Noel’s Art Club

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Twitter is often used by young and old people alike to stalk their favourite celebrities, express mundane facts and controversial opinions or to sell products to the public. Noel Fielding, however, has recently decided to use the social networking site in a new way- he has made a brave attempt at trying to spread some creativity throughout the world of Twitter and encourage people to revive their artistic side.

I love art and thought it was a brilliant idea which was picked up by hundreds of bright and adoring fans. Noel gave himself and his followers half an hour on two separate occasions to create an artistic response to a given theme (first, horses and secondly, Elvis Presley). When the time was up, he would post his creations (always absolutely wonderful) then retweet a load of other peoples’ that were his favourites. After all this, he reposted his third, second and first place.

The competition was open to everyone: artistic genius to quirky doodler and everything in between which gained an awesome response from the people of Twitter. I think Twitter should have more of this stuff going on as it is refreshing, inspiring and original. Hats off to you Mr Fielding! Now let’s have another Art Club soon yeah.

The galleries above and below feature some of my favourite responses to both themes.

April: Comedian Of The Month #3, Bobby Mair

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Each Comedian of the Month on MoodyComedy is a comic who has never previously featured on the website. Reasons for selection can include various current projects the comedian is involved with, or perhaps recent appearances on television programmes or podcasts. There is no strict criteria however, as Comedian of the Month simply stands as a collection of recommendations, highlighting interesting and original aspects of certain comedians and their work.

Bobby Mair is from Canada (what is this with so many great comics coming from Canada?) and seems to me like a complete maniac in the most brilliant and charming way possible. This quote from Jimmy Carr sums him up perfectly:

“He’s either going to be a huge international comedy star or the funniest homeless man ever.”

bobby mair

I think Bobby is very brave which is so important if you want to be an influential comic. His act, his whole persona, is very different to other comics I know but there are hints of Paul Foot but then also more of your ‘common’ comedian. It’s a really interesting mix. His material isn’t too far-fetched from what a regular comedy audience may be expecting but his delivery is quirky and fast-paced which makes him slightly, almost uncomfortably different which is brilliant. For example, in his short set for Russell Howard’s Good News in 2013 he mixes topical almost-one-liners about Justin Bieber with a dissection of why cats are suicidal.

Sometimes his material seems to border on one-liners which is great because it makes him really easy to listen to, the laughs are quick and punchy and it just adds interest. For example, he started one segment of a set with:

“The worst thing about having a cold is that when you smell women’s hair on the bus, they can hear you.”

And then went on to expand on it. I think this is cool as he shocks with one statement then backtracks and adds detail, almost like the reverse of a joke.

He is relatively young, having only been in the UK for a couple of years and being just 27 (I think). Bobby was adopted and has recently embarked on a campaign to find his biological family. His 2013 Edinburgh show: Obviously Adopted also covers this and I want to wish him the best of luck with that! His Twitter is here, if you’re interested and I recommend you check some of his stuff out as it is truly unique and very heart-warming!

© http://no-kidding.ichannel.ca/ecard/

© http://no-kidding.ichannel.ca/ecard/

Review: Joe Lycett – If Joe Lycett Then You Should’ve Put A Ring On It (2014)

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Yesterday evening, I finally got tJoe Lycetto see Joe Lycett’s show If Joe Lycett Then You Should’ve Put A Ring On It after waiting for such a long time. I saw him last month at a comedy night but we only got to see a limited set due to there being other comedians there.

Joe’s set was basically an extended version of the set I saw at the Comedy Hut but was just as funny, if not funnier the second time around. The show featured many of his famous letters of complaint that he had sent out to various companies (this was one of my favourite parts of the show) which were delivered in Joe’s brilliantly exaggerated manner and this is what really ‘makes’ them. The way these complaints were so pedantic and utterly self-indulgent is why they are fantastic- it reminds me a bit of Rich Fulcher’s book: Tiny Acts Of Rebellion which is full of silly but hilarious ways to break the rules of society. He also featured hate mail that he had received which was funny in the same way, and the insults were so imaginative, you can’t help but applaud the guy who sent them.

There was a big focus on homophobia but not in a heavy, rally kind of way, just in the sense that comedy addresses things that are often very serious but adds a lighter slant to them. (For example, Paul Foot talks about the levels of homophobia in his jokes called ‘Disturbances’.) There was a great game Joe played with the audience where we had to decide what percentage of ‘gay’ certain things had. Just counting the days until that becomes televised really.

My absolute favourite part, without giving too much away, is Joe’s spirit animal: Walrus. I agree with him that horoscopes etc are rubbish but absolutely love the idea of having a spirit animal like Walrus, he sounds like such a great guy. I’d love to be able to blame my horribleness on a walrus and the way Joe talked about his experience with Walrus had the audience in tears of laughter.

