The Blackout
Right, The Blackout then. Taking place at Up The Creek in Greenwich, The Blackout has a "gong show" format. Three audience members are given cards to hold up. Each act gets a two minute grace period. Following that time, if they dislike the act on stage, they can show the card. When all three cards go up, the lights go out and the act is required to leave the stage. If the act lasts for 3 minutes beyond the end of the grace period, they are adjudged to have beaten the Blackout.
This can be something of a chaotic format affected by a sizable number of variables, including slot on the bill, choice of material and plain vindictiveness on the part of those with the cards. I was convinced last night that I was going to be gonged off. My mind wasn't in the right place for a gig and I had selected material that I was uncertain about, but hadn't performed at the club before. During the largely unsuccessful stand up reality series "Show Me The Funny" on ITV, they seemed to bang on about the best position on the bill being third in the first half.
I certainly benefited from said position last night. The audience aren't completely cold but aren't inebriated enough pre-interval to be especially disruptive. I was surprised quite how much stuff hit though, especially when talking about Winston Churchill and the National Trust. By the time my five minutes was up, I'd hit my stride. Up The Creek is my local club and I'm always chuffed to do well there. All in all, it was a decent night's work and a much needed boost.
The second half seemed a tough ride for most of the acts, apart from cheekie chappy Wilson who proved a great success with his tales of living in "the poor part of Crystal Palace" and took away the champagne on offer to the best act of the night. The level of drunken disruption and chatter didn't suit some acts though. Those getting something of a raw deal included soft spoken Yorkshireman Benji Waterstones and LJ Da Funk, the ludicrous gangster alter ego of Zak Splijt. I would have liked to have seen more of LJ's peculiar musings but the audience didn't agree. That's The Blackout for you.
This can be something of a chaotic format affected by a sizable number of variables, including slot on the bill, choice of material and plain vindictiveness on the part of those with the cards. I was convinced last night that I was going to be gonged off. My mind wasn't in the right place for a gig and I had selected material that I was uncertain about, but hadn't performed at the club before. During the largely unsuccessful stand up reality series "Show Me The Funny" on ITV, they seemed to bang on about the best position on the bill being third in the first half.
I certainly benefited from said position last night. The audience aren't completely cold but aren't inebriated enough pre-interval to be especially disruptive. I was surprised quite how much stuff hit though, especially when talking about Winston Churchill and the National Trust. By the time my five minutes was up, I'd hit my stride. Up The Creek is my local club and I'm always chuffed to do well there. All in all, it was a decent night's work and a much needed boost.
The second half seemed a tough ride for most of the acts, apart from cheekie chappy Wilson who proved a great success with his tales of living in "the poor part of Crystal Palace" and took away the champagne on offer to the best act of the night. The level of drunken disruption and chatter didn't suit some acts though. Those getting something of a raw deal included soft spoken Yorkshireman Benji Waterstones and LJ Da Funk, the ludicrous gangster alter ego of Zak Splijt. I would have liked to have seen more of LJ's peculiar musings but the audience didn't agree. That's The Blackout for you.
You beat it again? Darn you and your natural stand-up talent.
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