Posts Tagged ‘plugs’
Thursday, August 25th, 2011
I’ve just got back from watching some weird shit at the VIP opening of STOFF, The Stockholm Fringe Festival. Just to clarify, by ‘weird shit’ I mean a naked Mexican opera singer with a beard but no penis. Incidentally, I feel I am qualified to describe this as weird shit as I have a degree in drama – I know how to academically analyse theatre, from Grotowski to Boal… and, trust me, the opera performance definitely comes under the category ‘weird shit’.
But how cool it was to be in the thick of it. Surrounded by theatre types doing weird and wonderful performances that the audience may or may not have understood. Having spent so long in small town Linköping recently, where mainstream is the order of the day, it was such a pleasure to hang out with performers for whom profound and pretentious were words that could be found tattooed on their inner lip.
The festival goes on at Kulturhuset for the next few days and there are performers from all over the world. Go along and maybe you can check out some equally weird shit. I spoke to a group from the UK called ‘Fools Play‘ who had just graduated from E15 drama school. I don’t think their shit is the weirdest at the festival, but it sounded like a pretty good option to go and watch. Their show is called ‘Go Solo’ and they are playing at Kulturhuset’s Hörsalen at 12.30 on 26/8 and Dramalabbet at 4pm on 27/8.
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Tags: Lagom, Linköping, plugs, Review, Stockholm, STOFF, students, Sweden
Posted in Linköping, Review | 2 comments »
Friday, April 1st, 2011
Last night’s gig was on the home turf of Linköping. Great turnout and a great response. I realise again that the venue, Bastiljen, is possibly one of the best live spaces in the country and it feels great to be involved with it. After last night one almost has the impression that word is spreading and the people of Linköping are starting to realise what a good venue it is too!
We had a full and varied show, with a good range of acts and a mixed audience. The mix was everything from students to doctors, to people from the bad side of town… I wrote some jokes I was very happy about on Linköping’s recent gang war. I mean come on! Gang warfare in Linköping!? Do me a favour!!
Apart from Danny, who had a great show, Kurt Lightner was also great. He strummed his guitar and improvised a hilarious song about Gaddaffi and a fish. very funny.
Very shortly heading off to Lund for the last gig of the tour. And then…. sleep!
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Tags: Bastiljen, Comedy, DJ Danny, Gigs, Linköping, plugs, Stand Up, Sweden
Posted in Comedy, Linköping, Stand Up, Tour 2011 | 1 comment »
Monday, March 28th, 2011
I realise I am a day late with this blog post. I blame the hostel in Gothenburg, the size of Sweden and the need for sleep.
Firstly, the hostel – In this day and age, a youth hostel that didn’t have wireless. Can you believe it?! Also the hostel was full of members of CUF which is the Center party’s youth wing. This isn’t an excuse for not blogging, but it did mean that there wasn’t any quiet place to sit and type without being disturbed by some politically active youths away from home. The Center party is traditionally the party of farmers, so they were probably amazed by the electric lights and you know what they say – There ain’t no party like a Center party.
Secondly, as I have already realised (with no small amount of horror) Sweden is a bloody enormous country. So the majority of my touring day is spent sitting behind the wheel of the car. Something I did for roughly 6 hours on Saturday and 4 hours on Sunday.
Thirdly, the need for sleep. Imagine the cumulative effects of staying in the same hostel as partying young farmers with driving for hours and hours… So that’s what I’ve been catching up on.
Anyway – Gothenburg! Sinnet was the venue for our third stop on the DJ Danny tour. It’s a beautiful venue, small, intimate, well run… all we needed was an audience. It’s not that nobody came, but it wasn’t exactly what you might describe as ‘busy’. I got the audience to fill up the front few rows and sit next to each other – Something that is usually very difficult to do. But the few people who were there were really up for it and once we ignored the fact that financially it was a disaster, we actually all had a really good time. I improvised loads as did the second support act Kurt Lightner. Danny did his set and got a great response.He even got a Finn to hold hands with a Swede (neither of whom were drunk)
We left the venue happy and tired… and ready to take a few days off before our Stockholm gig on Wednesday. If you are in Stockholm on the 30th, don’t miss out on the chance to see this genuinely feel good show. I said I wouldn’t do the hard sell on this blog… but here’s a link to buy tickets! http://www.ticnet.se/event/DjDannybiljetter/BOU0330D
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Tags: Comedy, DJ Danny, Gigs, Gothenburg, Lagom, plugs, Stand Up, Stockholm, Sweden
Posted in Comedy, Lagom, Stand Up, Tour 2011 | No comments »
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
So, I’ve successfully met up with Danny in Malmö and we are now both sitting opposite each other on our respective computers avoiding eye contact. He has already complained (through a closed door) that I made too much noise when I went to the toilet and I’ve noticed that he has managed to get the best bed in the hostel room, which he has claimed by spreading out his dirty underpants. We’re only minutes into the tour and things don’t bode well. … …
The journey down was quite pleasant. I listened to some SRP2 which had a whole load of stuff from choral singing to trad jazz. I only switched off when they started the weekly Persian broadcast – Nothing against Persian, I should add…. just it’s not very condusive to driving down the E4.
