Posts Tagged ‘The International Bar’

Such a pity most kids feel more like this…

Can’t say I blame them though! Chin up though folks, I’ve found the solution;

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Jarlath Regan recorded this album in 2009 and yes we are aware it is 2012 now…. But here it is now ready and waiting for you to  download!

Here is what Jarlath has to say about the album…..

Freak Of Nurture is the title of my first stand-up comedy album. It was recorded on a balmy January evening in front of a live audience at The International Bar on Wicklow Street in Dublin. It is a collection of jokes / stories from my life. I promise you will enjoy it very much.

So……you want the link now? Here you go so…… Freak of Nurture album

Go on, buy it, download it, laugh and be happy! You know you want to!

We have been told only this morning that a new live album will be recorded on November 21st! So….if ye like the sound of this one, check back for more details on the new one soon!

Making it just in time to catch Chris Kent’s entrance to the stage in the international, I realised that I had no idea what to expect. To my shame, I had learned little about him prior to the performance and the promotional material I had seen did not give any indication of the nature of his comedy. So standing in the club watching him begin, I could watch with no particular expectations.

Opening with some casual conversation with the audience, the immediately likable Kent made the crowd feel right at home. Exchanging banter with one American in particular, Kent effortlessly managed to bring the audience member back into jokes throughout the night.

He shared with us his experiences of growing up in Cork and made some hilarious quips about career selection and the decline of work for tradesmen in Ireland. A qualified electrician, he made some very relatable and funny jokes about the pressure that his parents put on him to become choose a career and get work at a young age. We were then taken on a journey through his time travelling in Australia and New Zealand with one particular joke about hostels leading to what was possibly the loudest collective laugh I have ever heard.

Kent’s delivery was a perfect mix of dry confidence and razor sharp wit. Even the way in which he held himself and occasionally drank his glass of water communicated a calmness and accessibility that one won’t find in many performers. There was no over-the-top cursing or crudity to be found and Kent managed to pull off the difficult feat of telling descriptive and hilarious stories without losing any audience members along the way.

By the time the final 10 minutes of the set came around, my head was actually sore from laughing so much. Writing about comedy is quite difficult because it is hard to truly convey atmosphere and it’s difficult to gauge success over failure. So with Chris Kent I can bring it down to the most simple measure of success in comedy by saying that I have never been in a room with so much laughter resonating throughout the set and for any comedian, isn’t that the apogee of achievements?

For Chris’ gig listings follow him on twitter or check out his facebook page.

Sporting a Portal T-shirt and with a keen anticipation, I entered the International Bar to see Game Boys. As a lifelong fan of video games, I was hugely excited at the prospect of video-game themed comedy. Looking on the stage as I entered, I noticed a Gamecube, two controllers and a projector.  With a packed house waiting, all that remained was the entrance of the boys; did they deliver on my fanboy expectations?

The performance began with an introduction by two confident young men in suits. They explained the structure of the show to us while exchanging comedic banter with one another. The structure was as follows; the two Game Boys would take pot-shots at each other with “Your Mama” insults and then take turns, performing individually for ten minutes at a time. To determine what order they would perform in, the boys played a game of Smash Bros Melee, the winner would take to the stage first.

When the Game Boys arrived on stage we were introduced to Irishman David and American Kevin. The ‘Your Mama’ segment was quite standard fare but the quips were video game themed, this drew great laughs from the audience and it was easy to identify the hardcore gamers of the audience by the levels of reaction to some of the more geeky jokes. The boys then engaged in their friendly game on stage to determine the order of the set.

The first solo segment was provided by Cavan native David and proved to be a wonderful start to the proceedings. Moving away from the topic of games, David talked about racist taxi drivers, shared some hilarious stories from his hometown, his time abroad in America and even made some great jokes about the pretentiousness of Urban Outfitters (something which this reviewer can particularly identify with). In his second segment, he gave us a memorable story about history & philosophy which went down very well with the crowd. David displayed a great charm and quiet confidence on the stage. Immediately likable and very witty; he delivered articulate, well thought out and hilarious laughs in both his sets.

The sanguine and likeable sense of energy from American lad Kevin were also a treat and his less reserved style lent itself well to the performance overall. Highlights of his sets included tips on how to look taller, discussions about violence in video games and a hilarious quip about how many facebook “Friends” he has.  Intelligent and relatable tales of his experiences living in Ireland were well delivered and he clearly gets what makes Irish people tick.

The Game Boys surprised me in many ways. While I had expected the set to focus almost solely on games/nerdiness, what I found was an accessible, funny, charming and intelligent performance by some very talented young lads. Of course there is a lot to appreciate here as a gamer but the energetic and thoughtful humour on show here makes it easy to recommend to any fan of comedy.

If you want to see the lads in action check out their facebook pages here; David Reilly, Kevin Lockard

As someone who is quite new to covering the comedy circuit, I was looking particularly forward to seeing Kieran Lawless. My colleague had assured me that I was in for a treat and as a fan of big personalities & confidence in performers, a show entitled; ‘How to boast by the World’s Best Looking and Funniest Comedian’ definitely piqued my interest. Struggling to find a seat in the packed International Bar, the excitement from the audience was palpable as they awaited the big entrance.

An uproarious cheer as Kieran took to the stage was certainly a good start. Exuding great confidence and an all too likable demeanour, Lawless effortlessly engaged the audience from the start with his warm personality. He opened with some natural and personable interaction with the crowd, particularly with the foreign members of the audience; he made them feel welcome, used their stories to strong comedic effect and also to drive the set forward. Conversing with two American couples in particular he showed a deceptively impressive knowledge of US history and contrasted the generally positive expectations of American Tourists visiting Ireland with the more negatively inclined attitudes of the Irish towards their homeland.

Throughout the rest of the set, Lawless reminisced on previous gigs and memorable audience interaction, leading to stories of crude toilet graffiti and contrasting reactions to his material from audiences of different backgrounds. Memorable quips about Ireland in Euro 2012 and bad dating experiences were received very well by all members of the audience and Lawless’ ability to move seamlessly from joke to joke, story to story kept the crowd entertained and engaged throughout.

You may notice a distinct lack of boasting in the above description and you would be right. Conversely, Lawless made light of his shortcomings and less than favourable experiences for the most part. Does this mean that my expectations for personality and confidence were not met? Absolutely not! Lawless’ confidence was displayed in his delivery. Free from over-exaggerated action and meticulously prepared one-liners, Lawless delivered a natural, confident and effortlessly funny performance.  His freeform style might not be to the liking of all audiences but it’s hard to imagine someone who would not appreciate watching a performance by a truly natural comedian.

If you feel like catching a show of Kieran’s, you can follow him on Facebook here or here