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Tuesday to Tuesday

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

My gigs over the last seven days, Tuesday to Tuesday, couldn’t have been more different and I’ve loved them all.

First off, a week ago, I was asked to support Magnus Betnér in Vingåker. Betnér is one of Sweden’s biggest comedians and Vingåker is one of Sweden’s smallest small towns. The gig took place in the the old wooden cinema, which is apparently the oldest standing cinema in Sweden. I’m not sure if it’s still standing because of its historical value or because nobody has yet got round to letting the people of Vingåker in on all the wonders of the 21st Century. The cinema is run by the local Temperance Society, which meant we had all the orangeade and sparkling water we could handle. Backstage was freezing cold and the food was from the local kebab shop. Glamorous? No. But this was one of the best gigs I have done. The size of the town meant that the audience were buzzing; and Magnus, who once lived in the town, had the audience hanging on his every word. The backstage atmosphere added to the camaraderie and even the guys from the Temperance Society were nice blokes. The secret behind Vingåker’s club is a young guy called Henrik Källman who has a passion for stand up. The night was reviewed here.

Thursday night was the regular club night at Café M. I hadn’t really gone overboard on advertising the night as I just hadn’t had time over September. However, it seems that the club has finally made an impact on the cultural subconscious of Linköping as there was standing room only by quarter to seven. By five-to we had to stop letting people in. The show was pretty good too with all the comedians delivering great sets. Hopefully similiar numbers will turn up next time on the 28th October and also on Wednesday 20th when I am putting on the cult British comedian Paul Foot (link here). I’m also putting him on in Stockholm (link) on the 23rd and 24th October. (These shows are all in English)

Finally, last night was a business gig in Gothenburg in the atrium of the Radisson Blu under a piece of very strange modern art that resembled a broken umbrella. The audience, attending a conference on simulation software, were a cheerful mix of Scandinavians, French, British and at least one American. The gig was a version of my ‘crash course on Sweden’ and it went down a storm, especially with the Danes who seem to take extra pleasure in laughing at the Swedes. Compared to my night at Vingåker cinema, I was fed well and invited to join the delegates for their creme brulee and coffee. Accommodation was at the hotel where I indulged in the fantasy that I had a proper job. And no, I didn’t steal the towels, despite being tempted.

All three gigs were an adventure and I wouldn’t change a thing about any of them. Next week I’m back on the road to Gothenburg – This time to play Musikens Hus. I’ll be staying on a friend’s floor and eating kebab. I’ll be lucky if he even offers me a towel to steal.

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Tags: Betnér, Comedy, Corporate, Gigs, Gothenburg, LinkÃ¶ping, plugs, Stand Up, Sweden
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Election 2010 – Who’s laughing now?

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Votes cast, election over and, as we all know, the headlines have been grabbed by the far right Sweden Democrats (SD).

All the party leaders seem to be floundering around not quite knowing what to say or do; including SD’s Jimmie Åkesson, who looks like a stunned teenager who’s just been handed the keys to a Ferrari… It’s just a matter of time before he loses control crashes it into a wall.

However the results are analysed, the truth remains that there are almost 6% of the population who are dissatisfied, alienated, frightened, confused and feel rejected by the conventional political parties. They wanted their voices to be heard and to them, the only ones who listened were the Sweden Democrats. Needless to say, the SD’s solution is hollow, based on frail and erroneous, fear mongering rhetoric. But when only the SD addressed that 6%’s anxieties, then the other political parties only have themselves to blame.

While politicians have been afraid to take on the subjects of immigration, integration and political correctness, I’m glad to say that Sweden’s comedians are getting stuck in. Soran Ismail, who is one of Sweden’s most popular comedians and presenters wants to take the debate to the SD, asking for their voters to be shown respect and to explain why they have been sold a lie. Appeasement? Maybe, but it has to be more effective than Vänsterpartiet’s Lars Ohly’s ‘heroic’ stand of avoiding Jimmie Åkesson, minutes after a tub thumping speech about how he would ‘fight’ fascism. After all, it is a perceived rejection that has gifted SD so much support.

