The Velvet Onion

© Annat. Hosted by The Velvet Onion.

After weeks of not-so-secret warm-up gigs and a day of promotional interviews, Noel Fielding finally performed as part of a star studded line-up at the Royal Albert Hall last night, in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.  The event will undoubtedly be covered in due course by  the usual journalists and press photographers, but here at The Velvet Onion we prefer the personal approach – and I was lucky enough to be on hand to watch Noel perform.

Tonight I observed ‘comedy conditioning’ in action.  But unlike Pavlov’s salivating dogs and ringing bells, this conditioning demonstrated the effect that a series of similar comedians have on an audience’s ability to process something different.  Noel’s appearance came two-thirds of the way through an evening which largely consisted of men in suits with observation/punchline gags.  Some of them were genuinely hilarious (Rich Hall, Kevin Bridges, Rhod Gilbert, who admittedly wasn’t wearing a suit, but bear with me) and some of them weren’t (Jimmy Carr, Tommy Tiernen…although to be fair much of the audience seemed to appreciate his 1970s sexist humour), but by the time Noel came on stage the audience were so used to laughing at men in jackets talking about everyday events and handing out punchlines, a butter-haired whimsy sprite bouncing around the stage in a boiler suit required a bit too much processing for some.

Noel was fun, he was engaging and energetic – and he got laughs, but he didn’t quite weave the magical spell over the audience that I’ve seen him do at some of his recent warm-ups.  He was so different from what came before and after him (in content, style, image…everything) that he seemed to leave some people behind.   To fully appreciate Noel’s comedy you need to let go, ride with it and see where the journey takes you, and I don’t think this audience were in that mindset.  Furthermore the time limit imposed on the acts worked against Noel’s meandering approach.  His stories are a bit like complex wines – it helps if you (and he) have time to savour them for a while to fully explore and appreciate the different aspects of each one.  Personally speaking I think Noel’s at his best in smaller venues where the intimacy creates the feeling that you’re going on a secret, magical ride together; a slightly shambolic family of like-minded freaks.

The majesty and scale of the Albert Hall, while impressive, creates distance – it’s much more obviously them on the stage and us in the seats.  We spectate rather than participate.  By contrast, Noel’s humour requires that you immerse yourself in it to get the most out of it – you need to feel his metaphorical hand in your hand, drawing you in.  Clearly more problematic in a grand, cavernous 5000+ capacity venue!

Overall then, a mixed evening.  Some brilliant comedians, some less impressive, Noel was good but not at his absolute best.  But more importantly than all of that is how much TCT will have benefitted from this weeks’ series of gigs. A lot.  At the end of the day that’s really what this is all about.