Friday 3rd December 2010, I braved the snow and went to see Mitch Benn play at the Gulbenkian Theatre accompanied by Kirsty Newton (mainly bass, keyboard and backing vocals) and Ivan Shepherd (mainly on drums) and had a thoroughly good time, concluding in a signed t-shirt for myself and a signed album for the wife.
If you follow me on Twitter you'll know that I'm a relentless micro-blogger for lame and useless topics; if you've ever seen me blog other than that you'll know that I'm lazy and practically illiterate. So I declare this a mini-blog, as a happy compromise. Short and sweet, this shall be.
The Venue: The Gulbenkian has not really changed at all since I studied at Kent University between 2003-2006; The staff are friendly, the bar layout is awkward and clumsy, the front entrance lets the cold in; the theatre seating is quite adequate with simple but effective sound and lighting and all the seats give a pretty good view of the stage. No harsh criticism or grand praise either way; it's a good little venue for the avid non-complainer.
The Distractions: Mitch's backing, support and occasional humorous-props were a welcome presence on stage without becoming the centre of attention. I did enjoy Ivan's almost relentless portrayal of a mute clown with sticks, although think Kirsty's attempts at on-stage banter with Mitch were undermined by the sound levels. Everything Kirsty said was several times louder than Mitch, on the grounds that when singing Mitch was several times louder than everything else; so it was just the way the mics were set up for the music. Perhaps any sound engineers working with them in the future could be a little more reactive to this.
Mitch Benn: With no further delay I want to use the word hilarious and refreshing to describe this show. Old jokes are only the best jokes when they are well delivered, and a good delivery is what we got, peppered with his own unique humour and classic gags, thrust towards us in a plethora of musical styles. I think Mitch's performance in the first half suffered, perhaps from a several week gap in his tour and an audience I would describe as small (due to weather) and statistically, unusually upper-middle-class. But all this was made up for by a cracking intro, his utterly explosive The Interactive Song. Any other criticism I would put down to personal taste alone - I don't appreciate or enjoy Elvis impressions - because his/their performance was tight, musically and vocally impressive, upbeat, moved from song to song at a very comfortable pace and the gags shone through brilliantly; especially I'm Proud of the BBC, for which he gave a pre-emptive apology in case he screwed any of the lyrics up. Before the intermission Mitch did his signature move taking suggestions from the audience - entertaining some quite odd suggestions from very excited people - resulting in an excellent perspective on snowman theft.
I think seeing him live on stage will enhance my knowledge and (already extensive) appreciation of The Now Show on Radio 4 and I look forward to the opportunity of seeing him again, locally. Perhaps next time we won't be in the middle of a snow apocalypse and perhaps his merchandise stall won't be parked directly beneath a leak in the ceiling!
