The drive in was fine tonight. Only a couple of wacky drivers couldn't decide which lane they needed to be in. We found a parking spot nearby and walked to the venue, arriving at 7.20 pm. The show was sold out. The queue stretched outside the venue.
Fortunately, they opened the doors almost as soon as we arrived (they never open on time). Inside, the room is laid out without the usual tables. It's chairs only, in tight rows, stretching to the back of the room (no area curtained off). We sit in the fifth row, uncomfortably close to the people beside us and in front. Sightlines are good, though.
Recently, I have been fascinated by the music playing before comedy shows, seeking any themes that are being suggested. I almost forgot to note them tonight, so these are the last three before the show started:
Don't Start Now by Dua Lipa
Get Shaky by The Ian Carey Project
Lights On (feat Ms Dynamite) by Katy B
All upbeat, fast numbers.
Then this slide appeared on the screen:
Looking closer at the sidebar, we discover other gems:
This bodes well. I have never seen Stevie live before. I only know her from her TV appearances on Taskmaster, Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helpful and Richard Osman's House of Games. I am aware she is married to comedian Adam Riches. I have only watched a few of her online sketches.
We have an unadvertised support act: Krystal Evans. I know her shtick from her show "The Hottest Girl in Bandcamp", and this material forms the basis for most of this set. Doesn't mean it's not funny. These are her bankers, with a few new ones thrown in for testing. She has grown in confidence on stage since I last saw her. She looks slimmer, too. Divorce looks good on her.
The music in the interval includes:
To Lose a Life by White Lies
Addicted to Love by Robert Palmer
Broken Man by St Vincent
The Hardest Button to Button by The White Stripes.
Then Stevie bounces onto the stage, full of energy, wearing an Inter Milan tracksuit, her ringed thumb poking through her sleeve and carrying her phone and clicker in her other hand. Her long hair is now brown and tied back in a ponytail. She talks nineteen to the dozen, throwing out funny remarks and smiling a lot as she explains who she is for those who don't know.
She resembles one of my former patients, with her quick mouth, bouncy energy, smart-casual clothing and the way she repeatedly rubs her nose, sniffs and touches her face, her eyes sparkling but glazed. I'm not saying Stevie snorted any illicit drugs before the show. Perhaps this is how she is wired. It doesn't detract from how funny she is. And her teeth are nice.
She has packed her show with detail. She shows us a silly slide. We laugh. She points out a minute detail we missed. We laugh harder. She plays with callbacks, adding to the insanity she is creating. It's all fun stuff.
What is the show about? Difficult to say. She developed as an online comedian, a slave to the algorithm, chasing views and likes, but the dopamine hit she got from an online lol or hahahahahaha comment (or hohohoho from the Christmas worker from Lapland) fell way short of that feeling of performing live on stage in front of her audience. She's thankful to Taskmaster for bringing her an audience (doesn't mention Mitchell & Webb, perhaps as she and the cast not named in the show title have been dropped from the second series). I think, ultimately, she wanted to make us laugh in whatever way she could.
I don't know how she maintained her high energy level for the hour, but she did. The show felt like a race. My wife thought it was just okay; superficial laughter that she enjoyed but didn't need to experience again. I disagreed. I was thrilled by the show. And I was only on Paracetamol.
Ticket Price: 2 x £20 plus Booking Fee £1.60 = £41.60 directly from The Stand.
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