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Adam Hess

Review: Rhys James – Forgives and Adam Hess – Feathers

November 26, 2016 by Becca Moody Leave a Comment

Rhys James and Adam Hess have been touring the country with their latest Edinburgh shows, bringing them eventually to the studio room at Birmingham’s Glee Club. The audience gathered is small but the atmosphere is good; improved certainly by the obvious strong friendship between the two comics performing. They live together, enjoy annoying each other and frequently refer to each other in their sets. Adam can even be seen sat on the floor in the corner of the room during Rhys’s performance.

Rhys James’s comedy is sillier than I anticipated it being. The impression I have always had of him is a rather cutting, almost condescending one, and his presence on stage comes as a surprise. With strange idiosyncrasies like the abbreviation of “high presh sitch,” as well as the flippant “soz”, James’s comedy is energetic, playful and enthusiastic. Amongst the impression of careful craft in terms of joke and narrative structure, Rhys has charming elements of impulsivity, referring to the four empty seats on the front row: “They come to all my gigs.”

An indicator of Rhys’s understanding of the craft is his own comment on his comedy. He seems to be very self aware and reflective, casting opinions on his actions within the narratives as well as the reactions his jokes receive in the room. This comedian is able to develop a believable narrative that encompasses detailed and obscure observations he has made without leaving the show disjointed; in fact, it is rather seamless. Rhys James’s latest hour is excellently written. He is cynical and analytical, whilst remaining endearing, with the show even getting quite emotional towards the end as the comic considers his next fifteen years of life.

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Now, it’s not difficult to believe that Adam Hess was the naughty kid at school. Hess seems to have retained this strange blend of pride and shame, paired with an innate sense of mischief that makes him a really likeable performer. The comic tumbles onto stage with a somewhat frantic energy that builds as the show progresses, his material getting stranger and stranger as he delves further into rather odd experiences from both his childhood and adulthood.

It seems as though Hess has had a tough year. His extravagant tale of recent efforts to make a banana split alone on Valentine’s Day at 2am is rather depressing. But his flailing desperation isn’t dampening of the mood, but rather bordering on hysterical. Adam knows he’s an object of pity according to this narrative, and plays it to his advantage. And if you let your mind wander for as little as one minute, you will jolt back to attention having missed a multitude of ideas that fly at his audience with impressive pace. His joke economy reflects his attention span, perhaps, and watching Adam perform has moments that are exhilarating.

It is interesting to consider the effect of social media presence on the stand up style of these two performers. Both shows are well-formed, with space for spur-of-the-moment audience interaction and callbacks where each comic rebounded off the enthusiasm the audience were already reflecting back. There are concise jokes and multi-layered scenarios, perfect for the Twitter generation and incredibly handy for keeping the energy up within live performance.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT RHYS JAMES AND ADAM HESS’S WEBSITES

Posted in: Comedians, Live Comedy, Reviews Tagged: Adam Hess, British Comedy, Comedy, Feathers, Forgives, Glee Club Birmingham, Live Comedy, Rhys James

July: Comedian Of The Month #18, Adam Hess

August 1, 2015 by Becca Moody 1 Comment
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.

Avid Twitter users will no doubt have come across my latest Comedian Of The Month before; Adam Hess has accumulated nearly 50,000 followers on the site as a result of his mastery of 140-character humour. He has a sharp wit, a necessary comic trait, but also an eye for the stranger kind of observation, pairing silliness with darker elements.

Hess’ character on stage whilst performing stand up is wholly separate from that of the level-headed, sarcastic comedian we see online. The intelligent twists of logic are still a core part of the package and he certainly presents ideas that are unusual, observational comedy of that which has perhaps never been observed. However, performance-mode-Hess is a bundle of frantic energy, of faux-nervousness and jittery giggles. It’s hard to not find it endearing upon first watching, but further viewing proves that this comic is, somewhat unbelievably, in full control, and not the foppish student he first appears to be.

Just heard a 6 year old on the train ask her parents if ants go to the dentist. What an absolute fucking idiot

— Adam Hess (@adamhess1) July 13, 2015

Any time someone has given me the advice "If you don't ask you don't get" I haven't asked them for advice.

— Adam Hess (@adamhess1) July 8, 2015

A particularly admirable ability of this comedian is that he manages to pack a huge number of one-liner gags into a set, and a remarkable percentage of them actually land. It is a common downfall that I have found with many predominantly one-liner comics that a lot of the jokes are, completely unavoidably, stabs in the dark; things that cause uproar on one night may fall to the sound of silence the next. Adam’s apparent spontaneity brings a wonderful animation to each performance, which carries him through even when the laughter dies out (which, of course, is infrequently).

Having already won the Chortle Student Comedy Award in 2011, Adam Hess is making waves on the comedy scene and brings his debut show to the Edinburgh Festival this month.

For more information, visit Adam Hess’ website and follow him on Twitter.

JUNE COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH

Posted in: Comedian Of The Month, Comedians Tagged: Adam Hess, British Comedy, Comedian Of The Month, Comedy
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