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Stand Up Comedians

I always thought the line "He's not a real hamster" was to prove how immature the whole idea of Top Gear and particularly Clarkson is, although I get your point too, I can also understand how "dullards" can see it as just a brick joke though.;)
 
Golfball said:
1. The reason people like McIntrye do the jokes that they do, is because its funnier than slow dull boring slightly amusing stories. 2. Who in their right mind would think "im quite a funny guy, I'm going to be a comedian, but actually I only want to appeal to 5% of the comedy loving market". 3. I have seen more of Lee than you are implying, but based on this thread I went and watched a bit more and they were rarely very funny or clever.

4. What part of "I wish Richard Hammond had died, hes not even a real hamster" is clever or takes any more understanding than what the other guys do. Lee does find the amusing topics and observations, but then just treats his audience as stupid and slowly takes any fun away from the joke by over explaining it. I watched his Chris Moyles book joke on youtube, that could be a really funny clip... but he just slowly bored any fun out of it as it was too obvious where he was going with it. Its possible to be brilliantly funny with his style, and if he was 5. he would sell out massive stadiums.

6. And my point about "I could write brick jokes like that" was not that I could be a stand up comedian. I'm guessing that being a Lee fan you consider yourself very clever, so I take it you know that my point wasn't that I could be one, but rather I couldn't be one and thats the sort of reason why... because I'd say things like "oh that Richard 'the hamster' Hammond... hes not even a real hamster".
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1. In my opinion the reason people like Mcintyre is because it's about basic things they can relate to, stories about paying for parking and such. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it makes sense that people want to laugh about things they come across in day to day life.

2. As Gutterboy quite profoundly said:

"he said that he wanted to only do work where he had full control and where he could explore the art / structure of stand-up. He even said he'd worked out if he did this and a few thousands people gave him £10-£20 per year he'd be happier than being popular for the sake of it.

So, you could compare it to a musician, who decides to stick to their roots / passion rather than just doing stuff to be popular - in any other art form this is considered quite noble."

Michael Mcintyre will always continue to do whatever gets him the stadium tours and the primetime slots on ITV, that isn't something Stewart Lee wants from life it seems.

3. So before this debate had you sat through a full show? If I hadn't sat through a full show of Mcintyre I wouldn't really feel qualified to talk about him on here.

4. Ironically I haven't watched the show that segment is from, and I'm just not really in to watching youtube clips of standup, once I've watched the full show I'll get back to you though.

5. Why is that the ultimate dream? Does that theory transfer to music as well? I don't think Nick Drake played stadium gigs, but the Spice Girls did, does that make them more respectable and successful than Nick Drake?

6. You're referring back to show I haven't watched once again so I can't help you much here. Yeah you've got me totally sussed though, think I'm a genius because of my comedy taste =D>

Edit: In reference to the Hammond thing, I still haven't seen it, maybe it's a brick joke, or maybe Boonie's right and has seen what he is doing there. Quite simply, I do not know as I haven't seen it.

But when you take a 5 minute segment out of a stewart lee show and evaluate it out of context, (warning for possibly the most pretentious thing I have ever said folks :) ), it seems a bit like someone taking a small chunk out of Dark Side of the Moon, and saying "well this is a bit brick isn't it, can't make heads or tails of it, music should definitely have a verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus structure and quite frankly this is all over the place." It's about the whole show as a piece of art, much like a really fudging good album should be.

Maybe the majority of people like to get quickfix 3 minute songs from a bunch of artists and listen to them on shuffle on Itunes and that's enough to satisfy them, but there's still folks around who want something more substantial, a whole album they can take in.
 
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I've read Lee's book If You Prefer A Milder Comedian EP where he analyses his stand up routine from the thour of the same name. In it he talks openly about why he over uses lines such as "he's not a real hamster" Even if you aren't a fan of Lee, but are a fan of stand up comedy as a a form, it is an interesting read. He believes that because of the popularity of comedians like McIntyre, the public's view of comedy is that it should all be in the same vein. Observational comedy is now mainstream Saturday evening prime time entertainment, and Lee is showing that there is still such a thing as alternative.

