One big damn puzzler...

hey hey hey

its Matt!!!! you lucky things.

Yesterdays blog from Paul got a bit of a bad response, someone actually said that reading his blog was like reading an Alan Bennett Monologue, other people suggested we kick him out of the group altogether (me) so i am not going to talk too much i will keep it as snappy and interesting as possible.

So shows are going well blah blah blah. lets cut straight to the good the stuff, the stuff you really want to hear about, the real reason you started reading this, i am talking of course about Jigsaw puzzles.

Specifically the Jigsaw puzzle that we started and finished, 8hours later, yesterday. it is only 600 pieces but all the pieces are very oddly shaped. (as you can see from this typical piece) also it is a picture of earth which (assuming you are familiar with earth) you will know has a lot of sea that looks very similar to other sea.

So the puzzle fun began about 12:00 with just me and Rich and carried right through until 5 which we felt was a fairly good stint but very little was done and we knew we had a big night of puzzling ahead of us after the show. so we went and did our show and me and Rich both agreed that while the show went well it was a massive distraction from our puzzle building. so we all came straight home in a cab (rock and roll) ensuring we got a receipt (not rock and roll) and burst through our door me and rich headed straight for the puzzle, Dave and Paul poured the wine out that the Pleasance had kindly given us and Lee made himself a tuna Bap with a stone on the side (rock and roll).

Once the puzzle was about 50 pieces from completion at about 2:00 am who should suddenly show interest? the rest of the gimps! I was not happy but they outnumbered me, and rich (as always) was no help. so I let them join as long as i could put the last piece in. so the time came we had got to our last piece! this was it, with my palms sweating and everyone cheering me on I slowly slid a section of the Atlantic ocean into place and we were done! the room exploded into a frenzy of relief and excitement with a real sense of achievement, it felt like finally after 3 years of Edinburgh we had achieved something!.... then we looked up.... 16 Pieces! 16 Pieces were missing from the Jigsaw....i cried, Rich cried, Lee cried, Dave didn't care and Paul cried. another day in Edinburgh wasted.

The only good thing to come out of the day was the things we saw all of a great quality. between us we saw Lady Garden, Humphrey Kur, The Three Englishmen, David Reed and Colin Hoult. all very different and interesting shows that are definitely worth seeing this year.

Chow

Matt "the puzzle" Ralph.

Food, glorious food...

We had possibly the most uneventful day in LNGF's Fringe history yesterday. A long overdue early night/lie in, coupled with the fact that we couldn't get in to any shows because everything was sold out and a performance last night that we felt went fine means there's nothing much to write about.

So instead, let's talk about something else that takes over Edinburgh-based peoples lives in August. Food.

I have never eaten so much crap in my entire life. I haven't had a vegetable in two weeks, unless you count the obligatory post show chips, on which we smother a variety of equally unhealthy liquids. I, being a Northerner at heart, always opt for gravy. Dave, on the other hand, goes for the mysterious substance found only in Edinburgh and known only as "soss" (sauce, in English).

Matt is certainly able to pack it away duri

ng the Fringe. I remember last year, when we shared a bedroom (and a bed) sitting up at four in the morning, watching aghast as he demolished TWO Rustlers microwaveable burgers, a huge packet of kettle chips and an entire Victoria sponge, all washed down with a litre of Coke. And when he had crammed the last slice of sponge in, he rolled over, turned off the light and went to sleep, as his stomach went into overtime.

One Fringe habit we always break is the group meal. It's nice before a show to all get together, sit down and eat a meal as a family. It relaxes us and gets us focused for the evening ahead. We also usually take it in turns to cook and wash up each day (except Richard, who, in reference to the mountain of washing up he had failed to deal with three days running, once uttered the now legendary phrase "Well, as long as it gets done.") Inevitably, however, when we begin seeing shows at different times of day and as friends and family come up to visit, the group splinters and the customary gimp Chillis/Bologneses become fewer and fewer. Cheers, Rich.