At the same time, it is comedy that is taking on the white elephant of political correctness. I did a gig last week with the brilliant Tobias Persson and Marika Carlsson. Tobias tackled issues such as teachers in burqas, segregation of language classes and respect for religion versus respect for equality. Marika is about to start a show in Stockholm called ‘En Negers Uppväxt’ (A Nigger’s Upbringing) which asks questions about Swedish identity, race and integration. And they are not alone, with the likes of Magnus Betnér, Aron Flam, Agneta Wallin and Lasse Nilsson working in small live settings, taking on topics that politicians and TV stations are too afraid to touch.

With their rise to 6%, far right politics is no longer a joke in Sweden. What better time to start laughing?

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Tags: Betnér, Comedy, Gigs, plugs, politics, Stand Up, Sweden
Posted in Comedy, Lagom, Stand Up | 7 comments »

A couple of days in the US

Sunday, September 12th, 2010

So, I’m back from the US, although, I should point out that as I live in Linköping, the US is the Universitetssjukhuset (University Hospital) where I underwent some major surgery. If you read this blog back in April, you may remember that I had some problems with my throat.

After several months of being prodded about and being cut open I am finally rid of the benign tumor that has been lurking in the back of my neck. Apparently it was the size of an egg, but the surgeon did not elaborate on whether it was quail, chicken or ostrich. My boyish good looks have been slashed by a Chelsea smile gone awry, a Frankenstinian scar that stretches down most of my neck. To be honest, I’m glad to be free of the growth and to be out of this particular relationship with Sweden’s health service, but mostly to be in good health!

Pain is only temporary and the scar will heal, but the most stressful element has been not knowing when the operation will be. I have avoided booking many gigs this autumn, in the knowledge that I’ll be out of action for a little while, but not knowing when that little while would be. Anyway, I’m back and what hasn’t killed me has made me stronger, so I’m looking forward to an action packed autumn as I go full throttle, tumor free, to conquer Sweden’s world of entertainment!

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Tags: Comedy, LinkÃ¶ping, Stand Up, Sweden, throat
Posted in Comedy, LinkÃ¶ping, Stand Up | 7 comments »

Scandinavians – same but different

Monday, September 6th, 2010

So I’m back from my mini tour to Copenhagen and Malmö and I had a great time. The Copenhagen comedy festival was a blast. I have been to Copenhagen once before, about 15 years ago, inter railing, when I did the sights by bike with a couple of Mexicans from the youth hostel. This time round, having been in Sweden for so long, my expectations were that Copenhagen would be a variation on the theme of Stockholm – i.e. a big Scandinavian city. However, I was pleasantly surprised to come to a city that was bursting with life in all its shades.

The centre of the city is almost entirely pedestrianised and filled with people who all seemed to share a vibrancy. Maybe it was just because the sun was shining but the city felt alive. I stayed out in the sun as long as I could and watched a Portuguese group of medical students sing Fado ballads and play a variety of stringed instruments as well as a Finn sing opera which was quite frightening..

I think the main difference between Sweden and Copenhagen was the number of people who looked stoned and/or drunk and/or homeless. It’s difficult to reflect on this as being better, but it seems that this section of society is brushed under the carpet in Sweden meaning that often Swedish cities lack an ugly underbelly which is essential to the urban tapestry as a whole.

Anyway the gig went well – It started off slowly with a pretty average set from a Danish comedian called Morten something who was then followed by Swedish comedian Messiah Hallberg. Now, Messiah is hot stuff in Sweden, he has rocketed to fame in the last year by breaking the mold in Swedish stand up. His stage persona is an arrogant Östermalmsbo, the archetypal Ung Moderat with slickback and suit, who venomously condescends his audience*. The Swedes love it, as he lampoons a recognisable stereotype. In Denmark and in English, however, he was received by complete silence and left the stage with the majority of the audience staring daggers. The MC decided to take the first break there… What I think was so interesting about the gig was that an audience of Danes and expats just didn’t recognise the character, thus smashing my preconceptions involving lumping all Scandinavians together.