No matter how any stadiums McIntyre fills, or how many DVDs he sells, I firmly believe in 15-20 years time, Lee will be referenced by the comedians of the future as an inspiration. Whereas I can't see many people becoming comedians after listening to the content of McIntyre's jokes.

Stewart Lee is a comedian's comedian. That is not to say that I am, nor anyone on this board are, comedians by merely liking him. But he will keep the ball rolling

This is a good read also http://www.chortle.co.uk/features/2...e:_what_i_really_think_about_michael_mcintyre
 
edgey-the-yid said:
Yeah he is brilliant
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He is. As PLJ says its because he has that dour - dead pan sense of humour.

Linking it back to the previous posts I guess he is funny because we as the audience relate to the stories he suggests. How many times do you listen to a comedian and their stories ring a bell that is so true - it cracks me up as you only think its just you that experiences that.

Michael Macintyre gives a joke about online bookings about how you need to register etc. He mentiones how when you sometimes try to register the site says youre registered. So you click ont he forget password but then you realise you dont know the answer to the fudgein security question. I thought it was just me that forgets but not true its everyone else. Its fudgein funny.

Jack Dee is similiar in his stories and relate it to real life. Real life in the grand scheme of things is funny and comedians take that misery out of it and bring laughter to it.
 
I went on a taster comedy course once and the tutor (a real life stand up comedian) explained that 99% of comedy is quite formulaic. There are certain rules that most comedians will obey.

Now, I'm not saying comedians like Michael McIntyre are bad comedians for obeying the rules - he's where he is because he is talented and has a certain something else.

I realised though that most comedians I really like break those rules, constantly. Stewart Lee is unique in that he breaks all those rules, constantly.

Stewart Lee, Edward Aczel, David Trent and John Gordillo are four of my favourite comedians - even before I went on this comedy taster session. After the comedy taster session I realised perhaps they're some of my favourite comedians because they break the rules. They are a completely different experience to seeing Michael McIntyre.
 
DHSF said:
He is. As PLJ says its because he has that dour - dead pan sense of humour.

Linking it back to the previous posts I guess he is funny because we as the audience relate to the stories he suggests. How many times do you listen to a comedian and their stories ring a bell that is so true - it cracks me up as you only think its just you that experiences that.

Michael Macintyre gives a joke about online bookings about how you need to register etc. He mentiones how when you sometimes try to register the site says youre registered. So you click ont he forget password but then you realise you dont know the answer to the fudgein security question. I thought it was just me that forgets but not true its everyone else. Its fudgein funny.

Jack Dee is similiar in his stories and relate it to real life. Real life in the grand scheme of things is funny and comedians take that misery out of it and bring laughter to it.
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Yeah its what I always liked about Lee Evans. These type of comedians just have a very good eye for the world around them and can tell us what we already know and go through but in a clever and funny way
 
Boonie said:
I always thought the line "He's not a real hamster" was to prove how immature the whole idea of Top Gear and particularly Clarkson is, although I get your point too, I can also understand how "dullards" can see it as just a brick joke though.;)
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Oh ha ha ha I get it now, what a brilliant joke. I'll remember to tell it to everyone I know.

(See, I told you I could write brick jokes)
 
spurspinter1 said:
1. In my opinion the reason people like Mcintyre is because it's about basic things they can relate to, stories about paying for parking and such. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it makes sense that people want to laugh about things they come across in day to day life.

2. As Gutterboy quite profoundly said:

"he said that he wanted to only do work where he had full control and where he could explore the art / structure of stand-up. He even said he'd worked out if he did this and a few thousands people gave him £10-£20 per year he'd be happier than being popular for the sake of it.

So, you could compare it to a musician, who decides to stick to their roots / passion rather than just doing stuff to be popular - in any other art form this is considered quite noble."

Michael Mcintyre will always continue to do whatever gets him the stadium tours and the primetime slots on ITV, that isn't something Stewart Lee wants from life it seems.

