Laugh Out Loud January 21 2008

Tom Moran's other half Jemma has taken some great shots of the last Laugh Out Loud night, which went really well despite being statistically the most depressing day of the year and myself and Tom not feeling the best. It was the first time doing stand up since the Laugh Out Loud christmas special so it was good to get back on the comedy horse so to speak and do well.

Stand Up Part Deux

Discussing "Ballbags and Buttplugs: How to stick things in your body...and retrieve them"...

The first time I tried standup (post here) I didn't tell anyone I knew in case I was shite. This time I told a load of people who on the night all brought friends I had a whole side of the room that knew me and whiney ranty geeky shite I come out with, thankfully I didn't suck and it went well. Thanks to Labhaoise and Pete, the Belgian Monk crew, Joe & Jen, Tim & Lucy, Dan, Clare & Pierlugi, Aaron and Nathan, and anyone else who survived my perverted ramblings.

The Belgian Monk crew, Staz looks pleased but I have seemed to sent Rach to sleep...

Dale and Danni are aroused and embarrassed, respectively...

Pietari K is a)wrongly accused of being my cousin and b) made to act like a dwarf by compare John Kearns.

Tom Moran looking very rock and roll

...and relaxing with a post-gig fag and sauv-blanc

Photographic proof of me once hugging a pretty lady...

Not so funny now, are you funny man....

Hey, woop! anyone in from Norwich etc...Jimmny's Stand-up Debut.

In summary: 'so I'm a lonely geek and I collect comics and love science fiction and I talk to my action figures...any auld chance?...

There was a row of young ladies sitting on the floor, and two older women in front of me, so talking about Jules Jordan's Chaise Longue, Belladonna and 'Porn Fatigue' was especially difficult. The two older women really liked it though!

What the fuck am I doing was what I was thinking for most of Monday evening last. Tom Moran has been running the very successful UEA comedy night LoL @ Rose and I had vaguely mentioned doing something for the most recent showcase but delibrately didn't tell friends in case I totally bombed, doing it in a place of work was nerve wrecking enough.

This was based on a back-of-my mind hankering to try stand up for years and a recent overdosing on Bill Hicks. There seems to a trend in recent stand up of saying something outrageous (be it on sex, race, disabilitity etc.) and then kind of saying 'but I don't really mean that, I was only trying to get a laugh. I prefer the more philosophical storytelling angle, with material you really believe in. State side at least there is a lot of comedians referring to geeky subjects David Cross, Jen Dziura, Patton Oswalt and Morgan Murphy. (Not to mention Tim and Eric, but that's a whole other bag). Am slowly realising I shouldn't slag random Americans on the state of their stand-up, there is great stuff out there, but they haven't really hit over here yet. It's just we get the most sacchrine and shit American comedy, of the Everyone Loves Raymond variety.

I even looked on the Internet for advice, like that helped (gawd, it's getting like you'd forget how to do a shit without googling it first) but remined me of Tommy Tiernan's Jokerman where they all the talk was about 'F-Bombs', 'aw man don't drop an F-bomb. (is 'feck' a 'f-bomb', with a small f?) like that was the most important thing, not to swear, no matter how funny it is. Dropping real bombs on people is always ok, but it's dropping F-Bombs that's the problem? Which is more applicable in mainstream U.S. comedy, if you're trying to get a sitcom or something.

Although there's a lot talk of porn etc in my stuff, I describe it in quite a polite way (or maybe as it say in Festival anything in an Irish accent is funny?) and adapated some early blog rants Small Bags of Crap and Apocalypse Bus to Thetford so was already learned off quite extensively. The overall material ran at about 2,000 words but the summary I scribbed down just before going on was:

Norwich/Apocalypse Bus to Theford
Irish accent stuff/comic geek/hit with the ladies
films/threequels/Weapons of Ass Destruction 3
wanking/Jesus/CCTV in Heaven
beasttube/dog owners/little bags of shit.

I genuinely surprised by how positive everyone was, it seemed to go down really well. I had emailed by stuff to Tom beforehand and the advice he gave me was to cut out some Lost references, which was dead right, referring to specific shows would lose the section of the audience that's never seen it. I think being older helped, as I was talking about things I genuinely believed in and wasn't antagonistic toward the audience, and the Irish accent helped, it was a talking point to start off with, Norfolk peoples' reaction to it and such like.

It was quite an experience, you could tell who was on stage that night, as we were all nervous, pacing around and around the pub, mumbling to ourselves, but you never know what it's going to be like until it actually happens. It was definitely very exilirating, but I don't know if that's only because you feel so awful beforehand and it's a relief to sit down and see the rest of the show, although there is a residual worry as you hope everyone elses set goes well.


Running Order for prosperity for when they're all rich and famous: Pat Cathill (compare) Christian Ancliff, Lorcan McGrane, Jonathan Brittain, John Kearns, David Brain, and Tom Moran.

Tom Moran and I before the gig, I was shitting myself here, I hadn't eaten all day because of nerves and Owen B, who was celebrating his 21st and the end of his exams had put a pint in front of me for good luck, it tasted of metal and tears. Photos by Jemma T.

Get well soon Tom Tom Tomington

"Wearing his famed "Man of Ste" tunic young, Jimmny McHimmny meets Tom Moran at the famous "Roes TA B every" bar, fun times were had by all, they also "caught up" with people who do things in the Norfolk area"-EDP, (20.01.27)

"When Dr. Michael Caine was out caning it with lasses with guns during the filming of 'Bittman Begans', Mr. Tom Moran often stepped into the breach not only to act in the role of Alfrood Pennywidth but also to offer Chrastian Bile a.k.a Nightman IV some canapes, renamed on the set as......capes"-TV Quick (12.06.06)

Tom Moran, one of my friends and coworkers at the rose is sick at the moment with a dual operation, one bit involves his guts and another bit involves near his ball-ba-rigmusses, either way it's not pretty so I'm sending my love down the well to that tall funny fecker. He's got a comedy night: Laugh Out Loud and a indie/funk/neo soul band called The Scoundrels and has a comedy show on Livewire UEA radio station. Generally if confidence is "c" and that "c" is the confidence that myself and people I went to college with had, then "c-cubed" is what young Moran and the folks he deals with has. It's amazing to see them work at their media enterprises, and I'm slightly envious of them, but enjoy watching the madness from a distance all the same.

Anyway, he wrote a facebook note Musings from the mind of a recovering hernia patient which included a reference to me that I should put up on the blog as a sort of a blurb:

These notes are like internet blogs, and internet blogs are depressing and sad. There is only one person whose blogging I will accept and tolerate, and that is my friend and co-worker Lorcan McGraine, because he is Irish and studies superheroes, so he's allowed to be a bit quirky. Also, I think he may have a gun.

I don't have a gun, but in the words of the Look Around You series 2 commentary, when discussing Harry Enfield as Tchaikvosky's Ghost, if I did have a gun it would have 5 silver bullets and one gold bullet, all blank...