Posts Tagged ‘Marty Miller’

Thanks to the hard work of Sharyn Hayden, Wednesday 25th April 2012 will now go down in the history books, as the first ever Irish Music Comedy Awards! I was lucky enough to get to experience the night firsthand and it was a blast

When I heard the venue changed at the last-minute I did struggle to visualise how 4 Dame Lane would work for this event but, as soon as I walked in, I really liked the feel of the venue. It turns out they’ve far more space upstairs than my previous visit led me to believe and it was pretty well laid out to accommodate the crowd and comedians! The only thing that was really lacking was a back stage area, which meant the finalists were sitting among the punters until it was time to get on stage. I personally quite liked this, as it meant each of the contestants had an opportunity to get a proper feel for their audience and, of course, they also got a great view of their competition performing!

Sharyn Hayden and the Judges

The three judges (Marty Miller, Amanda Brunker, Paddy Cullivan) obviously got the best seats in the house, right beside the stage, but they were cleverly placed so they didn’t block the audience’s view of each act. They also didn’t comment, Britains Got Talent style, after each act which meant the night felt more like a comedy gig rather than a ‘typical’ awards ceremony. For me this gave the evening a sense of being about supporting all Irish musical comedy not about pitting comedians against each other or seeking out their weaknesses and I think that was a big positive of the event.

Our host for the evening was the charismatic Fred Cooke, who did an admirable job of keeping the audience on side when anything started to go slightly awry, and of course there were a few mishaps along the way, it was the first event of its kind afterall! Fred managed to deal with a few hiccups in his script and various delays while some of the acts set up very well. I think Fred was a good choice of host, he interacted well with the crowd and they had a lot of fun with his material, especially once he pulled out his guitar.  It certainly wasn’t the easiest crowd to keep on side, but Fred managed to end the night as he started, with his energy and enthusiasm remaining largely undampened, even in spite of some of the crowd getting pretty restless as we approached the final few acts.

The acts themselves got a mixed reaction from the crowd, but that was inevitable with 12 different contestants, a comedian MC and 2 guest performances, everyone was not going to enjoy them all! Each of the acts did manage to make me laugh in some way during their slot though and I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of musical comedy talent that made it to the final. In case you’ve forgotten who they all were, in order of performance on the night;

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Just browsing through my photos (and memory) of last night and realised it was pretty educational really! So, in not particular order, here’s a few things I seem to have learned amid my giggles…..

• The harp does NOT rock! (Ursula Burns)
• You will never recover from seeing your parents having sex! (Floozy & Bluesy)
• Sharyn Hayden looks like a Special K ad. lady (Fred you charmer!)
• Marty Miller isn’t from FM104 (lol!)
• Fred Cooke does a pretty mean ‘Thriller’ dance
•  ”Dublin is the centre of the Universe” (Nostril Shorts)
•  The Guilty Folk found us very attractive (AWLTF)
• Even a Massey Ferguson doesn’t guarantee you a ride at the disco (Johnny Graham)
• If in doubt always wear your tightest trousers (Really Tight Pants)
• The ‘Where’s Wally’ franchise have branched out to include the less academically able readers (Trevor Browne)
• Paddy Cullivan is not a big fan of boybands
• The InQuizition are ‘rimprov’ masters!
• Awkward moments make for very funny song lyrics (Steve Bennet)
• “Abalone are a type of mollusc” (Marcus O’Laoire)
• “You can be a gangster but still have manners!” (Brendogg & Bolsak)
• I’m missing an “essential fashion item” :O (Totally Wired)
• Amanda Brunker isn’t afraid to take on her haters
• The Rubberbandits are far more entertaining  in the flesh than on the telly!
• I need to get my hands on a better camera! Inspite of that final fact I’ve included a few of myshots that made me giggle, I’m sure we’ll have better ones up soon thanks to the wonderful Sharyn
  

  time to get back to your rap roots lads!

who needs a mic stand?

nostril shorts indeed!

Stevie Wonder's guest appearance!

'gay best friend'