It's good. But it's not right.

At Manchester's Frog and Bucket Comedy Club last night for another Beat the Frog Gong Show.

It was a really enjoyable gig. Jason Cook was compering and he was absolutely brilliant. It always make things easier when the compere is on good form and the audience are giddy with laughter.

I was trying out some new material. I need it for my gig on Friday as some of my longer set is a bit thin and, as I will be getting paid for the first time, I want it to go well.

The new material wasn't the most sophisticated I have come up with. It's about how when I was a kid I had a nervous twitch. It mainly consists of pulling stupid faces. But hey - it works - don't knock it. It's the second time I've tried it and it's gone down well both times so let's hope it will do the job on Friday.

But for me, the highlight of the night was when Roy Walker, host of 80s series Catchphrase, walked in, saw me at the bar, recognized me and came over to say hello!

OK so he couldn't remember my name. But he knew my face.

And he obviously remembered my act. Because he didn't stick around to watch it.

Sam Brady Stand-up Comedian

A Cellar Full of Physicists

Last night I played The Smirking Room Comedy Club, located in a trendy cellar bar in Leeds city centre.

It's the first time I've ever been there. It was a fairly small crowd, dominated by a large party of Physicists. Yes, Physicists. Weird.

The first act - an established comedian whose name I won't mention - died an absolutely horrible death. It was one of those inexplicable situations where material that normally goes well is just greeted by blank stares. The audience just sat there gawping at him as if he was speaking Norwegian.

He did remarkably well to stay calm and take the whole thing philosophically. But this was little comfort to me - I was on next.
Fortunately there was an interval which allowed me to collect myself and gave the audience a chance to get a few more drinks down them.

I opened OK and got laughs but, from the start, I knew that the normal momentum wasn't there. Towards the end of my 11 minutes of material the laughter petered out. Eventually, one of my most reliable routines was greeted by total silence.

Anyway, I didn't make a drama out of it. I just carried on and finished the set with a decent laugh (phew!).

Oddly enough, they clapped and cheered enthusiastically at the end. Maybe they were glad to see the back of me. But actually I think it was just one of those low energy nights that don't quite take off. It was as if they had a good time, but just forgot how to laugh half-way through.

My biggest laugh of the night was when, in mock desperation, I turned to the physicists and said, "Biologists! They're a bunch of wankers, aren't they?" This got a big laugh and, with hindsight, I probably could have improvised around this a bit more.

The pity for me was that I didn't get the chance to try new material. Half way through the set I could see it would be a mistake to even try, so I stuck to the old stuff.

Having said all this, I did well with a tough crowd and had a great time. I absolutely love doing stand-up. Can't wait for the next one.

Sam

Sam Brady Stand-up Comedian

Rawhide!

Good gig at Rawhide Raw in Liverpool last night.

I needed to have a good one. Last time I was there I had a torrid time. I died such a terrible death that night that I half expected there to be floral tributes still tied to the mike stand in my honour.

Fortunately I've improved a lot since then. I got stuck in with my best five minutes of material up front and won them over enough to coast through the final three.

The only down side was that in the final clap off, I got a fairly lukewarm response. I was beaten into submission by two Liverpool lads who both got resounding cheers. Being the graceful loser that I am, I shook hands with the winner on stage and whispered
in his ear: "You scouse bastard."

With hindsight that might have come across as slightly bitter.

That's the problem with gong shows. No matter how well you think you've done on the night (lots of good laughs and several rounds of applause) you can still feel like a total failure if you don't get a good response in the clap off.

That said, it was a great night all in all. Sam Avery did a great job as compere as usual. And it was lovely to have my step-daughter Nikki there in the crowd as well as my old mate Dave Mac.

Life Begins At Last

Today is my 40th birthday and I'm feeling good.

When I turned 30 I felt quite depressed. I had a horrible feeling that I had let 3 decades of my life pass by without fulfilling my creative potential. Yes I had a good job and plenty of money and that was nice. But it felt boring and mercenary and...well...not really me.

Fortunately I found stand-up comedy just in time to avert another crisis ten years on. This morning I'm opening my cards and presents in the afterglow of another good gig last night. At last I've found a way to express myself creatively in a way that plays to all my strengths.

And what's more, for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm giving something back to the world that is of true value. I reckon one night in the back room of a pub, making people laugh at their troubles, is worth more than everything I've delivered in 20 years of IT put together.

So this morning I feel great. And, I just heard that someone threw a bucket of green custard in Peter Mandelson's face. This day just gets better and better.

Maybe life does begin at 40 after all.

My First Paid Gig

I got my first paid gig today!

This is a milestone for any new comedian. After I put the phone down from speaking to the agent, I could barely contain my excitement and wanted to dash screaming around the office, slapping people round the face. I was so excited that I couldn't concentrate on BS1192 Collaborative production of architectural, engineering and construction information – Code of practice which, just moments before, had seemed so thrilling.

OK so any seasoned, cynical performers might think I'm making a lot of fuss about nothing. But after 20 years of "working in IT", it's a really big deal for me to be paid to do something I love.

The gig is for Agraman the Human Anagram who is a well-known figure in comedy. I was fairly cool with him on the phone, mainly because I was slightly in shock.

I won't be paid a vast amount. I'm not going to be able to retire on the proceeds. But it's not bad for 15 minutes work.

OK. I'll calm down I promise.

But before I do, let me just say this...AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!

Thankyou.

Sam Brady Stand-up Comedian

It's not the winning...

This week Richard Herring and I are both feeling down in the dumps.

Richard is moaning because, once again, his nomination for a Chortle Comedy Award failed to turn into an actual award.

Meanwhile, I am moaning because I couldn't win a bloody silly gong show.

Not only does this illustrate the gulf that lies between me and Herring in terms of expectations, but it also illustrates one of the pitfalls of performance.

The problem comes when you forget about your relationship with the audience and start focussing on your act in relation to other peoples. That's when it all gets a bit painful.

My memory of Monday night was that I hardly got any laughs and that I didn't enjoy myself. However, the recording of the night includes lots of laughs and, hey...look at this picture - I'm smiling.

It seems that my bruised ego rewrote my memory of the night. The Buddha was right - ego does make you miserable. Lesson - stop trying to win things - just have fun and be funny.

Sam

Sam Brady Stand-up Comedian

The Show Must Go On etc etc

I feel like a proper trouper!

Last night was a big night for me. I was doing a "try out" gig for an agent. This was to be my first big step towards paid comedy work and another inch closer to my dream of earning a living from making people laugh.

The agent in question was Agraman "The Human Anagram". He has helped launch the careers of many a comedy legend including Peter Kay, Eddie Izzard and Lee Evans.

So this was a big night for me. Shame then that at 4pm that very day I was full of a cold and off my head on Night Nurse.

It could have all gone terribly wrong. But adrenalin is a wonderful thing. In the end I managed to lift myself and pull off a decent performance. Decent enough to prompt Agraman to bring up the subject of paid work... (job's a good 'un!)

The evening was made sweeter by the presence of Mrs Brady who was watching me perform for the first time. She thought I was amazing. (But then she is my wife.) We also managed to smuggle in my friends, Arthavadin, Chandana and Jane - even though all the tickets were sold out. Great night all round.

Hope you enjoy the audio.

Love

Sam x

Sam Brady Stand-up Comedian