Show: 24.2.14 with Tim Clare

This show features the high energy, super funny performance poet Tim Clare recorded at Hammer & Tongue last year. There is also new music from Tom Adams, Shield Patterns and Wooden Arms and old music from Nick Mulvey and De La Soul.

24.2.14 with Tim Clare by Headstand on Mixcloud

Hammer & Tongue Slam Final with Simon Munnery - 5th December

This Thursday I have the honour of competing in the Brighton Hammer and Tongue poetry slam final at Komedia. The honour is further enriched by the inclusion Simon Munnery as the headline act making the £5 admission an absolute steal. You can get all the details here.

Here's an article I wrote last time Simon Munnery did Hammer and Tongue which gives an idea of what to expect both from Simon and the slam.

(Originally published on localsecrets.com)

The small function room upstairs at The Emperor was packed for Hammer and Tongue: a night of spoken word entertainment featuring a poetry slam, performance poet Cat Brogan and comedian Simon Munnery whose name frequently appears in close proximity to words such as “legend,” “genius,” and “surreal.”

Hammer and Tongue started in Oxford and now runs events in five cities. Each event features a slam: a competition in which entrants have 3 minutes to perform a poem. A panel of judges drawn from the audience awards points out of ten. The result is a fast-paced event with high energy and dynamic performances creating a tight bond between poet and audience.

Slams are not as brutal as they sound. Slam etiquette demands respect for performers and newcomers brave enough to step up to the mike are always rewarded with a round of applause and a good score. For the most talented performers the rewards are greater. The national final is highly competitive and winning brings national media exposure, paid gigs and other exciting opportunities.

Hammer and Tongue provides further entertainment and inspiration by featuring established performers at each event. Support act Cat Brogan delivered a polished set combining witty and thought provoking poems on subjects including social prejudices and her Northern Irish upbringing. Her powerful delivery perfectly combined words and performance, the hallmark of a slam champion and worthy of the sellout crowd who had come for the headline act.

"I used to be allowed to stay up to watch this guy on TV,” announced excited compere Alex Iamb as he introduced award-winning comedian Simon Munnery. Taking to the stage strumming a toy guitar he dispensed with the three minute bursts of poetry format and delivered a twenty minute ramble of observational comedy and shaggy dog stories. With material on subjects including killing dogs, Swiss hazard signs, seedy great uncles and rural life it was an unpredictable routine that kept the laughter flowing.

Munnery’s skillful use of language allows him to constantly juggle a diverse range of topics and give stand up comedy a fresh twist. “Anyone from anywhere? Anyone noticed anything?” he inquired, deadpan, early on. “Some of these jokes require background reading,” he remarked after a line about Greek mythological characters Sisyphus and Icarus. Only towards the end of the set did he do any poetry; a chant sarcastically praising a well-known chain of pubs and a surreal and embittered rant on London.

It was a low-key gig for a veteran performer who has many awards, TV and radio series to his credit. His appearance is testament to the outstanding reputation Hammer and Tongue has for organising events which are getting more people to listen to, write, perform and enjoy poetry.

Steve Hughes: From Motorhead to Motormouth

Metalhead turned standup Steve Hughes gives us a dose of vitriol.

With long hair and dark clothes, and perfectly timed deadpan delivery metal drummer turned standup Steve Hughes is an unusual hybrid.

“Music and comedy are both languages beyond words and culture,” he says. “Music is a wonderful thing which is why it’s so disturbing that Simon Cowell’s in charge.”

Music is a gift from the Gods enabling people who don’t speak the same language to resonate on the same vibrational, emotional and cosmic field. They’ve turned it into Happy Meals!”

He’s glad to be doing comedy now though. “I don’t know why I bothered dragging a drum kit around. Too much of a pain in the arse,” he laughs. Relieved of equipment and band members he’s come a long way in his new career. All the way from Australia to Manchester, in fact. “Australia is so isolated. Nothing ever happens. There’s no one there!” He says of his home country.

He’s enjoying the buzz of the UK’s condensed population and constant gigging has established him on the national circuit. He’s been able to cross pollinate metal and comedy audiences who love his no-holds barred material.

On his current tour ‘While It’s Still Legal’ he’s exercising his right to freedom of speech while he still can. “Comedy that pokes fun at the establishment or is portrayed as controversial or offensive will be outlawed eventually,” he claims.

“Political correctness implies that somehow an ideological structure that protects against you ever being victimised is noble. I see it as a form of subjective fascism.”

Hughes doesn’t set out to offend. He just doesn’t try not to. “How arrogant would it be for me to curtail my material by staring at an audience from behind the curtain and making a subjective judgement about their moral basis?” he argues. “I stand in front of the general public most of the year and they’re enjoying it” he insists.

He extends the rant with an attack on what he calls ‘global colonialism.’ “David Cameron says, ‘I want to export gay marriage to the world.’ It’s none of your business if the Middle East have gay marriage, or Jamaica. Your country’s not perfect either.” He considers Stephen Fry’s campaign to get the Winter Olympics banned in Sochi well-meaning but hypocritical. “They had the Olympics in The UK and they illegally went to war in the Middle East. They had them in Australia and they’re one of the most racist countries to their indigenous people on Earth.”

