Blog: A World Premiers In Croydon

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It was away to CROYDON for me last night, hungrily reading "Watchmen" as I travelled - I'm seeing it TONIGHT with Mr Steven Carter so was DESPERATE to finish it (for the millionth time, but still) before going. I actually got to the end this morning, and COR! It's GRATE!

I know this is hardly NEWS or anything, but BLIMEY, EVERY time I read it i think "It's bound to just be a bit boring and not as good as i remember" and EVERY time it's AMAAAAZING, but this time even more so as, for the first time in at least a DECADE I re-read all the text pieces too. LUMME! There's all SORTS of stuff in there I'd forgotten about or, INDEED, completely not noticed the first time around.

I am thus VERY excited about going to see it tonight, and this feeling was only increased when I got to the venue to find that Mark The Soundman a) HAD already seen it b) LOVED it and c) wished to SHOUT HIS LOVE TO THE ROOFTOPS. He even played the SOUNDTRACK before the gig started, we were all a FROTH of expectation.

There weren't very many people in - Tim had READ my previous remarks about how he always says there've been LOADS in on other weeks and never understands why people don't come when they KNOW I'm playing... and again said "But there WERE loads of people before, I don't know why they're not here again!" How long can this go on, before he REALISES? A WHILE, i hope - you get FREE BEER at The Green Dragon on Tim's nights, and the beer there is FANTASTIC!

I was trying to work out what to play and then, inspired partly by having a big catch-up on Richard Herring's blog where he's forever talking about trying out new stuff in front of an audience, I thought "RIGHT! Let's do Dinosaur Planet then!"

So that's what I did. Sort of. I realised early on that I was only SURE of two songs all the way through, so did THOSE ((theme from) Dinosaur Planet and My Theory Of A Dinosaur Planet) at the appropriate points in the story, doing CHORUSES or whatever I could remember of Don't, Darren, Don't, It Isn't Nice To Eat Your Friends and so forth. It was DARING and EXPERIMENTAL and it SEEMED to go OK - it was a LOT of talking but thankfully everyone seemed to go along with it, especially a table of GIGGLING SET DESIGNERS near the front. It did rather TAIL OFF towards the end, where I've not really thought about how to do it OR indeed what songs should go there, but i DID learn a few VITAL POINTS about the ORDER (My Theory Of A Dinosaur Planet suddenly appears much earlier AND will re-appear later as a REPRISE) some of the JOKES (The Axl Rose Gag is a WINNER), and the SURPRISE TWIST ENDING (needs pruning, but otherwise: ZANG!).

It was GOOD to do, and I'm very grateful for everyone there for letting me BANG ON for such a long time - it took about twenty minutes to get through the whole thing, which BODES WELL for the final version which will have Actual Songs inserted. I DID have time for a couple of songs at the end, so did The Lesson Of The Smiths and It Only Works Because You're Here. It felt EXCITING all of a sudden to be doing songs that actually lasted more than a chorus!

After I'd done it was time for Jenny Lockyer again, who was GRATE - several songs I'd not heard before this time, dealt out EXPERTLY. She really is brilliant - every time I see her I think "But surely she should be on the TELLY?" Her stuff's SO funny and so briliantly performed - when I have my star-studded international light entertainment career (it can't be far off now surely?) i shall have her on my show as special guest EVERY week!

posted 11/3/2009 by MJ Hibbett

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