Another Fringe favourite is the Tatty Dog, a sausage wrapped in mash and deep fried. Actually more appetising than it sounds. We're also a stones throw from a shop called Choco Latte, the most ridiculously chocolate stuffed shop I've ever set foot in. Everything is covered in melted chocolate and chopped up Mars Bars. I had seven pints and two Jaeger bombs last night, more than enough for a lightweight like me, and yet felt better this morning than I did half an hour after eating three quarters of the muffin I bought from that shop. So nice, but so sickening.

Well, probably better wrap things up now. Just time to mention Tizzle, who is a dab hand at a Bolognese. Me, Matt, Rich and Lee are all pretty terrible in the kitchen, hence the dash on our allocated nights to put the frozen pizzas in the oven and claim we've cooked dinner. However, I suppose it would only be fair of me to say Dave is the best cook, as he usually does most of the cooking (and he's just made me a bacon sandwich in exchange for writing this blog).

It was a very good sandwich.

Paul.

PS- A nice ★★★★ review from Edinburgh Festivals Magazine here.

Minds elsewhere

Afternoon all.

It was a great to wake up yesterday feeling like we finally had a suitable ending for the show (even if this feeling was accompanied by a splitting headache and Palmyra wrap sauce round our mouths.) But it was 2 for 1 day and we were determined to make the most of it.

The definite highlight of yesterday was the double act Totally Tom on at the Underbelly. I first became aware of their writing via their excellent YouTube video series High Rennaisance Man and David's been going on about them ever since we gigged with them earlier in the year. Sure enough, they didn't disappoint. Their characterisation was spot on with the 21st Birthday speech sketch was a particular highlight. Catch them as soon as you can, they are going to be massive.

Our show went pretty well - now we have the order sorted, we can start to relax and enjoy it more.

When we got back to the flat we tuned into the news for the first time this fringe and watched the heartbreaking images of London in flames and chaos. London is home for all of the gimps and we all suddenly felt very far away. It is difficult to articulate the atmosphere at the fringe but the insulated bubble has definitely been burst and everyone is feeling very concerned for those we've left behind and for London in general. This EdinburghIsFunny Article sums up the feeling up here very well. We all really hope some calm returns to London and that everyone is safe.

In slightly happier news, we got our first paper review today and it was a lovely one from the Edinburgh Evening News. "Their sheer verbal, physical and visual inventiveness leaves you breathless" ★★★★

Richard.

That's more like it.

Great show last night. Really, really enjoyed it. The audience were bang up for it from the start and we felt like we did as slick a show as we could have hoped for. Let's hope we keep it up and the audiences continue to be as full and enthusiastic as last night!

The elusive early night still hasn't materialised yet... it was the legendary Matt Tizzle's last show before he heads back to London for his other job so we took him out and saw him off in style, then came home and ate leftover pizza at 4am.

Today we all had a lie in and have resolved to finally get out there and see some shows. I broke my fringe duck yesterday with Humphrey Ker's show Dymock Watson: Nazi Smasher! A seemingly effortless yet brilliant bit of storytelling, and really, really funny too. Highly recommended.

Now off to take advantage of 2for1 day and see some bloody shows!

david.

Weirdest gig ever.

Last night.

How to describe last night.

Let me start at the beginning. We noticed in our diary that we were supposed to be doing a late night show elsewhere. Not too bad we thought. We got to the venue. It was the same venue as our now legendary failure of a gig from last year.

Ok we thought. A good chance to put some ghosts to bed. Great. It'll be fun.

I don't think the word fun was uttered all night.

There were 14 acts on. That's right, 14 of them. It was as though they had got a copy of the brochure, set fire to it and rifled through the ashes to see what kind of disjointed show could be put together. And then decided to put us on 12th.

There were Shakespearean improvisers, there were singers in drag, there were acrobats and there was Paul Daniels.

That's the kind of night we were looking at. It was being held together by two performers who, in all fairness, seemed to have less idea what was going on then the performers did.

The show went up at about half past one and I can safely say the audience were outnumbered by the acts at about three to one. Acts were dropping out left right and centre. We felt too bad to leave so we tried to soldier on as things got weirder and weirder. This picture was taken of us at the interval.

The best thing about the photo was we asked the bar man who took it if it was ok and he said yes.