TV Review: GameFace

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roisin

Yesterday evening brought Roisin Conaty’s pilot episode of the show she wrote and stars in, GameFace to 4OD. I absolutely adore Roisin so knew it would be brilliant. Her role as Jo in Man Down (featuring Greg Davies) was utterly hilarious and it’s one of my favourite sitcoms of the past few months.

The pilot followed Marcella: a young, under-achieving party lover who is attempting to put her life back on track by starting driving lessons and attending therapy to enable her to have a ‘fresh start’ on her birthday. She describes herself as a ‘Lone Wolf’ but this is misinterpreted as ‘Lonely Wolf’ by her therapist (if that’s what I should call him), and I think this is something that could be followed up if and when a series progresses from the pilot because obviously the audience will eventually develop emotional attachments to the main characters.

Many familiar faces popped up throughout the episode including Joel Dommett (Conaty’s Impractical Jokers Pal) as the pizza boy, in one of my favourite scenes of the episode, and Mike Wozniak who played the part of Brian in Man Down. There were also lots of people I didn’t recognise which is always good as I’m always up for broadening my horizons.

As well as the pilot being very very funny, Roisin made me feel like a normal human by saying something along the lines of:

“Breakfast isn’t that important. If you’re hungry you’re hungry, if not just get on with your day.”

I’m SO glad someone else said it as this is the one thing in my life that makes me feel most like an outcast (ha).

I really can’t wait for a series to be made of GameFace as I love Rosin Conaty, the scripting was excellent and there were many unique aspects to the programme that I liked such as the parts where Marcella is sat in her therapist’s office and there are flashbacks to the events of her previous week. There is definitely space for the storyline to develop and I can’t see how I’d ever get bored of this wonderful new show!

TV Review: Doll & Em

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Yesterday, I visited my best friend, Phoebe, and we watched the final two episodes of the gorgeous show that is Doll & Em. I knew I would love this show because I had seen a pilot clip of Dolly & Laura (a very simliar concept with Dolly Wells and Laura Patch) before from quite a few years ago, which features Noel Fielding (my absolute favourite), and I definitely wasn’t disappointed. Doll & Em follows two best friends, both aged fourty-something. They are Dolly, a clumsy, almost naive but entirely loveable lady who has just broken up with her longterm boyfriend, and Emily, the successful Hollywood actress with a load of famous phone contacts. At the start of the first episode, Em decides to hire Dolly as her personal assistant as an excuse for the two of them to spend more time together while the actress films for her latest movie project in LA.

phoebe & becca

Phoebe (left) and I (right)

The show is endearing, hilarious and extremely uncomfortable in places because Dolly often manages to say or do the wrong thing that leads to her either looking an idiot to the Hollywood stars or completely showing up Emily. The funniest moment for me happened pretty early on, where Dolly goes for a swim in the pool outside Emily’s apartment and ends up getting locked out there all day. Both Doll’s clumsiness and charm really come out in this scene and it had me and my friend laughing until we were in tears. The fact this show appeals to both of our senses of humour is great and I definitely feel that Phoebe and I have a similar relationship to that of Doll and Em (though we have never had an argument and neither of us are good at acting). This might be why I like it so much, it’s almost a sneak-peek into the future of our own friendship in a weird way.

What really makes the programme work is the fact that Doll and Em, much like Phoebe and I, have been best friends since they were little girls in real life and it really shines through beautifully. Their personalities are entirely different yet they bounce off each other brilliantly and have such a close relationship that it borders on dysfunctional. Also, I have loved Dolly for a long time due to her role in Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy but had never come across Emily Mortimer before… until it was pointed out by a hilariously slow customer at the restaurant where Dolly works that it was her in Shutter Island. I love that film, and almost feel like I have achieved something from learning this information: I feel like I already know Emily in the way I already knew Dolly.

doll and em

Doll (left) and Em (right)

The absolute cherry on the cake was the appearance of Noel towards the end of the final episode. Although he is acting so has toned his fashion sense down ever so slightly (he still wears a poncho, of course), when the camera pans out you can see the glimmer of his silver chelsea boots which I thought was fantastic. The final few scenes of the series featured Noel, which is always a positive, but the performances of both ladies were flawless: I could feel the love they have for each other radiating through the screen.

I’ve never seen a programme quite like Doll & Em and I can really tell it is a product of love, both for the show and for each other. I will be over the moon if this beauty is commissioned for a second series and I can imagine there being a wonderful film adaptation of Doll & Em one day.