He admits his material is not to everyone’s liking, just as not everyone likes Country music. “I tell audiences, ‘don’t boo or jeer people who leave. They’ve got their own beliefs and ideologies.”

But with several sellout shows on the tour already he must be doing something right. Whether you agree with what Hughes says or not he certainly makes an impact.

Steve Hughes is appearing at Brighton Dome Corn Exchange on October 19th.

Show: 19.5.13 with Mark Niel

This show opens with guests from the last show The Breaches and features poetry by Mark Niel from Milton Keynes - www.akickinthearts.co.uk

The Breaches - Vodka Jelly
Savages - City’s Full
Hour Hands - Design The Colours
The Handsome Family - Flies
Oh Standfast - footsteps
Tim Clare - The Girl From Donkey Kong
Mark Niel - Poetry
Teen - Paradise
Shawn Waters - Get on Home Mama
Tom Adams - A Sudden Break in the Clouds
Steve Moore - Light Echoes 1

19.5.13 with Mark Niel by Headstand on Mixcloud

Ian Keteku and Wordfest

Hammer and Tongue is back this week with headliner Ian Keteku all the way from Canada. Ian has played Hammer and Tongue in Cambridge before and it's great to have him back. Tristram Fane Saunders will also be performing and of course there's the slam. I can exclusively reveal that slammers will include recent Headstand guest Rychard Carrington. His performances are infrequent but always surprising and memorable. If you fancy slamming yourself be sure to book in advance as it's been a full slam the last couple of months. Full details here.

On Thursday head down to CB2 for an hour of comedy plays by Paul Richards. There appear to be two performances in the evening and the shows touring various other parts of the country. details and tickets here.

Finally next weekend is wordfest. Whether you like poetry, prose, fiction, non-fiction of whatever genre there's bound to be an event for you as some of the best known contemporary writers come to Cambridge for this leading literary event. Head over to the website: www.cambridgewordfest.co.uk.

Show and Tell, Fuzzy Lights and more in Cambridge this week

 Fuzzy Lights launch their new album next weekend at The Portland

Show and Tell returns to the Portland on Tuesday night with music, poetry, theatre and improv comedy on the bill including a few poems from myself and Headstand favourite Leanne Moden. Check out the review of the last one here and get all the details here. That night is also the first in a run of fortnightly Smokers by The Cambridge Footlights at the ADC. I have yet to see a Footlights show, it's easy to overlook something like groundbreaking new comedy being produced when it's happening on your doorstep. Monty Python, Fry and Laurie, Mitchell and Webb and many more started out in the Footlights. Smokers are the breeding ground for new talent and always feature an unpredictable selection of brand-new material.
Headstand favourites The Scissors play Man on The Moon on Friday and on Saturday Fuzzy Lights play the Portland. They've been getting regular airplay of their new album 'Rule of Twelfths' recently which they are launching at an event which includes a terrific supporting line up of 'Hong Kong in the 60s' and The Doozer. For details of the show and a review of Fuzzy Lights' new album check out Moving Tone.

That's about it as far as I know. If there's anything else, give me a shout!

Tom Stade

This Sunday the show will include an interview with comedian Tom Stade who brings his new show Tom Stade Totally Rocks to the Junction on February 7th. He'll be talking about the show and how he finds comedy in the ordinary and mundane. Make sure you tune into Cambridge 105 at 8 - unless you're going to Other Voices at The Fountain in which case you're excused but remember to check back for the podcast later in the week. Here's Tom doing some comedy on the telly!

Look out for more on Tom Stade on Local Secrets.

Review: Show and Tell at the Portland. 20.11.12

As a veteran of the old Portland visiting the new venue for the first time was a bit like stumbling on Narnia. Where there was once a door leading into a small, dark room there is now a long white corridor. Entering a door to the left you find yourself in a bright, spacious room, predominantly white. All that’s missing is a lamp post in the middle.

I was performing at Show and Tell a cabaret night organised by the Twisted Willow Theatre group. It was their first event in Cambridge and was extremely well organised. Sound checks started in good time and when I arrived half an hour early there was a table set out selling items for the performers and well-produced colour programmes.

The event was open to any performers in the area and they attracted quality and variety. There was theatre, music, comedy, poetry even martial arts. Organiser and compare, Richard, started the show dead on time. The first act was Kate Vowles from Colorado who played flawless and mesmerising folk songs. She was followed by teenage improv comedy group The Youthful Exuberants. After a tentative start they delivered some great comedy moments including a hilarious sketch at a vet’s setting the bar high for the university improv group who performed later.

It was great to hear poetry from friends of the show Leanne Moden and JS Watts but it was also special to see so many performers I’d never heard of before. There was more poetry of a Buddhist nature by John Drew, who remarkably managed to get Margaret Thatcher to fund a poetry group in the 80s. Clarise Mbombo filled the room with her powerful singing and Rani Drew presented a performance of her short play set in the London riots of 2011. There was an appearance by Matha Dench Mirren, the comedy alter-ego of Simon Jones and university student Harry Wright scored a hit with his stand-up comedy. Finally it was a pleasure to perform myself to a sizeable crowd. Once again, I was performing with Tom Adams a remarkable musician who it is always a pleasure to work with.

Twisted Willow Theatre’s next big project is a production of Midsummer Night’s Dream. There is an open call for actors and backstage help. For more information email: info@twistedwillowtheatre.com.