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23.08.12 - The Fringe
I make it a point today to go to some
Fringe shows today. But there is a series of strange events that lead
me to a pretty awesome and enjoyable night with some cool blokes. I
think the best way to explain it is to list the events as they
happened:
9:30am - Breakfast at Belushi's. Toast, jam, and coffee.
10am - Chill Out Room - I run into three guys, one from Israel, one Scot, and another who I think was a Brit. There is some nonsense about writing on the wall, which the Scot does. He writes where he's from, but the whole wall is covered in places travelers are going next. We laugh as he curses and raises hell, having realized his mistake. These three had been up all night partying, and the Scot soon after dribbles himself to sleep on the Chill Out Room couch. They tell me about a bunch of great free shows, and I plan my day according to some of their suggestions. The guy from Israel (I've forgotten his name) says he might meet me at the Mark Grist show later that evening. It's a pay show, and I'm not sure about it, but he comes highly recommended and it's slam poetry. So, why not? (that's later though; first we have other things to do!)
10:30am - Second breakfast with the Israeli and Brit, egg and sausage sandwich, 1.75. It's good. Sitting in Belushi's, I get introduced, somewhat arbitrarily to an Aussie named Dan who was planning on going around to the shows today as well. After some good conversation, Dan and I solidify our plans off the backs of some recommendations and decide to go hit a show together. The Scot has since passed out in the Chill Out Room. I don't see him again. Onward to the Fringe.
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| Fringe. |
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| Fringe. |
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| Fringe. |
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| Very Fringe. |
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| These guys were playing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on their yukes. The Fringiest. |
11:10am - Heading to a show. We decide
to see this dirty priest stand-up comedian. Unfortunately, we end up
in the wrong venue and see about three-fourths of a slam poet who
modernizes Othello, Dr. Faustus, and Hamlet in about thirty minutes.
He's pretty awesome.
11:30am - The slam poet finishes
slamming and we go next door to see the priest. We're about ten
minutes late, but he doesn't mind. He's really good, a mix of British
political humor and a lot of pornographic jokes. There was one I
thought I'd share: "Where do all of you stand on abortion?
Because I always stand on the head, otherwise the rest of it just
goes flopping around and around." That sort of humor. It is a
good laugh and although there are only nine people in the audience,
he gets a good reception. At one point, he has us shouting "cunt"
in a call-and-response as he shouts various political figures at us.
Good times.
12:30 - Lunch at Oink. Scottish pork
sandwiches with cheese spread and ginger beer. Fucking delicious.
Here, Dan introduces me to two other friends of his who he met while
staying in New York: Steffan a Welshman, and Dixie, who owns a pub
in Oxford. We all hang out and decide to go to a show, the four of
us.
14:45 - American Girlfriend - Prior to leaving, I'd
looked on the internet for some free, highly rated comics, and I
settled on one titled "American Girlfriend" by Laura Levites. I think this was the worst thing I've seen at
Fringe. She's American, Jewish (the usual story), and does narrative
"comedy" (think Kathy Griffin but worse) all about her
life. Frequently, she would say "seriously, that's not even a
joke" and any momentum she'd built up along the way would get
completely demolished. Think vaginas and foreskin and bad them/us
jokes about the UK and you'll be in the ballpark. I've nothing
against dirty comedy, but it wasn't funny, or well written. She's
clearly never even been to London as she makes some seriously
ignorant comments about the city that no one would make if they'd
been. Basically only one guy in a green beanie was laughing in the
entire show. She was a dud. We leave after twenty agonizing minutes,
inciting a somewhat mass exodus from
her show. After we get up to leave, about four to five others also
get up to leave and follow us out.
15:30 The Yellow Show @ The Banshee Labyrinth by Rob Auton- A round of beers and then the
best thing I will see at Free Fringe and probably the best free show
out there. "The
Yellow Show" is a spoken-word, comedy, poetry, sketch,
interpretive meditation thingy. It's very well written, but there's a good deal of improvisation. As we enter, the "Yellow
Submarine" by the Beatles plays as the performer sets up tiny
yellow lights and yellow decorations all over. Rob passes around a
pail of "yellovision" glasses to the audience and we
hesitantly put them on--all of us. 
At one point Rob was making yellow sponges discuss how Spongebob Squarepants was photographed with Prince Harry and Dora the Explorer at Disney World France and the audience just loses their shit. The act is tough to explain: it's a show with only a middle. At one point, a man and his wife show up late. Rob Auton says, "It's okay, there's no beginning or ending so you can basically show up anytime. I like it that way. You don't miss anything." His deadpan delivery complements the bizarre sketches. We all leave the show feeling refreshed and in good spirits.
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| Rob Auton, doing his yellow thing. |
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| Many of our shows were on this street. |
17:10 - Our
next show is Mark Grist. I don't photograph him, but I probably should have since I paid over 9 quid to get in. Mark Grist is a famous slam-poet who dueled a 17 year old in a rap battle. There's nothing much to say about this show. Grist read about six of his poems, which were about two to three minutes in length. It was a decent experience, but I don't think Grist is that talented of a poet. He's a good rapper though. We leave, feeling somewhat neutral. We head to the pubs for a few rounds.
21:00 - Legion of Doom - This show was bonkers, hilarious, and completely stupid at the same time. It was two guys who basically did sketch comedy for about fifty minutes. We leave, feeling giddy.
22:00 - Drinks at Opium. Opium is a rock bar with some of the cheapest drinks I've ever had. We stand around and talk about life for about three hours, when we go to...
3:00ish - The Underbelly, which is where Mark Grist's show was. Now it's converted to a three-tiered club. People dancing. More cheesy music. I have to say that although I really hated the music they played (except for some of the Michael Jackson and Queen) this was a pretty good night.
5:00am - I arrive at the Hostel and crash.
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