Once I arrived in Skåne I stopped for a coffee in a roadside cafe/country club… I know I speak Swedish with a weird accent having learnt in Östergötland, but skånsk really does take the biscuit – I wasn’t sure if the lady was speaking to me or having some kind of choking fit.
We’re off to sound check in about 20 minutes, which means I have to jump back in the car… just what I need after 5 hours behind the wheel. Really looking forward to the gig tonight which takes place at Tangopalatset (more info here) . There are still tickets available, so come along and say hi (just try not to do it with a Skåne accent).
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Tags: Blogging, Comedy, Gigs, Malmö, plugs, Stand Up, Sweden, tour
Posted in Comedy, Lagom, Stand Up, Tour 2011 | No comments »
Saturday, March 12th, 2011
Just back from a few days in Gothenburg. There’s one thing about the city which is so predictable. The weather. Having left the east of Sweden with blue skies and a thaw on the way, it was disheartening to drive towards black clouds that were spewing rain sleet and snow with no regard for the fact that it is already March and that we are all sick of the winter weather.
I was in town to check out the venue where I am on tour later this month with DJ Danny. We’re playing in a place called Sinnet and having now been down there, met the people who run it and seen the stage, I think the gig will be great. I’ll be blogging about the whole tour with Danny here and The Local should be running an article with a ticket giveaway in the next week or so. But in short, the tour starts on the 23rd March in Malmö and ends on April 1st in Lund. We also take in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Falun and Linköping. There’s a Facebook page for Danny on the go here
While I was in Gothenburg, I also had a fab gig at The Dubliner suporting the potty mouthed Canadian Jason Rouse. We had a great crowd of Swedes and non-Swedes and the atmosphere, as always at The Dubliner was tip top.
One more thing I should mention is that I stayed with an American friend Kurt Lightner who is a very talented printmaker. As a gesture of thanks for the use of his sofa – and also because I think his work is great – Here’s a link to his Etsy site. Enjoy (and why not buy!) his work.
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Tags: Comedy, DJ Danny, Gigs, Gothenburg, Malmö, plugs, Stand Up, Sweden
Posted in Comedy, Stand Up | No comments »
Sunday, January 9th, 2011
After New Years Eve’s resolution fest and blind optimism, the reality of the year’s first week can be a bit of an anti-climax. At least it has been that way for me in the past. This year, I’ve played it a bit different – No resolutions, no inflated expectations or declarations of forthcoming success as the bells struck twelve. And for a change, I’ve hit the first week of the new year running.
I started the week working the newsdesk of this esteemed organ and found myself in conversation with the head of media relations at Volvo – Not how I had predicted my year would start. I’ll be working a bit more for The Local over the coming months, so my name may pop up here and there under (hopefully typo free) copy.
The rest of the week continued apace with a voice over – I’m now the voice of the soon to be launched Windows 7 user guide. I also had an inspiring gig for a fascinating collection of people who were like a cross between a secret society and a club for aesthetes. It was an invitation only dinner where select guests who were all accomplished performers, singers, dancers and musicians, performed a turn on the theme of satire. Typically, someone would sing brilliantly, then be congratulated on having just got the lead in the latest production at Stockholm’s Folkopera. The acts ranged from Tango to Baroque dance, from Shostakovich to Chopin, from Hasse and Tage to Monty Python. I performed a routine about Swedish politics which went down well, although coming onstage following a virtuoso cellist who performed Shostakovitch with tears in her eyes was a hard act to follow. The evening ended with an ‘Allsong’ of Auld Lang Syne, topped off with a bagpipe accompaniment.
Otherwise, I’ve been working hard on promoting Linköping’s new venue, Bastiljen, which opens on the 3rd of February with my stand up club, LKPG HA HA! The headliner is Marika Carlsson who caused controversy earlier in the year with her show ‘En Negers Uppväxt’. I’m really looking forward to it.
I’ve also got a few English language acts coming over later in the season, including the Scottish Comedian of the Year, Ro Campbell and Maureen Younger who runs Laughing Cows in London, Birmingham and Berlin. PLUS, I’m organsing a national tour of Sweden in March with Danny Robins’ brilliant persona DJ Danny who hilariously attempts to make it as a superstar DJ. So far, I’ve got dates confirmed in Malmö, Gothenburg, Falun, Linköping and at Boulevard Teater in Stockholm with a couple more dates hopefully to be confirmed next week.
Twenty Eleven is GO!