I came on to an audience who were slightly angry. They needed an injection of energy and so I abandoned some of my opening and improvised a bit with the audience to warm them up again.. Having been disappointed in the first half they warmed immediately to my style and I was free to improvise more which is the most liberating thing to do onstage. There is a real adrenalin rush of finding something out from the audience and then rolling with it, unscripted and unplanned, with laughs punctuating the free wheeling patter.

Well, I won’t blow my own trumpet further, but I did get lots of pats on the back after the gig from a range of different nationalities, I have even become Facebook friends with a guy from the Faeroe Islands!

The next day I was back in Sweden playing a couple of gigs in Malmö. They went well too and I hope that I have laid the groundwork for a longer trip to the south of Sweden and Denmark in the future.

*Offstage Messiah is a top bloke and (almost) nothing like his stage persona.

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Tags: Comedy, Copenhagen, Denmark, Gigs, Malmö, Stand Up, Sweden
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To Malmö and beyond!

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

While most comedians in Sweden are heading to the capital for the Stockholm Comedy Festival, I am packing my bags and heading south for a few days. All the way south to Malmö, then off the map to Copenhagen, where apparently, you can see mermaids and giant dogs. Sounds Grimm.

Tomorrow, Thursday, I am playing at The Dubliner in Copenhagen as part of the Zulu Comedy Festival in Copenhagen. There’s a link here which tells you about the show and gives you a chance to ‘laes mere om’ me. It’s a funny language Danish. Not sure quite what I’ll do yet, but may draw on some stuff that I wrote about Denmark last year.

The day after (Friday) I’m doing two gigs with Wisecracker’s in Malmö. An after work gig at The Southern Kitchen, then a student gig somewhere in the depths of the university. If you are in Malmö on Friday night, come along!

Toodlepip!

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Tags: Comedy, Copenhagen, Gigs, Malmö, Stand Up, Sweden
Posted in Comedy, Stand Up | 2 comments »

Similar to a pub….

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

Yesterday was the autumn premiere at LKPG HA HA! And it was nice to get the ball rolling again. The audience seemed excited and up for it and the comedians delivered, including a charismatic set from west Sweden’s funniest man and voice of Gothenburg’s trams (it’s true!) Martin Krantz

I was happy with my performance – I tested a new routine about a simian blood donor, which to all intents and purposes worked well, bar the complete lack of punchline. I think I’ve worked it out now…..

Had some nice audience banter involving a girl in the front row whose name was pronounced ’similar’ (no idea how you spelt it)…I asked if her friend’s name was ‘The Same’.. thus tricking them into the Grelling-Nelson paradox! (i.e. if her name was ‘the same’, it would be ’similar’ and therefore not ‘the same’. If it was ’similar’ it would be ‘the same’ and not ’similar’)… Does it get any more high brow than that? Luckily, the blood donor routine was childishly rude.

After the show we went to an English style pub called Pitcher’s … They had leather books on the wall, you know, just like a real English pub? As I was driving, I asked for a half of Guinness (don’t judge me for drinking halves). When the barmaid pulled out a pint glass, I thought she must have misheard me, so I told her again that I just wanted a half. She looked at me like I was some kind of idiot (an idiot who knows the Grelling-Nelson paradox, no less) and told me that she was only going to fill it half way. Note to Swedish publicans… it takes more than a few leather books to make a pub authentically English.

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Tags: Comedy, Gigs, Lagom, LinkÃ¶ping, Stand Up, Sweden
Posted in Lagom, LinkÃ¶ping, Stand Up | 1 comment »

Happy Shiny Linköping?

