day after my birthday, and I was really looking forward to it.

I’d found out a short while before the gig, that somebody has been intentionally removing the posters for the night because it is in competition with another non-comedy night on a Thursday. The obviously negative side to this is that our posters are being taken when we want people to come to our night, but the positive is that somebody thinks our night is stealing their custom. We put a lot of effort into this night, and will continue to do so because we believe the best way to get people to come to your thing, is to put on a very good thing.

Now that’s out of the way, I can talk about the night. The line-up for the night was Sally Jones, Eji Osigwe, Si Finnigan, Me, Michael Sterrett, Graham Lee, and Johnny F. Monotone. Everyone did really well, if a little under appreciated, and dealt well with a duo of hecklers fittingly (one was apparently a comic!). I would normally break down everyone’s acts and do a mini review, but they always seem biased since they’re coming from us. Saying that, if any of the acts want us to give them a quote, please ask, we’re more than happy to write something up. We will be inviting people who specialise in writing reviews (for actual publications!) in the future. If you’re reading this, and like the sound of coming down to do this, just drop us an email and we’ll make sure you get to sit down will some of the acts afterwards or something.

There’s a whole host of interesting things coming up this month too. I’m down at The Pigeon Hole, a night organised by some good friends of ours, on the 18th April. That’s a Wednesday for those without calenders at hand, and it will be taking place at The Brudenell Social Club in Leeds. If you want a seat get down early, otherwise you might find yourself having to fight off a pack of hipsters. It’s free entry too, so if you like comedy you have no excuse.

Michael, and Si haven’t mentioned what they up to this month, but you can keep yourself update by following them on Twitter: @mjsterrett and @sifinnigan.

Then at the end of the month you’ve probably seen that we are putting on CUT-UP at Baby Jupiter in Leeds. We have a fantastic line-up for this, including Jed Salisbury, Jacob Rawcliffe, Andy Woolston, Simon Gutherless, Joe Tarpey, Callum Scott, and then Michael, Simon, and I. This is going to be the gateway to Howl for all of the acts out there that are wondering. We’re going to be quite relaxed* with who we book for CUT-UP and our favourites will then be asked to do HOWL.

*we’ll still ask around about an act and then check out what they do before putting them on, but we will be open to taking more risks with CUT-UP. If you’re interested in coming down, just get in touch.

Anyway, that’s it for now. I’ll shut up.

Thom.

Posted on: 12th April 2012 - 0 notesReblog

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HOWL #2 Review

So, HOWL #2 was on Thursday night, and if you weren’t there you definitely missed out. We had the oddity Alex Mettrick as Master of Ceremonies, who never fails to bring a brilliant strangeness to the stage and always goes down well with an audience. Chris Lumb was up first. Chris is a great impersonator who never fails to delight, and one bit in particular - setting Die Hard in an old folks home - was brilliantly received. Chris was a great way to kick off the night.

Following Chris was Matthew Fong. A great performer and a charmer, Matthew brought confidence and exuberance to the Howl stage. Si Finnigan was the next to grace the stage. Si expertly crafts small tales that never cease to surprise. He brought a more personal feel to his act at HOWL #2, which served to add even more funny to an already humour filled act. Jonny Addy was up next. Quick on his feet and good with the ol’ ad-lib, you could tell Jonny was natural performer a crowd would really enjoy.

After the break we resumed with Laura Machin. A confident woman who is fearless in her willingness to be open and intimate with an audience. Next, the packed room quickly warmed to a charming and laid back set from Thom Milson, his dark whimsical treatise on pop culture, society and the perils of lion ownership proving why Mr Milson is the comic the other comics watch from the back of the room. Michael Sterrett finished the second section with style. Fresh off the back of a performance that has given him a place in the final of Mr Bens Comedy Club New Act Competition, Mickey was full of confidence and natural [Irish] charm. If you’ve not seen Michael before you’re missing out. Fearless and honest, Michael has no reservations about tearing down the bullshit of life, and being uncompromisingly funny while doing so.

The first act in the final section was Callum Scott. At first glance you would say Callum Scott likes to take on the big issues. Tonight’s targets being the English language, Capitalism and sexuality. Look a little closer and you might see the story of a young man trying to figure out where exactly he belongs in this strange world. Jokes on working for Disney, playing rugby and being head-hunted by girls as their ‘gay best friend’ show a keen eye for observation but it’s his tendency to self-deprecate which lifts the material higher. He laments that “he is not what a gay best friend should look like,” but to HOWL’s audience, that doesn’t matter at all. He went down a storm!

The night was then brought to a close by Simon D. Heaven. Simon is a joke writer, or more to the point, he is in love with the joke writing form. Beneath the sardonic style and unswerving delivery lies the heart of a man who can’t stop putting pen to paper. Simon goes through all the gears for HOWL’s crowd tonight, one-two punches, one-liners, paraprosdokians, wordplay; the works! Purely economical in his use of words, each joke is delivered with all the fat trimmed off. Occasionally Heaven likes to keep his audience on his toes, making them work for the payoff: “I just split up with my girlfriend; she actually left me for comic affect.” Tonight HOWL got to see a man in love with his craft, superb.

Posted on: 12th March 2012 - 0 notesReblog