"The most feared masturbator in the south-west..."

Dom Tighe was first to take to the Malarkey stage on Tuesday.

Donning his Spirograph shirt, the comedy chemist performed his observational humour professionally. He was a little nervy in places but his timing was excellent. Another one to watch.

Second on the upturned Malarkey milk crate was the self confessed "most feared masturbator in the southwest", Will Hodgson.

Will's confident yet cranky delivery of his angry material quickly commanded the undivided attention of the audience. Could have done with a stronger finish but there is some brilliant stuff in there.

The highlight for me was the hate list, which he delivered with suitable vitriol.

Next up was London lad Nick Copin, who was kind of Copin' with his baldness. (‘Scuse the appalling pun.) [You ARE Richard Whiteley. His name is actually spelt Nik Coppin, by the way. - Spider]

Nik's amenable persona and likable material went down well at XS, although the George Bush meets the Pretzel material is getting very old. Perhaps time to retire that one?

The British/American Spiderman material was fantastic though.

Chris Cairns took to the Malarkey stage next and described the Malarkey as "the best gig in the world" after someone heckled him by buying him a pint!

Some of Chris’s material was on the now well-trodden path, like the Queen Mum stuff and the Pop Idol routine, and I thought we were following the same predictable route on the scally material too.

But a great twist rescued it and Chris’s take on the Police recruitment Could You? adverts was cracking. Some great impressions backed up with quality material.

The headliner on Tuesday was Sarah Kendall.

A likeable Aussie observationalist with topics ranging from Wacko Jacko and his monkey to dead rock stars, and Rasputin’s methods for maintaining his "mysticality".

Sarah has a confident smiley delivery, the crowd instantly warmed to. A fine finale to very consistent night at the Malarkey.

Comic of the night for me had to be Will Hodgson. So much anger in one so young!

Toby had a gift fest at the end as no one had bothered to enter the joke competition. Thank fuck. He gave away stunning prizes like a gold membership card, a bottle of wine and a Queen Mum video. Quality.

See you next week.

Lee.