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

I’m back in Linköping and the strangest thing has happenened. Linköping has become cool. In the month we were away it seems to have transformed from a negative, nay-saying, conservative town to a funky, happening city where stuff goes on.

I’m still suspect that we may have misread the map and ended up in a different country, or that somebody slipped something in my drink and these are just hallucinatory side effects, or that aliens landed and replaced the entire population with happy, shiny versions of the former inhabitants, who now have the added ability to say ‘YES!’ and have fun.

This weekend was Linköpings Stadsfest with fairgrounds, children’s activities, live music on several stages, including a huge stage featuring some of Sweden’s best bands. The streets were abuzz, and while it was no Spanish fiesta or Notting Hill Carnival, it was certainly a step in the right direction. Hats off to Linköping, it really feels like a corner has been turned.

I managed to get somewhere near the thick of it as I was asked to co-host a live broadcast on the local channel 24Corren. I did two shows as sidekick to regular presenter Anna Lindberg, where we interviewed local candidates who are standing for the local kommun. My role was to play a sort of idiot-savant (naturally) and ask the stupid questions that no-one dare ask. The idea was to throw the politicians off their guard with a dumb question from a dumb foriegner and then follow it up with a a more cutting attack. I’ll be honest – with the combination of live broadcast and politics, I was slightly nervous.

The first broadcast went much better, partly because the politicians (V, MP, F and KD) we were talking to were too ensconced in ‘the party line’ to realise that I was playing with them. I got in a few nice shots at each of the parties but I was most proud of a line asking the Christian Democrat candidate which party he thought God was in… My suggestion was that God was a Social Democrat, as whenever Mona Sahlin appears on TV everyone screams ‘Oh God!’.

The next programme was a lot harder as the three politicians (C, S and M) interviewed were all fantastic, coherent speakers who all seemed to care passionately about the city and their politics on a personal and philosophical level. To be honest, I’d be happy with any of the three of them in power regardless of their political colours. I tried to niggle Muharrem Demirok about his comparison of Linköping with Barcelona, which two months ago seemed hilarious. In the light of his eloquent defence of the statement and the ongoing stadsfest I can sort of see his point.

On the whole, I am happy with broadcasts. These things are all about finding your feet so I’m going to pitch a couple of ideas to expand upon this ‘naive’ character as I think I could expand upon it quite a bit in another format. Watch this space.

The stand up club leaps into action next week (Thursday 26/8) at Café M with Gothenburg genius Martin Krantz as the headline act. I’m only going to run it once a month over the autumn, but the good news is that I am talking to some big players about taking it to a bigger better venue with bigger better acts at the beginning of 2011. In the meantime, if you are in Linköping, come along on Thursday!

One last thing… I’ve finally got meself a smart phone, so will spend hours trying to come up with witty and amusing Tweets. If you want to follow me, I can be found at 110percentlagom

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Tags: Comedy, Gigs, Gothenburg, LinkÃ¶ping, Stand Up
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Dog Days and Showboats

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

The summer rolls on and the lazy days of a dormant Sweden are a joy, albeit a sweaty joy. Everything I need to do is based on how it can be tied in with a camping trip, a day out or a swim in a lake. I was in Stockholm last week to talk to Radio Sweden about Svengelska (link to programme later in the week) which took about an hour. The rest of the day, I spent as a tourist. Next week I’ve got a gig in Gothenburg – and babysitters permitting, this will turn into a romantic two day trip on the west coast.

But last night, I finally found my Swedish idyll. The Sweden that you dream of, that Julie’s Nordic Island lives, the Sweden of isolation, forests, lakes and wilderness.

My old mucker Palle took me out on his boat. It was a small plastic thing with an outboard motor from 1976 that sat very low on the water. A luxury yacht it was not, but it was boat enough to take me, Palle and two kids out to a beach that was only accessible from the water. We swam, chatted, identified trees and birds and failed to catch any fish. I have caught a glimpse of heaven and I want to see more.

