Blog: Telling Stories

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Myself and The Punchline Of My Gag went off to a bit of a DO yesterday evening, the first night of a new thing called "True Stories Told Live" where people get up and tell true stories in front of a semi-invited audience.

It was all a bit a) exciting and b) POSH as it was run by Mr David Hepworth Off Of The Word Magazine and some PALS, so there were some Actual Real-Live FAMOUS people there, and the people who I didn't recognise seemed like the sort of people who DEALT with The Famous on a regular basis, so I had to be VERY careful not to GOGGLE or POINT and thus BLOW my COOL. I find this very difficult!

It was also POSH because it was in the newly renovated Salmon & Compass, now just called The Compass, where they used to do The Hangover Lounge. GONE were the squeezy chairs, STEEL furnishings and Fancy Lager, IN were proper pub tables, WOOD furnishings, and ACTUAL BEER. This last was ESPECIALLY welcome, it was even reasonably priced!

The gig itself was a lot of fun, not least because it was running from 7pm to 9pm, so people could come straight from work and not get home too late - why does that sound eerily familiar, i wonder? Another good thing was that they had three stories in the first half and only TWO in the second, so everything felt quick and easy. ALSO good were the stories - i think my favourites were Mr Hepworth's, a Lady Author (who's name I can't remember) who nearly made everyone CRY, and Andrew Collins Off The Telly who was MOST amusing on the subject of VOMIT.

It was also quite SWEET the way that it was organised - there were FOUR people who'd organised it and they seemed especially grateful that the pub landlord had let them have the room for free - it seemed CHURLISH even to THINK "But that's what pub landlords DO if you tell them you're bringing 50 people to drink their beer" as everyone seemed awfully pleased about it. It was a bit like going to a gig your parents had organised, where they'd been EXTREMELY keen on making sure everything was just right - which, indeed, it was.

I did have the distinct feeling that we were among the youngest people there, which was a bit unnerving if A NICE CHANGE - the reason we got invited was because a while back there was a vague chance that they might ask me to do a SPOT, finishing my story with a SONG. As it happened they got Chris Difford From Squeeze to do the story + song bit which, you know, FAIR ENOUGH. Given the choice I'd've probably booked him MYSELF!

It was all rather delightful, and we SWEPT away into the night not long before half past nine thinking what a GRATE idea these early gigs are. MORE PLEASE!

posted 17/9/2009 by MJ Hibbett

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