Review: Russell Kane
It was with somewhat withheld joy that I found out I was going to see Russell Kane.
I have to admit, at this point I had only seen certain televisual entities online plus several of BBC's Freak Like Me and I thought, yeah... he's kinda funny... he's kinda like... he reminds me of... but it was his only Welsh date, so what the heck.
But, the preconception was about to be piledrived into oblivion as Russell Kane exploded into the Aberdare Coliseum for a craze-fuelled, frenzied (and much ad-libbed), amazing, ulcer-inducingly funny set.
Let's start at the beginning. After a swift drive via the girlfriend's mum's house, and after the public health warning from my her ("Ooh, you don't wanting to be going out in Aberdare... ooh, scary skinheads, ooh") let's just say I was pumped for the night.
Following a mildly scary drive over the Rhigos mountains we descended on Aberdare. Looked stunning in the evening light, a kinda friendly looking Royston Vasey meets Yosemite.
First impressions of Aberdare: pretty, nice, quaint. A bit like Brecon.
The Coliseum is on the outskirts of the centre, a remarkably quiet residential area, but a great setting.
The thing I love about the Valleys is the no-frills, honest, friendly approach to life, and this place was the same. We got a drink with relative ease, and you could even take your drinks in with you (J20 for me squire as I be driving). So far, so good.
The crowd is mixed, kinda youth hipster veterans meets your parents, with a good sprinkling of the chequered shirt brigade, with a slug of fake tan and Ralph Lauren. I even spotted CLIC editor Ryan in the midst. [I'm still trying to get the Saint Tropez stains off my chequered Ralph Lauren - Ryan]
We take our seats and wait for the act to commence. To our surprise he's brought a warm-up act (names fail me at this point) - but enough to say she was funny, charming, quaint... imagine Daisy from Spaced doing stand-up: you get the picture. Followed by a quick drink break, then we were back in.
Ok, intrigue and anticipation are building...
The lights dim...
"Please welcome Russell Kane to the stage," a voice shouts... "and now for this announcement in Welsh, "ghgcgchgghchhghggcccchhhhhhhhh!" A noise sounding remarkably similar to a toilet flush came over the tannoy. I was laughing like a naughty schoolgirl already.
Russell stormed on stage with fresh new half mohawk-buzz-cut hairstyle, and for a small-ish guy he commanded that stage like Obama. At this point, I am going to have to admit that it was hard to remember too much of the detail that ensued. Let's just say that of his first mention of the 'C' word (approximately 30 seconds in) - the older lady sat next to us was gripped on the leg by her elder daughter, and they didn't laugh one bit for the rest of the night.
It didn't matter as by this point, as I was bent double.
We had jokes about his dad, about Wales, about sex, about growing up, about pornography, about money, a bit more about pornography and a bit more about his courting tactics and sex, all delivered at breakneck speed and, weirdly, without any of the above items appearing too crude (ish).
I know the scheduled program was supposed to be his Sandcastles And Smokescreens show, but this was better. More funny. More, well, err, Welsh. At the beginning I thought 'oh, here we go, more jokes about the Welsh. Howwww funny, not!' But he got it spot on and like Dominos, he delivered.
If you get the chance, make sure you get your tickets early for St.David's Hall on Monday 19 September. He was amazingly funny, and I do believe this set will never be repeated or televised. I did feel like I had witnessed something special and, Mr Kane, to you Sir my hat goes off.
You killed it!
1 Comment – Postiwch sylw
CLICryan
Rhoddwyd sylw 12 mis yn ôl - 17th May 2011 - 14:49pm
I spent the first half hour not being able to see, because my glasses were steamed up from the tears streaming down my face. Utter quality. He's actually in Cardiff in July too, at the Cardiff Comedy Festival.