Friday 6th
P Moseley and myself catch the first night of Slaughterhouse Live, a sketch group best summed up as the Incompetent League of Gentlemen, complete with technical gaffes and line-flubbing. Despite the occasional loss of nerve with one of the performers I imagine this will be worth seeing mid-August.
We round the evening off in the Company Of Del – who in shock news is moving to Ed this month to start training as a Teacher and Sith Lord. On our journeys we pluck conversational japes from the DJ in Fishtank, a screeching hyperactive hand-snapping “jockney” with an intense and baffling respect for Del’s shorts.
Saturday 7th
Is spent at work to make up for days lost to hangovers. We meet the Hunts and Flash in the evening and slide along to the midnight show Crooked Mirror Cabaret. Many tassled nipples and feather boas. The extremely capable compere Mat Fraser manages to jar the theme of the night by highlighting his beflippered condition in an inpenetrable song about disability. The audience forgives him though and the night is overall nicely different.
The traditional Saturday all-nighter ends in an epic sleepless SF2 session – Turbo edition on SNES – on Sunday morning. No fancy combos being pulled off I assure you. I celebrate by sleeping all day Sunday right through til Monday morning.
Monday 9th
Still feel awful, unbelievable; have to take another day off. In the evening my old IBM mucker Dave Draper arrives with the lovely Megan for an evening of culture. The fare at Villager is excellent and very reasonable; also the staff are not unattractive etc. We then sink some more beers in the sweltering Smirnoff Underbelly where Stewart Lee delivers an assured and self-aware set [review]. One of his trademarks is delivering material that’s superficially cheap (or childish), but undercut with such subtle self-awareness that it appeals to both your base and sophisticated senses of humour at the same time. I love it.
12-Aug-04 at 12:30 am | Permalink
I saw Stewart Lee at Underbelly, yessir. But not his show. Just him, sweating, drinking, toiling, alone.
5AM boozefun has killed me. Curse your Edinburgh festival.
5,6,7,8′s were neat laffs. Whoever was the support band were not neat laffs.
Festival hotties are killing me so very much.
12-Aug-04 at 9:58 am | Permalink
> Just him, sweating, drinking, toiling, alone
For info, Stewart Lee’s solo show Chug While You Tug runs until the 16th in the toilets at Leith Harbour, tickets £5 (£3 for concessions or men in tight trousers).
12-Aug-04 at 9:59 am | Permalink
In other news, the domain milkydisco.com is free, surely a worthwhile purchase?