Diary of a stand-up comedian Entry #8
So it was back to The Railway this week, and last night I opened up for the second consecutive gig in Streatham Common. I wrote some new material for the gig, including a joke about being on public transport with a dwarf! Check out the video clip and let me know what you think.
The one thing I have noticed though is that I drop the f-bomb alot! So be warned when you watch this clip - I'll have to tone down the language next time!
So I gave Matt a call after getting card from the Cavendish Arms gig, and he invited me down to perform at his new music and comedy night at The Railway in Streatham Common. The gig took place last night I got a few people to come down to support me and it turned out to be a really good night.
As I walked in I noticed a piece of paper on the tables. I picked it up and there was my name with the description His suit is as sharp as his wit. I've made it I thought!
I opened up the night, and Matt gave all the comedians the option to do 10 minutes plus on stage. Not everything I did was great, but it was only my fourth ever gig, so to do 10 minutes worth of material was pretty cool. I really need to tighten things up, but it gave me the opportunity to try some different things.
But what really made this such a top night was the promoter - Matt in the hat! He doesn't run his night as rigidly or as smoothly as somewhere like The Cavendish Arms, but in a way that is it's appeal and charm. And he also has a pub quiz with cheese! That in itself is worth turning up for!
I'm pleased to say that Matt invited me back again in two weeks so another gig in the bag!
Imagine wandering into your local with the boys on a Saturday night for that first drink of the day, only to be told that the sale and manufacturing of alcohol had been banned and deemed illegal to do so across the nation. You can almost hear the uproar from the daily Weatherspoon contingent of heavy drinkers, bemoaning the fact that they have nowhere else to spend their job seekers allowance!
I’m not too sure if that is a sad indictment of the fact we rely so heavily on alcohol as part of our social expression, or the fact that we would be well within our rights to rally against the Government to put forward our right to drink Jägerbomb’s when we want!
Whatever the answer, this is what happened in 1920 in the United States when the US Congress enacted a law which did indeed ban the sale and manufacture of alcohol nationwide, and in Kenneth Allsop’s book, he tackles the prohibition era which still remains as popular as ever in film, music, and of course books!
The 13-year ban would play a major role in the rise of the Chicago Outfit headed up by Al Capone, and Allsop not only covers this but also explains the historical and political reasons that led to the ban. Men such as Capone, Johnny Torio, Dion O'Banion and Big Jim Colosimo would seize on the advantage of supply and demand, while law enforcement turned a blind eye as long as they were rewarded. For a law that was created to improve the moral compass of a nation, it backfired spectacularly and simply created a trail of blood that funded street thugs to unimaginable wealth.
This is a good account of the rise of Chicago gangsters, and one that should be able to hold the attention of even a casual reader interested in the subject. Even though Allsop doesn’t shy away from the facts and discusses the frightening actions these men took to clasp Chicago in their grip, he also manages to capture the era through a dry sense of humour which keeps the book moving along at a good pace, and his knowledge on the subject shines through.
I can only really compare this book against the numerous other books I have read on the subject of the American Mafia, and that is the only reason it probably does get higher than a 3-star rating - there are other books I've simply enjoyed more. Due to the fact that the book was written in 1961, Allsop was probably unable to report on some key facts (such as the name and antics of one Joe Kennedy). All in all though, a thorough description of this infamous yet iconic era.
New gig: I got carded after my gig at
The Cavendish Arms tonight
Diary of a stand-up comedian Entry #6
I have to admit that the gig a couple of weeks ago was a bit of a blow to the ego. It didn't exactly go according to plan, but the good news is that it didn't put me off either.
Earlier in the week I caught up with Gemma Beagley, who hosts Monday nights at the Cavendish Arms, to ask for a bit of advice. Gemma has been on the open mic circuit since November 2009, and she advised me to write some new material and to avoid doing a whole set on one subject, because if the audience don't like the story you're telling them, you don't really have anywhere else to go.
