MadAdminSkillz

18th August

Simon South (@CC Blooms, 13.45, Free)

Simon South is a close-up magician with everything you expect: cards, putting £10 notes into envelopes, pretending to cut up credit cards. Unfortunately for me, it was close enough to see various sleights of hands (whole packs of cards with the same card in them, distraction not distracting enough).  It did hold together with his abrupt, and sometimes aggressive sense of humour.  I got the impression he was quite early on in his career and like so many acts, would have benefitted from a larger audience.

Chris Coltrane – Left-Wing Propaganda Machine (@Banshee Labyrinth, 15.30, Free)

Chris Coltrane runs the Lolitics comedy club in London (plus a podcast of the same name) and by his own admission, doesn't get invited to a lot of comedy clubs.  Friendly and lighthearted in delivery the subject matter met your expectations from the title of the show.  An angry reading of the political landscape plus an interesting story about his discovery of the joy of drugs.  This surprised me a little, as I would have thought a comedian in his 30s would have been down that particular rabbit hole much earlier.  He recognised that he was preaching to the converted, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Brendon Burns (@Liquid Annexe, 18.15, Free)

My second visit to Mr Burns this festival.  I'd actually seen a preview of this show in Sheffield so sort of knew what to expect.  A continuing theme of the show was an exploration of racism in regards to how white (predominantly British) people think that it's their role to judge what is and isn't racism.  In case that sounds too highbrow, some of the classic Burns stuff was in their, including him hitting me with his hat and calling me a cunt at one stage.  This wasn't unexpected as I was sitting on the front row.

Ed Byrne (@Gilded Balloon, 21.00, £15)

I'd never seen Ed Byrne aside from the odd bit on television, and I was pleasantly surprised by the relaxed atmosphere and sense of story-telling.  A highlight was his tale of his son wanting to wear pink trainers despite the pressure from other kids at his school.

19th August

Caroline Mabey – Chaos Is a Friend of Mine (@Opium, 13.15, Free)

Another comic I'd seen a preview of in Sheffield.  Mabey's style is unhinged and the show itself was centered around motherhood (just).  The venue felt strange to be in: a pitch-black nightclub with sticky floors and a fairly small audience.  Being on the front row (again) I couldn't really tell what the response was, but faux insanity + a small audience at first felt more like an art piece than a comedy show. This was until the final joke involving a constume where much of the narrative made a lot more sense and the long build-up made sense. Sausage roll anyone?

Aidan Killian-  Holy Trinity of Whistleblowers (@The Hive, 14.30, Free)

The 'Holy Trinity' of the title is Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, and Killian cross-references these three stories with his personal ones, including his relationship with his father.  I was a little uncomfortable at one stage where he seemed to use the term 'Jew' where I believe 'Israeli' would be better placed, but the final part with the leaked Collateral Murder footage was very moving. Despite the heavy subject matter, there was plenty of humour and I also appreciated the activism.

I mentioned my problem with terminolgy to him after the show.

How To Be a Pyschic Conman (@Kilderkin, 17.00, Free)

Ash Pryce punctures the falsehoods of pyschics and charlatans with a show that owes more than a little to the James Randi documentary An Honest Liar.  Covering pyschic tricks, remote viewing, that weird anaesthetic-free surgery thing they do in the Phillipines and good old conjuring, it was still a worthy show in itself, but perhaps could cover some less well-trodden terrain.

Dan Simpson: Nerdsmith (@Banshee Labyrinth, 18.20, Free)

Dan Simpson presents nerdy poetry and informally runs a competition among the audience present.  The show explores different forms of poetry (wait!  Don't leave) with a mathematical and scientific bent and the show finishes with the production of a graph based on audience responses.  I was lucky enough to 'win' the show, although I have yet to claim my free haiku.

Testify (@Free Sisters, 20.20, Free)

In a tiny, humid staff room above the main Free Sisters, Gregory Akerman takes you through a hyperactive journey through conspiracy theories, the Bible and corresponding with the remnants of the Heavens Gate cult.  In the circumstances, I almost felt like I was in a cult itself, such was the intensity.  The show had incredible breadth and I'd like to see more of his stuff when it comes around again.