3. So before this debate had you sat through a full show? If I hadn't sat through a full show of Mcintyre I wouldn't really feel qualified to talk about him on here.

4. Ironically I haven't watched the show that segment is from, and I'm just not really in to watching youtube clips of standup, once I've watched the full show I'll get back to you though.

5. Why is that the ultimate dream? Does that theory transfer to music as well? I don't think Nick Drake played stadium gigs, but the Spice Girls did, does that make them more respectable and successful than Nick Drake?

6. You're referring back to show I haven't watched once again so I can't help you much here. Yeah you've got me totally sussed though, think I'm a genius because of my comedy taste =D>

Edit: In reference to the Hammond thing, I still haven't seen it, maybe it's a brick joke, or maybe Boonie's right and has seen what he is doing there. Quite simply, I do not know as I haven't seen it.

But when you take a 5 minute segment out of a stewart lee show and evaluate it out of context, (warning for possibly the most pretentious thing I have ever said folks :) ), it seems a bit like someone taking a small chunk out of Dark Side of the Moon, and saying "well this is a bit brick isn't it, can't make heads or tails of it, music should definitely have a verse chorus verse chorus bridge chorus structure and quite frankly this is all over the place." It's about the whole show as a piece of art, much like a really fudging good album should be.

Maybe the majority of people like to get quickfix 3 minute songs from a bunch of artists and listen to them on shuffle on Itunes and that's enough to satisfy them, but there's still folks around who want something more substantial, a whole album they can take in.
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I'm not really after a massive debate about Lee. I like most comedians and I could go to a Lee show, paying £10 at my local comedy club - as that is his level. But I wouldn't go expecting a massively funny night, just more of a "oh look he's there tonight, i'm not doing anything else so i'll pop along as I know there will be tickets left".

But what I'm trying to say is stop with this rubbish excuse listing. Its perfectly possible to do his style and be really funny and do stadium tours. If you think that isn't what he wants, then just google and youtube him and read/see one of the many times he mentions it. He has quite an obsession with talking about people he thinks he is better than, but they have more popularity.

Not every comedian does the McIntyre simple style. But a lot of Lee's stuff is simplistic obvious stuff, just not as funny as the main guys. I've yet to see anything from Lee that a lot of comedians couldn't have written (and probably done a better job in making it funny), its not like he is making jokes that require an IQ of 130 to understand. And as I said, he does these smaller comedy festival type things and along come people like McIntyre and make Lee's fans laugh more. A lot of people like Lee but like the mainstream guys more.

My main problem with Lee is his refusal to accept he just isnt as good as these guys selling out stadiums. He is hit and miss and worth a watch sometimes, but his "oh I know im not a massive star, but errr thats because I dont want to be, I dont want to appeal to many people" is just pathetic.
 
Saw Russell Brand last night. Sold out stadium gig. Had us all in the palm of his hand apart from a couple nobs who he soundly put in their place.

I know he's not everyone's cup of tea, but I have a lot of time for him.
 
clownfoot said:
Henning Wehn. Not sure if he ahs a DVD out but I've heard him on radio and saw him on a few panel shows, and he is hilarious. Going to keep an eye out for when he tours
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I was just about to give him a mention - hilarious. He has a Christmas Show on at a theatre in Leicester Square.

George Carlin - immense, sadly no more.

Love Michael McIntyre, Peter Kay & Kevin Bridges.
 
Superted said:
Saw Russell Brand last night. Sold out stadium gig. Had us all in the palm of his hand apart from a couple nobs who he soundly put in their place.

I know he's not everyone's cup of tea, but I have a lot of time for him.
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Is he still playing Noel Gallagher's voice mail at every show? That was rather funny
 
Didn't play it but re enacted a couple. One after the Olympics about how he murdered a Beatles song. RBs reply was that Oasis have made a career out of murdering the Beatles whole catalogue.

Showed footage of him on News Night on a panel to talk about drug legalization that was very good.
 
fudging hate Russel Brand, have done ever since he was on MTV doing fudging awful bits inbetween the videos
 
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