Robin Ince's 9 Carols and Lessons for Godless People gigs are a bit like the universe - constantly expanding. About 25 minutes in our garrulous, cardigan-clad host said that he had to get a move on because there were 23 acts on the bill. Or maybe 23 acts coming up. I'm not sure, I'd already filled up my notebook by then and lost count. It is a bit of a challenge reviewing this annual event in 300 words for the Evening Standard. You can read my review below and see it with some jolly pictures here.
Ince has announced that he is killing off this alternative Xmas laugh-in after this year's run - you can read why here - but it looks like it is going out in style. Inevitably there were some highs which had to be left out of my review. Here are a few of them. It is worth noting that this event is definitely not all about God-bashing or Christianity-bashing. Although Richard Dawkins has appeared here in the past, there was very little reference to religion on the night I saw the show. The emphasis was very much on science – I don't know what Robin Ince's next plan is but I suspect it may also be science-based as boy, does he love a theory with lots of big words in it.
Anyway, here are some of the other pleasures at the Bloomsbury gig. The show is still on from December 15 - 22. Details here.
1. Steve Pretty playing a laser harp and then later on with his free jazzy band rising to the challenge of playing Xmas songs in unusual ways. They refused to do it topless, the winning suggestion was doing it flat on the floor.
2. Andrew Steele's "Sciencogram" which explained that per person the UK spends more every year on toilet paper than on research into strokes.
3. Comedian George Egg showing how to avoid room service charges by cooking a meal - including, inevitably, eggs - on two upturned irons supported by three Gideon bibles. Useful tip - you can heat up naan bread in a trouser press.
4. Simon Singh's revelations about science in The Simpsons and Futurama, from the mention of calculus in the very first sighting of Bart to some truly obscure visual references. Singh also has a book out on the subject - if you want to know more or you have a particularly nerdy friend you can buy it here.
5 Phill Jupitus as Joop Joop The Surly Panda taking questions from the audience in the Ask A Pandas section.
6. Jonny & The Baptists' soulful comedy songs which closed the night.
7. Helen Keen showing the audience a picture of a robotic sex doll which looked alarmingly like Catherine Tate.
8. Two thirds of the Festival of the Spoken Nerd threesome - Matt Parker and Helen Arney - having fun with spreadsheets and music respectively.
9. Nadia Kamil's feminist burlesque in which she stripped off to reveal various slogans pinned to her outfit, including "Pubes are Normal" and "Equal Pay".
10 Robin Ince's Brian Blessed impression. Oh, and also his Stewart Lee impression and his calculation of how long it would take Lee to tell a Tom O'Connor joke.
11. Jo Neary singing "Ooh ah, I lost by bra, I left my knickers in my boyfriend's car" in the style of Bessie Smith.
Apologies if I've left you out. It was a big night and I've got a very small notepad. Here is the original review below.
Previous star turns have included philosophy graduate Ricky Gervais and physics buff Dara O’Briain. This time Lee Mack performed in front of a Charles Darwin backdrop but was more end-of-the-pier than origin-of-the-species, rattling out cracking if corny gags about Bristolian accents, his horror of walking holidays and the fact that “foible” sounds like something a New York cat might swallow.
The supporting cast was a mix of boffins and gagsmiths. Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy set the playful intellectual tone with a talk about the significance of prime numbers in football, while poet John Hegley underlined his knack for unlikely rhymes with “I’m a guillemot. I find the fishes tend to lose one-nil a lot”.
Alongside scientists Simon Singh and Andrew Steele there was a refreshingly high number of female comedians. Jo Neary sang a beautifully bawdy blues number backed by Steve Pretty’s band. Helen Keen showed pictures of modern robot designs, including a horribly buxom metal maid that makes tea.
Even when the science was perplexing it was still entertaining. Veteran stand-up Arnold Brown beautifully encapsulated the valedictory mix of irreverence and respect for knowledge when he said: “If there is anything you don’t understand, please regard it as significant.”