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Noel’s scene

TV Review: The Alternative Comedy Experience

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The Alternative Comedy Experience is important because it aims to show what intimate comedy gigs are actually like so for people who don’t see a lot of live comedy, or only have experience of big arenas, it really shows a whole new world. The show consists of a whole load of individual stand up sets that have been chopped up into small sections and made into thirty minute episodes with as many as four or five comedians featuring in each one. The premise of the show was thought up by the genius that is Stewart Lee and features snippets of interviews conducted by Lee with each comic. The general criteria for the comedians is ‘alternative’ with some being more commonly known than others and I was drawn to the show because many of my favourites feature such as Paul Foot, Tony Law, Henning Wehn and of course, Stewart Lee.

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Programmes like this are great because they introduce a whole range of new comics to the viewers. For example, I fell in love with David Kay’s down beat tone which had everyone laughing in the breaks between talking, which is a talent. I had only ever seen Josie Long on panel shows before but I adored her brilliant political views that were hilarious and not too heavy. I think it’s important for comics to discuss politics in their material because young people especially need to be more familiar with things that directly effect them. And Britain’s politicians are laughable in themselves, lest us forget.

I only own series one of The Alternative Comedy Experience and know a second series was released early this year so need to get myself a copy of that. From what I did see though, I definitely wish there could have been more of Paul Foot in particular as I know he is a genius but he didn’t seem to get much stage-time. There were others who I would like to have seen more of also, including Bridget Christie, Robin Ince and David O’Doherty (I have many of his weird songs on my iPod- he’s fantastic, like the love child of Tim Minchin and a child? a chimp? I don’t know).

Tony Law got quite a lot of time which was brilliant because as you know, he’s one of my all time favourites. I worship that guy, seriously- his material is quick, insane and SO surreal which is everything I could want. Henning Wehn was also on top form as usual (he is rapidly becoming one of my favourites) and I can’t wait to watch the DVD I have of his latest stand up tour: No Surrender.

I am looking forward to series two of this show but in the meantime, I will be looking out for names like David Kay, Alun Cochrane and Bridget Christie in particular as these new names stood out for me. Also, I have an important query- HOW ON EARTH IS BRIDGET CHRISTIE 42?! She must be a time traveller or something, she looks wonderful.

I don’t really know anyone who watches this show, so let me know if you do and restore my faith in humanity thanks!

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TV Review: The Walshes

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The Walshes was a recent three-part sitcom about a dysfunctional yet loveable Irish family.

I was initially drawn to thThe Walshesis series because it was co-written by Graham Linehan, who is the absolute genius that brought us The IT Crowd. and Father Ted. The cast is made up of Diet of Worms: a comedy group that I had never previously heard of but will be looking into in the future. I especially liked Shane Langan, who plays Graham, as he was absolutely adorable and reminded me of a startled, timid sheep. I loved him from the beginning. I also thought Carmel, played by Phillipa Dunne, was very funny and Ciara (Amy Stephenson) was believable and generally sweet.

The fact it was only three episodes long was interesting because I feel any longer than that and it may have begun to slip into regular-sitcom-mode which is generally the point where I stop watching. So, due to the fact that The Walshes was only a mini-series, I found a lot more enjoyment in it: but maybe that’s because I lose interest in things quite easily.

I don’t watch Mrs Brown’s Boys (I don’t find it funny in the slightest) but wasn’t particularly reminded of it whilst viewing The Walshes despite there being comparisons drawn between them: I think this is a lazy conclusion to make. Sure, they are both Irish-family-sitcoms, but The Walshes was so much more.

Overall, I’m interested to see how this show will develop in the future as I found it very charming and heartwarming. I also hope Linehan will be writing some new stuff as I really do miss The It Crowd and need a replacement for it.

March: Comedian Of The Month #2, James Acaster

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james acaster

Each Comedian of the Month on MoodyComedy is a comic who has never previously featured on the website. Reasons for selection can include various current projects the comedian is involved with, or perhaps recent appearances on television programmes or podcasts. There is no strict criteria however, as Comedian of the Month simply stands as a collection of recommendations, highlighting interesting and original aspects of certain comedians and their work.

I’ve known who James is for quite a while but only seen him on the odd panel show here and there so this month I made a conscious effort to check out some of his work. I decided to do this after seeing his recent appearance on 8 Out of 10 Cats where he was absolutely hilarious- a complete weirdo, but a brilliant one. He really stood out during this episode as he seems to carry a strange kind of energy with him that is really refreshing to a panel show as they can get tedious very easily if the panel isn’t rotated regularly enough.

I think I like James because he reminds me of Paul Foot, one of my all time favourite comedians, though of course he has his own quirks that make him so original. They both have brilliant confidence that is hidden behind an apparent shyness, so it is surprising when they come out with something either quite profound or very shocking. His presence on panel shows is a powerful one: he just needs to give a certain look and everyone will be laughing and I think that must be a really hard skill to master.

