It was freezing outside, I had inappropriate footwear on and I’m off to catch a comedian that I’ve never seen live. I have seen Tom on live at the Apollo and other TV work and liked his stuff but I heard that his TV material is watered down compared to his live work. Let’s see.
Before the show I had a few cold beers at the Lowrys bar, I was limited to a small selection of options, Carlsberg had to do. While in the queue I heard a ruckus. ” Let’s do this bitches, mother fuckers its time” Tom had made his way into the bar area, greeted fans to the venue, took pics and made his way backstage.
We were in early, he did this twice, then disappeared a few mins before the show was due to start, I spied a slim whispery haired bloke in a cheap suit whispering under his breath, wheres Tom? Wheres Tom? Frantically calling from his phone walking round the bar area, I think it was his tour manager “trying ” to manage Tom and make sure he is tucked away nicely before his show. Chill mate 🙂
I grabbed another pint and made our way into the venue, cracking venue for comedy this, 3 tiers, intimate, and on comes the support act Jay Handley.
Jay was an appropriate support, and his ironic material had some really good high points, I did feel that he needed to be a tad more detailed when setting up some of his material, the big laughs just didn’t quite land. He is definitely worth keeping an eye on though folks. Check out his Mansplaining jokes HERE
The interval happened, everyone grabbed a quick piss and a beer and it was time for Tom. He stormed the stage, instantly recognising a geezer in the crowd from previous shows, an older gentlemen with long white hair, ” Hey “Einstein how you doing? Whats your name again? Albert…. “Of course It fucking is” To rapturous applause.
“I told you last time, the next time I play Salford we are supposed to be in the bigger room!” Was his next line, this set the scene nicely and got the crowd warmed up and ‘Involved’
Getting a crowd to personally invest in what you do is the hardest thing to do in comedy, Stade has this down to a tee.
He purposely picked out people from the crowd to mould his material around, Mathew, Brian, Albert and DEANO! We’re cleverly handpicked from the crowd and used to bring his material alive.
I was invested In Toms world, his tales of getting high with his kids and exploring the difference between how things are these days compared to back in “Alberts day” were clever, insightful and belly laugh worthy.
I’m not going to list the detail of his material as I want you to catch him live and experience Tom Stade yourself. If you, like me have never seen him live, go out buy a ticket to his tour you won’t be disappointed. BUY NOW!
