Doug Stanhope, O2 Academy, Glasgow. Friday 23rd September, 2022

Mr Stanhope (or Mr Stan Hope as the misguided residents of Bisbee occasionally refer to him) is the comedy legend you've probably never heard of. His material is dark, off-kilter and befitting a man of his ill disposition, a drunk who dabbles in whatever form of recreational drug is on offer (he's saving heroin for the end). 

You never know which Stanhope is going to show. I've seen him perform drunk, I've seen him perform jetlagged and I've seen him at the top of his game, firing on all cylinders. Tonight, he's high on edibles, claiming it's the first time he's performed a tour in this condition. This meant his comedic flow was often interrupted and he had to remind himself, Schizo-style, to return to his material, informing us this bit was meant to follow from a section he related earlier. It was still funny and the crowd kept themselves well behaved (no punch-ups tonight), with only the occasional unintelligible heckle. 

He went very dark tonight, finding my line when talking about how he had to put down his fourteen-year-old dog at the start of Covid (not because of the virus - the dog was riddled with cancer), yet he somehow turned it around, pulling out the funny as he always does. 

So while the show was uneven, it was still classic Stanhope. I will always make time to see him, no matter what measures God puts in place to cancel the show.

Thank you to Louise, Craig and Mark for saving me from having to walk to the end of the queue and for laughing at the jokes of the other old man in the room. 

The gig was rescheduled so many times, the ticket vendor gave up trying to reprint the tickets with the correct date. Thumbs up to Brown Paper Tickets for keeping the facility fee down to 75p. Ticket price £35.

 

Doug Stanhope, 02 Academy, Glasgow. Fri 8th June 2018

I wasn't on Facebook three years ago the last time Doug played Glasgow, also at the same venue. That night, five separate brawls broke out and a total of nine people were ejected. I witnessed the comedy of the bouncers asking the people sitting in row 2 and 3 to step into the aisle so they could break up the punchup in the centre between the two rows. This was during Doug's bit on the mentally challenged vs the mentally ill.

Tonight's gig was a lot friendlier and he said so. He put it down to our recent, unusually-fine weather.

But was he funny?

Starting by reading his post-show public apology, he moved onto bits about the penalties for insulting the King of Thailand, gang rapes by weak Indian men, #metoo, racism, ageism and closed with dead babies, so I'd say, 'Yes, he was'. In context.

He goes to places we don't want to go (Indiana) and finds the angles to make his material original and challenging, not to make a point (often), just for a laugh. Because he finds it funny. Expression of the night: "ocular bukkake".

Sure, some of the audience laughed a little too hard, like they were using the opportunity to express a deep-rooted phlegm ball. Sure, the crappy narrow seats meant the beast beside me (not you, Louise) invaded my space giving me temporary hip dysplasia. Sure, a bearded man chatted me up by tapping me on the shoulder and remarking how much he liked my T-shirt (see below) - so what, I'm comfortable in my clothes (plus he wasn't chatting me up).

But the important thing was I had fun, surely the point of going to see a comedian.

Doug Stanhope, 02 Academy, Glasgow Fri 2nd Oct 2015

Doug Stanhope, appearing at the O2 Academy in Glasgow on Friday night, was on good form. I've seen him deliver excellent gigs and very poor gigs and tonight was definitely one of his better performances.

His material (both verbal and his stage costume) needed a strong stomach, as he regularly turned political correctness on its head. He knows his audience will go with him across that line in the sand to drink at the oasis beyond bad taste. Or leave. Whatever. He doesn't care. They've already paid. No refunds. I won't share his actual routines because I like my salary.

The show felt like a club gig, despite being held in a concert space with its high ceiling and echoey acoustics; despite the narrow rows of chairs facing the stage instead of tables; and despite there being a noisy balcony. Because the bar stayed open throughout, there was chatter within the auditorium for the whole of the gig. This also meant every inebriated, bearded youth had two reasons to get everyone in their row to stand up and let them out - one to go piss and another to get a refill. Narrows rows and wobbly boys carrying multiple pint pots don't mix well. I noticed one young lad stare incredulously as one pint (of the three he held wedged in both hands) spilled over his vacant seat. He stood for what seemed like ages, wondering how he was going to dry it so he could sit down. This during the gig. With rows and rows of people getting their view blocked as he considered the task ahead. He finally decided just to soak it up with his bum. Wriggle, wriggle. Ahhhh. Just another Friday night in Glasgow.

I loved the gig but hated the audience. There were too many drunken louts having conversations (you don't have to provide a background commentary to your mates: if you find it funny just laugh); or shouting out (not proper heckles, just random nonsense) to impress their also drunk mates. Doug is a time-served comedian capable of handling any audience trouble and tonight he dealt with the interruptions proficiently or just ignored them and continued with his bits. The show lasted nearly two hours, only once having to be halted due to an incident, near the end of his opening 'bit'.

It's the first time I've ever been to a comedy gig where a proper fight broke out, in front of the comedian. One combatant was tall with short brown hair and wore a black leather jacket; the other, sitting in the row in front of him, had a shoulder length perm and was the size of a fridge (which he probably emptied regularly). As the two sluggers wrestled and punched away, the audience lights went up so everyone could watch as their mates attempted to pull the two apart with difficulty, occasionally landing a blow themselves when the other party escaped his mates' bonds and lunged to have another go. As the rows were so narrow, the bouncers had to get the audience to rise to let them past on their way to reach the trouble makers, then ask them all to shuffle out so they could remove the offending party. Permy-hair bloke got to stay and we never did find out what started it.

Doug commented it was the first time his audience had beaten him to a punchline - with an actual punch. He was also able to relate the individual to his now interrupted mental health routine, which won a big cheer and applause.

Doug's comedy may not be classy but it is in a class of its own, just like his audience.