Review by Stewart Spaull and Spider.
Stewart: After some on-form compering from Toby, Matt Green was an excellent opener to the night. His stuff about looking young and doing an advert for the marines was very good indeed and I would be pleased to see him again. I laughed nearly all the way through his set.
Spider: A great debut from a comedian with superb stage presence and delivery (he's done acting, I think this helped). Top material too, with plenty of sharp gags, getting the show off to a great start.
EDDIE YIP
Stewart: To say that this was his first gig, he was pretty good. A lot of passion and bile. His mic technique could do with improving, but Jesus! It was his first time - fair play to him. He certainly has confidence and presence - once his material reaches the level of his stage persona, he'll have cracked it.
Spider: Perhaps overdid it a bit with the aggression (compensating for nerves?) but a decent stage presence, especially for his first gig. Tended to go for shock value, but some of the material was quite good.
Stewart: Good, solid support act with some little gems there (the bogside barbecue stuff was very nice). Got a good response from the crowd. I can't remember much else because I switched off at that point.
Spider: Paddy had a great gig the first time he played Malarkey's and this was no exception. A mix of new and old material, all of it very strong, with gags aplenty. A particular highlight was the bit about having your relatives stuffed and mounted when they die. A good set all round.
THE UNBROADCASTABLE RADIO SHOW (with
Toby Hadoke and
Peter Slater)
Stewart: Some cracking phraseology from Toby in here, particularly the reference to the owl's "big, black, spazzy black eyes". Excellent sketch - well-written and well-performed.
Spider: "'Jesus!' I yelped, like a big puff." Toby had some absolute quality lines in this sketch. Well written and well performed. A great recommendation for The Unbroadcastable Radio Show.
Stewart: At this point, I must have really switched off (I was extremely disappointed that Harriet Bowden had cancelled) because, much to my amazement, I can't remember anything about Chris Henry - appearance, opening line, other material... I remember NOTHING.
Spider: Chris from Glasgow had a pretty confident stage presence but the material was nothing special really (perving at women in gyms, nightclubs, etc.). There were one or two nice lines but in general the punchlines weren't that strong.
ERIC
Stewart: Eric was pretty good, from what I remember - something about Christmas presents? I do remember his having done material about motorcycle accidents, and that it was rather funny and well-delivered.
Spider: Eric opened with a few okay-ish gags (including a couple of groaners), but moved onto a quite nice section of material about second hand greetings cards. He had a nice, affable stage manner and seemed quite confident, but I'm not quite sure if he's Malarkey main support standard yet (not far off though).
Stewart: Vladimir McTavish is obviously a very accomplished, experienced comedian. Excellent presence and spot-on delivery. He got a great response from the crowd, but I raised only a few chuckles. The Paisley ranting was brilliant, if a little repetitive and drawn out.
Spider: While it's true to say that Vladimir isn't my favourite comic he did a good job on stage and you can't ask for more than that.
