Norse men, bears and a bard

bruceonthefringe 2024, Comic theatre, Fringe reviews, Fringe Venues, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

August, the month of short, intense bursts of exercise, well, covering distances in a quarter of the time it would usually take. Oh, it’s not just about speed and stamina, there’s sidestepping obstacles, anticipating numpties, spotting and slipping through the slightest gaps in sprawling crowds. That was me tonight trying to get to the Gordon Aitman Theatre at George Square in time for Mythos: Ragnarok. Reader, I made it! Only because as I dashed out, 20:55 morphed into 20:50 in my head (yeah, I wouldn’t have made that).

So how was Mythos: Ragnarok a tale of Norse gods told by wrestlers? Bloody entertaining, that’s what! This particular venue often feels quite dull and sterile to me, but tonight was very different, the backdrops and effects really gave the place an atmosphere; the action was dramatic and powerful with plenty of humour and wit. Wrestling isn’t usually my thing at all, but as it’s Fringe, why not; so don’t be put off if it’s not yours either, it’s a great storyline and that noise as they slam down is something else (honestly, it sounds so painful, just as well they’re all professionals and incredibly well rehearsed). So glad I went!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ½

From Norse gods to Gummy Bears – only at the Fringe! As gummy bears are very small, so the timelength of the show is short, but The Gummy Bears’ Great War packs a lot of punch into thirty minutes; also, despite being tiny, the room layout means all the audience can see the stars of the show (the room being in C Alto aka The Quaker House). While we start off laughing and chuckling, the chuckles become wryer and sparser as the mood changes to a sad pathos for the absurdity of it all and the inevitable end. I was reminded of Henry Naylor’s plays on the human, personal consequences of war. Those gummy bears moved me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ½

Time for one more, Shakespeare For Breakfast at C Aurora (aka Lauriston Halls). The ten o’clock start is a hard one, inevitably always a rush to get there no matter my intentions the night before! This year it’s The Tempest getting the C Theatre treatment where pentameter blends nicely with modern speech, and the setting is quite farcical. You don’t have to know anything about the original play to enjoy this take on it, honest. Always a joy, it wouldn’t be the Edinburgh Fringe without Shakespeare For Breakfast one morning! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Time to hit the sack, more reviews tomorrow, promise!

A few cuts of comedy…

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Just time for a quick one!! I have a date at eight with Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. A few notes on Comedy, methinks. The wonderful Will BF is back with two shows, The Last Gun (last year’s show) and Moon Team IIIV. I’m looking forward to seeing both, yes, both, The Last Gun was very entertaining!

Also back are Crizards, just not together, they’ve gone solo. Eddy Hare: This One’s On Me is on at the Pleasance Courtyard, so a tad pricey! While Will Rowland: Masterpiece in Progress is on at the Banshee Labyrinth, part of the Free Fringe. Interesting choices. I’m interested to see what they each bring, will I prefer one over the other?

For years Gamarjobat entertained Edinburgh Fringe-goers, first just on the streets then also with proper shows. Mime is often the butt of jokes, but Gamarjobat a double mime act from Japan were brilliant; this year just one half is back with Ketch Sketch. Hmmm, I’m not sure if one mime can create the magic that the two had together, we’ll see.

And last but definitely not the least, John-Luke Roberts is back with not one but ten different shows; a retrospective of his solo shows, if you will. I’ve seen five, do I pick one I haven’t seen before or re-visit one that I have? Hmm.

Shakespeare, Gummy Bears and a Gang Bang?!

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This is going be short and sweet, like myself! It’s very late but let’s do a quick trawl through more cuttings, tomorrow is going to be busy so that could be another non-blog day. Crikey, this time next week this year’s Edinburgh Fringe will be properly underway. Aargh.

I did have my cuttings neatly sorted, yeah, that was doomed; so what’s at the top of the heap? Aha, first a slight correction, David Alnwick has a third show, it’s listed under Theatre that’s why I missed it earlier, The Mystery of Dracula. I saw it last year and enjoyed it, he knows how to tell a story!