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Tags: Bastiljen, Comedy, DJ Danny, Gigs, Linköping, plugs, Stand Up, Stockholm
Posted in Comedy, Lagom, Linköping, Stand Up | No comments »
Monday, November 1st, 2010
I’ve got a quiet week this week. So quiet, I’m even toying with the idea of going to a networking lunch tomorrow, where bland local businesspeople meet, eat a bland lunch and make bland conversation about the photocopying industry. Not really my kind of thing, but worth turning up at these things occasionally.
It’s also time to start planning ahead and do some groundwork for future gigs: In the new year, I’m going to be involved in a very exciting project in Linköping, opening up a new venue with a couple of stages, which also means bigger budgets and bigger names. I’ve got a few Swedish names in mind, who I’d definitely like to get along and also a couple of names from the UK.
One name who I hope will come down is the Kiwi comedian Al Pitcher, who is now based in Sweden (spending about half his time here and half his time on the UK, Irish, Australian and NZ circuits). I put him on last year at the Sagateatern in Linköping and he left the audience exhausted with laughter. He is brilliant and if you are Stockholm based, there’s a chance to see him at the Boulevard Teater this week and next (2nd, 3rd, 6th and 9th Nov). I guarantee you will laugh your socks off.
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Tags: Comedy, Gigs, Linköping, plugs, Stand Up, Stockholm
Posted in Comedy, Linköping, Stand Up | 1 comment »
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
To put on a live comedy show, there are a few essentials: microphone, sound equipment, lights, audience etc, etc. Most important of all however, is the presence of the headline act.
I’m currently promoting a mini tour of Sweden, with the weird and wonderful Paul Foot. Last night was the first night of the tour in my home town of Linköping. Paul was due to arrive on the afternoon flight, jump on a bus and get to town in good time for the show. Clockwork. What could possibly go wrong? Answer: Ryanair.
Ryanair, who are always trumpeting about how their flights usually arrive early, were delayed. By an hour. Meaning that Paul missed the bus that got him in in good time…. Cue an hour or two of sweaty palmed worry as Paul’s progress from Skavsta was tracked via text message and frantic phoning.
In true style Paul arrived just before the break and was welcomed by the audience and comedians and myself who was able to finally breathe a sigh of relief. Thirty minutes later Paul was onstage with the audience in the palm of his hand, recounting tales of moist cakes and verbose car signage. Paul was brilliant live and again reinforced the fact that nothing beats live comedy as the experience was unique to that time and that place.
Tonight I am compering a gig with Paul in Märsta (wherever that is!?), then we’ve got our all English shows at Kafé Klavér on Saturday and Sunday. If you want to see one of the UK’s most interesting comedians before he gets big (and he is getting more well known by the day with his first appearance on Buzzcocks tonight), then come down to Klavér at the weekend.
You’ll get to see the author of this blog perform too! See you at Klavér!
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Tags: Comedy, Gigs, Linköping, plugs, Stand Up, Sweden
Posted in Comedy, Linköping, Stand Up | 2 comments »
Wednesday, October 13th, 2010
The strangest thing happened to me today at Linköping library, where apparently the staff have the right to take the piss out of members of the public.
I’ve been working hard plugging next week’s show at Café M with cult British comedian Paul Foot (link here, plug over) and found myself at the main library. I was a bit disappointed to see that the poster I’d left with them last month wasn’t on the wall, so naturally, I asked what had happened to it. Being polite but forthright, I complained to a woman at the info desk who was helpful, if a little defensive. Suddenly from out of the blue another member of staff at another desk started to aggressively wade in. Until this point, the whole conversation had been very civilly conducted in Swedish; he finished off his little diatribe by saying something sarcastic in English.
I switched to English and asked him if he would prefer to speak in English. He replied to me in Swedish by putting on a mock English accent (“för att du prata så här”). I told him that I have no problem speaking in either Swedish or English, but would like to know why he was being so rude to me. I pointed out that I had been talking to his colleague, not him, and asked him again why he was being so rude. I was a bit taken aback by the whole ‘funny foreigner’ accent he had done.
Eventually, I spoke to his boss and I asked if he did that to all foreigners or just to English people. She assured me that he wasn’t xenophobic as he does that to ‘everyone’, although I hadn’t heard him mimicking any Swedes at the library while I was there. Presumably, if you dare to complain, you will be treated to his funny voices regardless of whether you are Chinese, speak with a stutter or come from Skåne. What a relief! What a success story for Linköping’s public relations!
Am I being petty? Or is doing the funny voice of complainants really the way that staff working at a public library should be dealing with the public?
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Tags: Animals, Comedy, Lagom, Linköping, moans, plugs, Stand Up, Sweden
Posted in Comedy, Linköping, Stand Up | 29 comments »
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, Linköping, plugs, Stand Up, Sweden
Posted in Comedy, Lagom, Linköping, Review, Stand Up | No comments »