Alternative Comedy Memorial Society (@The Big Cave, 22.00, £5)

15th August

Backrow Presents... (@Banshee Labyrinth, 21.45, Free)

This seemed appealing as the principle behind it was showing an old B-Movie in a small backroom cinema along with live commentary from comedians.  So far, so Mystery Science Theater 3000.  The film on the night I went was Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, a 1964 schmaltzy film often considered one of the worst ever made.  Part of me thought that this would make rich pickings for humour, but on further consideration, it doesn't take so many comedic chops to take the piss out of something so bad to begin with.  The movie (albeit cut down a lot to fit in with the time slot) was indeed quite amusing.  The commentators unfortunately were not, and I left thinking that I'd rather just watch the film and make my own observations.  Internally.

Brendon Burns and Colt Cabana Sit in a F*cking Yurt at 11pm and Provide Comedy and Commentary to Bad Wrestling Matches (@Stand In The Square, 23.00, £8)

I've listened/watched Brendon Burns for quite some time and this was one of two shows of his I went to.  Despite often skipping his wrestling-based podcasts (as I know little of wrestling) this was among the best shows I saw while in Edinburgh, predominantly to do with the guest he had on that night: JESSE VENTURA, professional wrestler and former governor of Massachusetts.

I felt a brief frisson as the name was said, and then from my right entered James Adomian made up as Ventura.  OK, so it was an imitation, but a committed and incredibly funny one.  Youtube offers a clip of something similar a few years back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QLh4SCclkM

Staying in character for the duration of the show, Adomian had Burns and Cabana in stitches, and this was intermingled with old wrestling footage that was surprisingly entertaining even for someone not versed in the culture such as myself.  Top marks.

16th August

Authors Live: Cackle along with Julian Clary and meet The Bolds! (BBC at the Fringe, 11.00)

Perhaps I might not normally go to a literary event aimed at children but this was free so what the hell.  Julian Clary and illustrator David Roberts introduced their characters the Bolds, a family of hyenas attempting to live in secret within regular society.  Despite the context of the event, Clary still managed to be filthy at times, and in response to a child's question about other books he'd written strongly recommended that they avoid his adult books, as well as his autobiography A Young Man's Passage. Roberts entertained the crowd with live illustration of the characters, with extra suggestions coming from kids in the audience.

Zero Quest (@Silk, 13.50, Free)

Comedian Calum McInnes invites his audience to join him on a Choose You Own Adventure show which takes different turns based on audience suggestion.  On the day I attended, I felt significant involvement due to a smallish audience.  Entertaining but a larger pool of suggestees might help improve it.

Australia Is Fucked (@The Library Bar, 15.30, Free)

Kieron Butler is Australian – Quelle surprise – and he's angry about a lot of things.  Initially this show dealt in a lot of well-trodden ground by visiting Australian comics: it's hot there, being coarse, it's a long way away but towards the end the show displayed more promise when genuine anger showed through.  If that could be finessed then I think it could be more of a draw.

Guy Montgomery and Rose Matafeo Are Friends (@Espionage (Laughing Horse), 16.30, Free)

I wanted to see Guy Montgomery as I've been a keen listener of his (and Tim Batt's) Worst Idea Of All Time podcast.  Guy didn't disappoint, with energetic flights of fancy and and angry shouting keeping the energy up with skits about deities flat-sharing, as well as his thrusting 'hip dip'.  Rose Matafeo passed me by a bit somewhat but had some good moments.  I sensed a bit of uncertainty in her delivery that might have put me off a bit.

Chella Quint – Adventures In Menstruating (@Stafford Centre, 19.30, Free)

Part comedy, part activism, all educational.  Chella Quint charts the history of menstruation becoming something shameful in Western society with songs, slides and twister.  I was the only guy in this particular perfomance but it definitely was something for everyone.  When the guitar was picked up, I did have a bit of a wobble however but it held together well.