As a result I am more than a little jealous of the crazy antics of Johan Pettersson, who is attempting to row much of the Göta Canal in an inflatable rubber dinghy (including navigating lake Roxen). His aim is to get to Motala in time for the premiere of ‘Showboat’ where he’s performing a small role. So it’s a publicity stunt, but it’s also in the spirit of the likes of Thor Heyerdahl, the kind of adventurer that the modern world needs more of, prepared to follow a dream, however irrational. I’ve met Johan a couple of times (he is a theatre ‘apa’ from Norrköping) and he’s a nice guy so I can only wish him the best of luck. You can find out more on his blog – windyseglen.

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Tags: Animals, Blogging, Comedy, Gigs, Gothenburg, Motala, NorrkÃ¶ping, radio, Stand Up, Stockholm, Sweden
Posted in Lagom, LinkÃ¶ping, Stand Up | 1 comment »

Ain’t no party like a civic street party

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Yawn. Royal wedding. yawn.

I was emotionally blackmailed by my sambo and kids to head into town to see what delights Linköping had laid on for the royal tying of the royal knot. The kids had spent the morning making little silver crowns out of aluminium foil and glitter, so everything that had come within a 2 metre radius of a child glittered regally. Once the kids had worked out how to fit their crowns over their cycle helmets, we headed into town, a trail of red, green and blue glitter in our wake.

A giant stage had been erected in the corner of Storatorget and around it were little stands promoting wedding related businesses such as cake makers, chocolate makers, local car dealerships. My first impression was that there was a danger that the wedding would get in the way of the marketing. Just to give the whole thing a slightly detached atmosphere, they had decided that they would use a giant TV screen as a backdrop, broadcasting SVT’s coverage regardless of what was going on onstage. Luckily for SVT what was going on onstage was mainly a boring middle aged man with a microphone sucking all life and vitality from the day. He managed to commentate on a troupe of local cheerleaders with the effect that most of the audience were stunned into boredom and forgot to applaud their acrobatic antics.

For me the highlight was the magician. And not just a magician, but a close up magician. Picture the scene, if you will – A large stage, big enough for a decent brass section and backing singers, a moving background showing fast moving trailers for the summer season on SVT and in the middle a magician saying ‘In my left hand you will see a one krona coin’. Brilliant.

We didn’t stick around for the whole thing. We half heartedly queued up for some free giveaways from Cloetta, even though I believe using excesses of chocolate to celebrate the wedding of someone who has a history of eating disorders is in poor taste. We gave up when we realised quite how long the queue was.

I felt honoured to have seen the people of Linköping gripped in such patriotic fervour, even if most of the people in the square were there for the freebies or to catch a glimpse of that monobrowed Norwegian who won the Eurovision song contest a couple of years ago.

So what did I get from Sweden’s special day? Memories and little bits of glitter over everything I own.

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Tags: Comedy, LinkÃ¶ping, Royaly, Stand Up, Sweden
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Locallers! Your vote needed!

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Well, good readers of The Local. I need your help. My 30 second film is in the final of a competition and I need to get some votes. The voting started about a week ago and I’ve only just found time to start getting people to vote… so I’m currently in the next to last position. (I’ve been in hospital with the throat, if that wins me any sympathy)

Anyway, if you’ve enjoyed my blog in the past (or even if you haven’t) and want to do me a favour, please do the following:

Go to http://www.utsikt.se/utsikt/movieawards/

Click on the grey box at the top which says ‘Se och rösta på finalbidragen!’

Then click the button next to my film – ‘La Nuit Americaine’ and then click ‘Rösta’ (vote)

That’s it. Simple

Cheers blogfans… normal blogging resumes soon!

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Tags: Film, LinkÃ¶ping, Stand Up, Sweden, throat
Posted in Comedy, LinkÃ¶ping, Stand Up | No comments »