The coffee and croissant crew are back, yay, Shakespeare For Breakfast and I am still without a ticket! That ten o’clock start is hard work, but on average it’s been well worth getting up for. The talented Hughie Shepherd-Cross is bringing another play up, that’s three in three years! I enjoyed the previous two, Out to Lunch and Ringer so I definitely intend to see Gang Bang.

Great poster applauds for Plotters and Corpse Flower, the blurbs are quite enticing too; and looking closely second time round The Gummy Bears’ Great War has me intrigued. I suspect its a show worth queuing early for to get a front row seat – those dudes are really small!

And last for tonight two possibles, largely helped by being at one of my favourite venues Paradise In The Vault. Now I must away to my bed.

Toodle pip!

A few more notes

bruceonthefringe 2024, Cabaret and Variety, Edinburgh Fringe 2024, Music, Musicals and opera, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Music. Not content with popping up a lot in Cabaret & Variety, and on occasion in Comedy, it has its own category and an extra one just for Musicals & Opera. I rarely see anything from either category but, always have a look through, just in case….

Oh my heartses, there’s two shows listed on the first two pages of Music featuring the divine Nicole Smit! On the first Sunday evening of the Fringe, she’ll be in the reopened Jazz Bar, for not just sixty but ninety minutes of jazz; I guess it needs to be that long, the show’s called “26” Songs Nicole Cassandra Smit Wants to Sing. Oh, it’s gonna be good!

Nicole is back in The Jazz Bar mid Fringe, this time with Jed Potts doing their thang with country, blues and jazz numbers; there’ll be some sweet, sad, sassy and maybe just downright silly stuff in there, depend how they’re feelin’! There’s two chances for all the out-of-towners to see Aaaah Look Who It Is: Jed Potts and Nicole Smit, Again! The Jazz Bar also sees the return of The Blueswater for five late night shows spread over the Fringe, yay! Which night to pick?! Another chance to see Jed play, and no doubt Nicole will be up for a number or two.

Much as I love all that stuff, I have other needs, heavy heavy riffs and disco (yes, I’m a moose of many musical tastes). Luckily there’s a show that covers both … in Bannermans, they’re back for two nights, Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees and Beyond. It’s gonna be hot and sweaty, and gleefully, wickedly OTT!!

But have any Musicals caught my eye? Just three have tweaked my curiosity…..

It’s late, I’m pooped. A look through one of the big ones tomorrow, ooo. Sweet dreams!

Fancy some Variety with your Cabaret?

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I’ve probably asked this before, Cabaret & Variety and Comedy – what’s the deciding factor which category a show is marketed in when there’s elements of both? And is a music show with traces of humour and pazzazz automatically in Cabaret & Variety? Then there’s magic, and boy, there’s a lot of magic at the Edinburgh Fringe these days! Magic shows are mainly in Cabaret & Variety even the really funny ones, which to my mind could be in Comedy. It wouldn’t surprise me if magic got it’s own category one year.

Yes, I’ve had time to have a look through the first category in the Fringe programme, well, it’s only seventeen pages. So what caught my eye? Which shows have already been snipped from my cut-outs programme?

Top of the second page there’s Accordion Ryan’s Pop Bangers back again at the slightly earlier time of 10pm; I’ll definitely be popping in there at some point. Also back again, a few pages along is David Alnwick with two shows this year, oh yeah, magic shows, he’s rather good at it! Both with PBH’s Free Fringe but one is comedic, the other horror; Alnwick is a skilled storyteller weaving his magic into his tales, Necromancer may not be for those with a nervous disposition.

Over the page and An Evening with Dame Granny Smith made me laugh out loud. Ah, ventriloquism, so not a magic talking apple, then? Have to say, the picture has managed to hook me, possibly a preview ticket. From the E’s I perused right throught to the S’s til another picture winked at me, that of Surreal: The Mind-Reading Show From Berlin! Intriguing blurb, but it does say, interactive, hmmm, and it’s pricey; maybe if there’s Half Price Hut tickets?

I’m thinking that fifty minutes of Tarting About with Blues and Burlesque one afternoon could be quite fun! Part of PBH’s Free Fringe in Uno Mas, a bar I’ve never visited. Even shorter, there’s a forty-five minute show by The Unluckiest Magician, who happens to be antipodean (I have a strange weakness for anything from down under). Umm, tempted!