James is young-looking, wide-eyed and innocent but also incredibly quick-witted and wise for his age. I thought his material about the apple in the orchard, featured in the clip below, was very clever yet didn’t feel self-indulgent in any way. With complicated material, many comics get caught up in the selfish side of it: of appearing clever or superior, but James doesn’t do this at all. He remains charmingly simple but we can see he has a sharp mind.

I definitely recommend you check James Acaster out as he is gaining more and more fans with every passing week. His twitter is here so follow him if you’re into that twitter malarky.

For more information, visit James Acaster’s website and follow him on Twitter.

FEBRUARY COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

Podcast Review: The Comedian’s Comedian Podcast

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Stuart Goldsmith

I thought I’d share with you my favourite ever comedy podcast, made by a really nice guy, and something that I think every comedy lover should know about. The Comedian’s Comedian Podcast was created by stand up comedian, Stuart Goldsmith and began in 2012  (though I only started listening in the past year or so). It is my favourite for a number of reasons:

Firstly, the guests are all absolutely  brilliant comedians. Although I haven’t listened to  all of the episodes as of yet, the ones I have picked out and listened to have been hilarious but interesting as well. Brendon Burns, Tony Law and Gary Delaney’s episodes proved particularly engaging because as well as being obviously funny people, they actually offered details into how they workand what their comedy means to them which is something other podcasts don’t offer.

Stuart Goldsmith himself is very funny and extremely knowledgable which I think is very important as you can see he is passionate about what he does. I always love seeing people get excited about the work they do and this was particularly clear when Stuart interviewed Tony Law (and who can blame him). Tony is one of my all time favourite comedians, I met him last year and he is just as lovely as he is hilarious.

Sara Pascoe

Listening to this podcast has taught me a lot about comedy but it never feels as though I am being lectured: it’s an entertaining kind of learning. My all time favourite episode was Sara Pascoe’s because I learnt so much about her but also about the kind of person it takes to be a successful comedian. She described the general personality type that ends up in an art form such as comedy and also explained how she works; how she forms her shows. Sara is another of my favourite comedians/actors because she has a unique comic style and is also just a really nice person, which is always good.

Basically, you should definitely check out this podcast, even if podcasts aren’t really your thing (I don’t listen to them all that often). As I’m doing my GCSEs very soon and Art is one of my best subjects, I spend a whole lot of time sat on my own painting or drawing or whatever but listening to Stuart Goldsmith’s shows really help to pass the hours!

February: Comedian Of The Month #1, Daniel Simonsen

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Each Comedian of the Month on MoodyComedy is a comic who has never previously featured on the website. Reasons for selection can include various current projects the comedian is involved with, or perhaps recent appearances on television programmes or podcasts. There is no strict criteria however, as Comedian of the Month simply stands as a collection of recommendations, highlighting interesting and original aspects of certain comedians and their work.

This is a brand new feature on MoodyComedy and I am creating it with the intention of passing on new names to as many people as possible. Each month I will choose my favourite comic discovery of the past four weeks and write a short piece on why I liked them, where they can be found and why you might be interested in their work. So here it goes…

daniel simonsenI first became aware of the Norwegian comic, Daniel Simonsen in the middle of January when the first episode of Vic & Bob’s new show: House of Fools but the series ran throughout February and this is where I feel Simonsen really came into his own. I said in a post a couple of weeks back that House of Fools is an absolutely incredible programme and though I may be biased because I have adored everything Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer have produced in the past, I still stand by my judgement.

Daniel is an absolute gem here because he brings a youth-like feel to a show otherwise dominated with more ‘mature’ actors and comedians. I think Bob Mortimer has a very good eye when it comes to finding new comic talents (such as Angelos Epithemiou, or Dan Skinner, who featured on Shooting Stars and as Bosh in House of Fools) and though I can’t be certain if he is also the one who spotted Simonsen, it was definitely a wise decision. He plays Bob’s son, Erik, who is witty, hateful and possibly very evil. He provides many of the biggest laugh throughout the series, especially in my house.

After watching and loving the whole series of House of Fools multiple times, I looked up Daniel Simonsen as I just knew that if he did stand up, I would find it brilliant. He does and I do. I watched this clip from Russell Howard’s Good News Extra in 2012 and fell in love with Daniel a little bit more. He is interesting; foreign: an outsider. I find that so refreshing as I always feel that an accent that isn’t typically British adds something special to a performance and I like the idea of people from other countries looking in on our comedy scene and joining it, yet also passing comment that wouldn’t usually be made (such as Henning Wehn’s material).

Simonsen’s style is brilliant as he seems so young yet has such in-depth and critical opinions on things like your basic observational comedians. One of my favourite lines from him is his thoughts on when a person asks him why he isn’t talking at a social event and he replies with: ‘oh, I forgot’ and his simple statement of ‘it’s really difficult to be a human being’.

For more information, follow Daniel Simonsen on Twitter.