Trying to write something funny that will appeal to everyone is not easy, and I've realised that most of the time when I'm being 'funny' around my friends, it is because I am taking the piss out of them. It's easy because I already know them - I'm not too sure I'll have enough time to go around each audience member to find out a bit about them before going on stage to carry off that routine.
So I sat down and wrote. I tried to write about every day things, like relationships, having babies, holidays, and a bit of nostalgia. It seemed to go okay, and it certainly felt like it was punchier.
A good friend of mine from university, Ben Righton, also performed tonight. Ben is an actor and uses stand-up to keep himself match fit as he calls it. He did a hilarious set about the personalities of different railway stations, and his stage presence was spot-on as you would expect from an actor. He certainly put me in the shade!
But being with Ben looks like it has got me a new gig. After the show a guy called Matt came up to Ben and gave him his card as he is setting up a new comedy night in Streatham, and said how much he enjoyed his set. He then looked at me and it slowly dawned on him that I had performed as well. It was an awkward moment, I'm not too sure he was going to invite me down, but he handed me his card anyway.
So we have all forget to hang the Do Not Disturb sign on our hotel door before, resulting in the cleaner bursting in while you are comatose on the bed. However, in Barcelona things are slightly different as this door sign suggests - translated: Please No Molesting.
Diary of a stand-up comedian Entry #5
I'm not going to lie - after my first crack at stand-up comedy I thought I had made it. I thought all I needed was a few more gigs on the open mic scene and then the comedy agents would be knocking down my door to sign me up.
After all, I was voted the second funniest comic of the evening in my debut performance! I'm a pretty big deal I'll have you know! I had the crowd eating out of the palm of my hand - they loved me back in September! And if you don't believe me, then just ask all 25 of my friends who came down to watch me!
And that right there is the problem. If last night taught me anything it is that stand-up comedy in front of your mates will result in you getting the biggest laugh of the evening because they are their to support you. Unless of course you happen to friends with a group of monks who have taken a vow of silence. If you are friends with monks, my advice would be not to take them to a comedy club. You can have that bit of advice for free.
So in hindsight, if I analyse my debut performance, finishing second in a competition where your mates make up 50% of the judging panel perhaps isn't such a great achievement after all. Even worse, chances are that the other half of the room screamed their lungs out to make sure I didn't get top spot!
Last night wasn't a complete horror show, and as you can see from the video clip I got a few laughs. But it has made me realise that this comedy malarky might not be quite as easy as I first thought...
The Gambino branch of New York's five families has been led by some of the most powerful and well-known gangsters in American history. From its rise to prominence in the roaring 20s right through to the 80s and 90s under the leadership of one man who would become the most infamous mobster since Al Capone, Mafia expert John H. Davis takes us through six decades of greed, murder, deceit, and ruthless power struggles in Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family.
Davis has put together a well-written account that not only focuses on the rise and fall of the Gambino Family, but the history of the American Mafia in general, starting in the prohibition era when pockets of Sicilian immigrants took advantage of the fact alcohol had been outlawed to create their fortune.This would lead the way for the Italian/Jewish faction of Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Frank Costello, and Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel to not only take control of the New York crime family, but to create The Commission; a corporate business-like code of conduct and chain of command that would be rolled out across the country and take the Mafia to another level.
The length of the book (500 plus pages), rarely seems a chore to read as Davis guides the reader through a whirlwind of historical theatre and drama. Despite featuring such unruly characters as Albert Anastasia (who was part of a group of
ruthless murderers called Murder, Inc.) and Carlo Gambino who seized control in the 1950s of the
family which would eventually bear his name, Davis uses all of this as a prelude to lay the foundations to focus on John Gotti; the man who would go on the feature on the front of Time magazine.
A seasoned Mafia expert or fan of the genre might not find anything new in this book that they didn't already know, but for the casual reader it is the perfect guide to paint the picture of the Gambino's. Personally that really works for me, because I have read other books on the subject who attempt to dig so deep to reveal every intricate detail of the history of the mob that you get a little bogged down, and for that reason I give this book two very big thumbs up.