The final entry in Cabaret & Variety is the wonderfully titled A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for Fifty-Six Minutes and Then Leaves… 15. Yes, this is the fifteenth time it’s been performed!! I say performed, erm, I’ve never actually seen it. It’s obviously very popular as it’s in the Liquid Room Annexe/Warehouse, that’s a big venue. This year may be the year!

And, saving the best ’til last? Well, certainly amongst the best for this moose, the star that is Aidan Sadler is bringing their self-penned show Melody back again, this time to the Ballroom at The Voodoo Rooms (a better venue than last year). Flamboyant, funny, sharp, mouthy, self-deprecating, I knew all that from bumping into them regularly the last three Fringes, then I went to see the show, and wow, what a voice! There’s a distinct possibility of me seeing Aidan Sadler: Melody a second time.

So there’s some that have grabbed my eyeballs so far; oh, the importance of that tiny pic and show title! Next time, a skip through Musicals and opera and Music. Not that I’m sure whether I’ll be here all August or partly down in Yorkshireland, the matriarch is still stuck in the woods and will need a lot of tlc when she gets out. But I’ll deal with that when it happens.

Toodle pip!

Still nothing but I do have a poster

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It’s only twenty-four days until the Edinburgh Fringe 2024 previews start. Any other year I’d have my previews organised, cut-outs in piles of definites, maybes, half price huts, short runs; my Fringe calendar would be printed out with around fifteen shows already marked up in pen. I’m distracted, my thoughts are often elsewhere, I ain’t committing myself to anything that I can’t drop in an instant (I do have a few tickets, friends may get lucky!)

My tales of travels and troubadours in Europe have also been a casuality of my current uncertainty and concern (mother moose was taken into hospital almost three weeks ago). I’ve always found it difficult to shut worrisome thought out of my head and get on with other stuff. To complicate things further, I have my places where I sit and write, and Yorkshireland where I’m headed back to in the morning, isn’t one of them; so getting anything down on paper (er, tablet) in the next week will be a challenge.

I do now have my Logan’s Close European Tour goodies, they may help inspire me! Or I could actually go through the Fringe programme properly and write about Fringey things, maybe. Meanwhile keep smiling, be good, and tell someone you love how much you love them 💛

Admiring my tour poster, signed by the lads

That bit of newspaper stuck on the top corner of the frame, just a little something I tore out to remind myself….

Best laid plans of mice and moose

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After my last post a week ago, I fully intended to knuckle down and write every other day about my European wanderings, and make a serious start on this year’s Fringe programme. Unfortunately the gods had other ideas and laid the moose matriarch low, very low, so everything went out the window. It’s been a busy, taut time; thank god for the NHS, they’ve been brilliant. I’m in Edinburgh for just a couple of days to sort some things out, a wee chill out, then back down to Yorkshireland tomorrow.

I arrived yesterday at noon, so was able to trot along to the Farmers Market to stock up on some good quality frozen meats to take back down (for some good, quality, hearty frozen dishes for mother’s freezer). Co Co Co. were at the Market with another new chocolate, Strawberries & Cream, well, I had to, and a packet of Crème Brûlée (mother’s favourites).

Later in the afternoon the R&R really began when I popped in Whistlebinkies to catch Jed Potts and Nicole Smit doing their thing, just what the doctor ordered! Washed down with some Olicana, Stewart’s latest brew. I’ve since checked out their tasting notes, Stewart’s say mango, grapefruit and passionfruit; I say peapod. Honestly, the first sniff was like opening a bag of peapods, the taste did nothing to change that thought. Oh, I did like it in some weird way, but I couldn’t drink a lot of it.

There’s a film in cinemas at the moment with Austin Butler, Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy, oh my heartses. The Bikeriders is one hell of a movie with a soundtrack to match (currently playing on my Spotify). The writer/director Jeff Nichols was inspired by a photo book by one Danny Lyon who took photographs and tape recordings of a chapter of outlaw motorcyclists between 1963 and 1967. Apparently the recordings Lyon made of Kathy, played by Comer in the film, are still around to listen to, gonna have to check them out. All three of the leads are mesmerising to watch, and another accent nailed by Comer! Hopefully I’ll get to see it again before it disappears from the big screen.