Everything Is Milk (@Counting House, 21.15, Free)

Two comedians, Alistair Beckett-King and Nick Elleray shared an extremely hot and humid attic at the Counting House.  First was Beckett-King, playing up every bit of his gangly ginger frame to cover veganism and his resemblance to John the Baptist.  He was perhaps one of my favourite acts of the time I was there.  Next was Nick Elleray, an Australian beta male with a witty and downplayed sense of humour.  A good combination of acts.

17th August

Mark Thomas – Trespass (@Summerhall, 17.00, £10)

The umpteenth time I've seen Thomas (I reckon I'm a fan) and this 'work in progress' seems anything but.  The theme is the privatisation of public space and what one can do about it through direct action.  Shock horror – I really enjoyed it and I'll probably see it again on it's run next year.

Cult of Dave (@Liquid Rooms, 18.35, Free)

Dave Alnwick does magic tricks, but more than that it's a rapid fire series of mental tricks that he presents with a geeky flourish.  Most impressive is his reading of people in the audience and his mathematical ability. Immensely likeable to boot.

Sing For Your Life (@Underbelly, 20.40, £11)

Consecutive short hair cuts

Are training wheels

For the inevitability

Before the first solid kick of the first song even reached my ears, I was astounded to find out that this is the Texan indie rockers' eighth studio album, contributing to pinch of nervousness in te...

I had a dream last night

That everyone kept saying 'metrics'

To mean pretty much anything

Not just stuff to be measured

But almost as a catch-all term

Instead of saying 'details'

I kept asking people why they insisted on saying 'Metrics'

But they look blankly

Slavoj Zizek had been out in the late afternoon looking for conkers. On this occasion he had brought his son along, but such activities were generally not for his son's benefit, as Slavoj enjoyed the process of collecting, sorting, baking and varnishing them more than playing the game of conkers itself. Thankfully, his son was rarely insistent on playing either so it worked out for them both.

Slavoj's rucksack was getting quite heavy, and the last of the sunshine had faded to autumn gloom, Slavoj thought it a good idea to head home and cook up some potato smiles and beans. His son wanted risotto, but Slavoj was insistent that it was the wrong day for it, emphasising the dish "feels like a great misfortune, a monstrous parasite, a permanent state of emergency that ruins all small pleasures."

They were four streets away from home when Slavoj saw a highly-filled skip of materials outside a house that was being cleared of its contents. His son sighed - if it was one thing that would often delay his father it was the temptation of a skip to rifle through.

His son protested, emphasising the poor light and the worsening weather, however Slavoj could not be convinced saying "As soon as we renounce fiction and illusion, we lose reality itself; the moment we subtract fictions from reality, reality itself loses its discursive-logical consistency. I like the look of that green easy chair. Help me lift it out."

Slavoj and his son climbed into the skip, and after ten minutes of dislodging newpaper, wires, soil and broken bits of bathroom fittings, they had freed the easy chair. It was quite heavy, so a decision was taken to balance one corner on his son's scooter, and after much wobbling, they managed to cross the main road and head up the final street to their home.

"Gas mark 7!'" Slavoj shouted, but his son knew the routine and was already preparing the potato smiles on a baking tray, and had the beans warming up. Slavoj had dumped the chair in his study and had headed downstairs to empty his rucksack of conkers and begin sorting through them.

Twenty minutes later, his son called him saying his tea was ready, and Slavoj rushed to the kitchen, nearly banging his head on the doorframe at the top of the cellar stairs. They ate in near silence, Slavoj thinking about his conkers, and his son wishing that half-term would finish so that he could go back to school.

They had had a long day, and after Slavoj had dealt with his correspondence (newsagent bill, Ann Summers catalogue) he collapsed in his reclaimed easy chair and drifted off to sleep.

"Put the pedal to the metal"

Not the 'medal'

Because that would involve Inviting a winner of some kind Such as an Olympian To either angle their chest Towards the footwell of the moving vehicle Or getting them to donate their medal For no particular purpose Other than to be compressed Under the foot of an enthusiastic motorist

Putting your petal to metal Might mean that there's squishiness underfoot And this could endanger the journey