Time for my bed, still got a lot to do tomorrow before I hit the road south. Still no sign of a drought in Yorkshireland this summer….

G’night!

A moose in Europe – feeling the fear

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Why Linz? It was in the right direction, not too long a train ride and I like the name, something about it appealed to me! Also, I’d still have a couple of days in Austria; no, I don’t know why that should matter, it’s just how it was. Good choice, a nice place to find my feet and expel all the breath I’d been holding in trepidation.

Oh gosh, yes, looking back on it now, I had a whole conference hall of What Ifs, Buts and Have Yous, all arguing in my head. Some delegations were appeased and left once I’d successfully clicked my first train journey on to my Interrail Pass, got on the right train and got off at the right place. Phew. A sandwich from one of the many food stalls in the station helped quell the ongoing jabbering and I was ready to set off in search of the Airbnb.

Now some folk can walk in anywhere and be comfortably at home, their inner self-esteem never doubts how right they are – I am not one of those folk, entering a stranger’s apartment to share their living space for the next day and a half? Awkward, unsure – I’ll just sit in a corner til it’s time to go. No, I didn’t, but that conference was still busy debating my inadequacies.

I found the street, no problem, then walked right past the number I was looking for, doh. The apartment was in a building not dissimilar to an old Edinburgh tenement, the staircase had a style and air to it, high ceilings, and the old water tap on the ground floor lent some extra character. My room was big and airy with a sofa and table and chairs, besides a bed. The kitchen was small, a tad messy and scruffy but perfectly functional with a shower room off one side and separate toilet off to the other side in the hallway.

After some time to pause, breath and collect myself, I went for a wander round (and to find a supermarket). Not exactly the warm, continental spring I was expecting, in fact pretty much the same as I’d left behind, cold with rain threatening. By now I was fairly knackered from very little sleep the night before and the journey, but walking round, looking up at the architecture, seeing the people, hey, I was in Austria! I was actually doing something – in Austria! Next stop Germany and I still wasn’t 100% decided where! Yes, it was time to start feeling excited.

Or maybe get excited in the morning once I’d had a good night’s kip. Some tortellini with creamy cheese for tea, a message to my old ma (so she could follow my travels on a map), lights out. Ooo, a galaxy of stars appeared on the wall and ceiling! I’m guessing the room has had a child occupant. And so to sleep after a long day of travelling, geographically and in my headspace.

Probably the most awesome mural I’ve ever seen!

Some will read this and wonder what all my fuss was about, erm, I didn’t write this for you, this is for all those with silly, nagging doubts, the worriers, the ones who’d love to have an adventure but, but, but. You can, you know.

Toodle pip!

A moose in Europe – a prologue

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So, that little trip I did – three countries, six gigs, ten stops, in twenty days. The postcard blog posts idea started well, then kind of, erm, but I did keep it going – with excuses. Next time I’ll do better. Oh yeah, there will be a next time, when the stars align again.

I’d only stayed one night at an Airbnb before this trip, and that was a BnB that advertised through Airbnb, so this was my first real experience of Airbnb-ing; and so many different experiences! Boy, my comfort zone felt terribly faraway at times! I also stayed a few nights in hostels, also very varied experiences from exceptionally good to godawful. More on all that later…

I did have some trepidation about how well I’d eat on my trip. Oh, not that I wouldn’t like the food, but how I’d figure out what things were and how to pronounce the words. My awkwardness and embarrassment almost swallowed me whole a few times! (that also includes being in strangers’ kitchens). Plenty of the time I lived off yoghurt, bananas, ham, cheese, and bread, bread, bread, ha, and individually wrapped pieces of Yorkshire Parkin I’d baked to take with me (for sustenance when I had nowt else). Oh, I did eat plenty from the food counters at all the train stations; so much bread – how I managed to misplace half a stone over there is a mystery!

Did you ever see a wurst croissant?

The whole Interrailling thing went fine, just a few blips. The app is extremely good (mind I was keeping things relatively simple, not bothering to reserve seats or any overnight journeys with sleeping requirements). Different options and itineraries can be looked at and saved until you’re ready to make a final choice and book it in, and then the app asks twice whether you definitely want to go ahead and book. Sometimes I was literally about to step on a train when I booked it – ok, so that was in case plans went awry.

My train travels were certainly enlightening! I’m happy to report that German trains are not as perfect as they are perceived to be, oh, not by much but how nice to see some flaws (it’s a British thing to unfavourably compare our train services in particular to Germany’s). You humans are so fascinating to observe, and yes, different nations do have different traits, or stereotypical behaviours (oo, that word stereotype does upset some folk). Train passengers were one thing, but pedestrians in Germany and Austria, wow, I definitely wasn’t in the UK (traffic still oncoming round the corner when the green man is on – I flinched every time!)

Linz, Austria.

My wandering feet did a lot of wandering and exploring. Some days I probably walked for five, six hours, just taking in the sights and sounds, admiring the different architecture. Statues and sculptures on walls became a thing for me, especially the ones flashing a knee (honestly, there were some many). Lovely parks over there too, I strolled through plenty between bed and venues. Venues, ah yes, the actual reason for being over there, Logan’s Close on their European Tour.

Yes, ostensibly it was for a friend’s party and LC, but really it was almost like a cover story that excused me also romping around Germany. Then, sadly, the party had to be cancelled; my journey to Bremen was quickly rearranged. Somehow it seems that our friendship was cancelled too, not a peep since – not that I haven’t tried! Okay, so be it, but, if I had known, then I might have forgone the Munich gig and headed off for Logan’s Close’s next gig in Trento. Hmm, Ingolstadt to Trento, then two days later up to Vienna just for my flight home – bet that’s some stunning scenery! Bloody humans!

Oh, the Munich gig was good, the guys were on fine form, but, there’s a certain hostel I’d not bother with again (later). Sure, I would have missed Eurovision, but then, Logan’s Close or Eurovision? No contest! The gigs I did get to, Bremen, Berlin, Hamburg, Prague, Ingolstadt and Munich were amazing. Time and time again, just little touches would blow me away, the attitude, the grand swirls, the spaces in their sound, the sheer exuberance, the obvious joy and shared smiles – all of it together, so potent, such an incredible high!!

God yes, I’ll be doing that again, just next time a little more aware! I shall leave you with a few aftershow pics in Ingolstadt…

Oh, charming!
Carl on merch, again!
Look! A moose!

Quite a fair weekend in all

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And there ends the first weekend in June, another Meadows Fair done and dusted (ok, it’s the Meadows Festival these days but it did used to be the Meadows Fair – to hark back to a time of midsummer fairs? Then festivals became much more the rage, but I’m an old timer, so). It’s always well attended but the glorious weather was surely a factor in the bumper crowds that turned out.

There were the usual multitude of food stalls, three music stages (Out of the Bedroom – open mic, Future Sounds for new, young bands, and the Tone Garden, main stage), the Stewart’s Brewing bar, and a myriad of stalls selling allsorts. I was rather tempted by a lovely tactile wooden elephant puzzle, but I left the decision to the gods and when I meandered back later it had gone.

Want an old tin or two? There’s the odd old book, but those playing cards – nice!

The only thing I bought was a pork gyros from a Greek food stall, I must say it was very tasty! I don’t usually buy food as it is, to my eyes, expensive, but I do love pork gyros so I succumbed.

Oh, I did buy something unexpected this weekend – my first lot of Fringe tickets! Yes I know, I usually hold out until the whole programme is officially out, but Underbelly decided to do a sneaky early offer, so I just had to check out their line-up. Just as well I was paying attention, the offer was only on from Friday until midnight just gone. Underbelly usually do some kind of early offer but this time it’s very early (and very short), I wonder how many folk actually spotted it.

The deal was £6 tickets for all shows on each Wednesday of the Fringe, pretty good, huh? I didn’t bother with tickets for preview Wednesday, there’ll be plenty others vying for that spot, but it was good to get expensive tickets for acts I have never seen, because of the prices, on the final Wednesday. They would be Danny Bhoy and Foil Arms and Hogg, yep, I’m fairly chuffed about that; and with several other tickets I got my moneys worth of booking fee (it’s £1.25 a ticket up to a maximum of £5 for one order).

It’s late, time to kip. I’ll leave you with one more from the Meadows Fair……