Yes?!?

We look like we've been taken through a hazy fog. Or through a window. Or in the 1800's.

This guy was certainly no Mario Testino.

By this point we were falling apart. David had eaten no less than five packets of crisps. He was trying to overdose on potatoey badness to get him out of there.

No luck.

It was almost our time to go on. Things couldn't have got any weirder.

Then a man walked in wearing a full Dorothy from Wizard of Oz costume.

Five gimp jaws dropped as the only sounds in the room were coming from a man murdering a musical classic and the constant friction of Judy Garland spinning in her grave.

Five minutes that we will never get back later and we were on. Fuck it we thought, let's do the bestiality song! They definitely weren't the crowd for it but by this point we were beyond caring.

It went pretty well! We did a good version and the people seemed to go with it. A good time to escape. They then decided to interview Matt and Paul. Here is a sample of that interview:

Weird woman host: "There are so many words. How do you remember them?"

Paul: "That's my job?"

***

Weird guy host: "You don't really do much do you?"

Matt: "Erm...thanks?"

Needless to say we then grabbed our coats, jumped in a taxi and never looked back.

And that's the tale of our terrible gig (number one!).

Did we exorcise the demons of last year?

Well the gig was just as bad this year.

At least this time it wasn't our fault!

Am off to try and buy a Judy Garland costume. If you can't beat them...

Lee.

Late nights, early mornings...

Paul, here.

6.15. AM. In the morning. That's what time we got in last night. The rock n' roll lifestyle of sketch comedians, eh?

The show had gone well, and straight after we had to set up for The Great Big Sketch Off, hosted by Lee. Happily, it was a Great Big success, raising a load of cash for charity and won by our very own Matt Ralph, along with The Three Englishmen's Tom Hensby, Max Olesker from Max and Ivan and Paul Dunn from Don't Trust Salmon (all shows definitely worth checking out by the way!)

Then it was off to the Courtyard to bid farewell to our director, Steve. Last year, his final night at the fringe involved about ten pints of Guinness, a heated political debate and a piggy back that nearly broke Matt's ribcage. Fortunately, this was a much more relaxed affair, and we stayed on the balcony at the Loft bar until it got light and depressing.

We were up at eleven (look, it's early for Edinburgh...), having relay showers, before heading to the Dome for drinks with our agents Phil McIntyre's acts and street team, all lovely people and a great way to work off the hangover.

Finally started seeing shows today. Caught The Beta Males and Zeus' Pamphlet, both great shows definitely worth seeing, and we're very much looking forward to seeing Lee appearing in Gimp-favourite Adam Riches' show every day of the Fringe!

So that's the guff out of the way. What you really want to know is just how many nicknames do I have now? I have to say it's getting ridiculous now, with new ones being added every day. So, just for you, I have decided to list all the ones I can think of...

Biggles, Baggles, Boggles, Bagglesworth, Bigglesworth, Biggleswade, Biggleton, Bigglepops, Baggleton, Baggins, Pauly Pauly Pigglepops, Snatchy, Thatchy, Patchy, Streaky, Leaky, Beaky, Beaker, Piggy, Pagu, Milky, Milky Biggin, the Milkman, Slugger, Slugworth, Sneaky Biggin, Champ.

If anyone can match that, there's a very special prize in store...

Baggles

Second show syndrome

Hello.

We had our second show last night and it was our first sell out, which was lovely.

It didn't feel like our best show as we were having some technical issues (the dreaded projector failure...) that needed fixing so we went up a bit late. We'd also swapped things around in the running order and we feel like we're still looking for the best version of the show and not quite found it yet. But that's what these previews are all about and after our last one tonight I'm sure we'll have the show locked down.

It tends to take about four or five performaces for us to hit our stride at the Fringe, but having full and enthusiastc houses is making things a lot easier. Most of these changes aren't things an audience would really notice, it's more about us tweaking and re-working until we feel like we've found the perfect version of the show, so we're doing it justice. Cos it is a show we're immensely proud of.

All this extra work means we still haven't seen any other shows yet, which we need to rectify as soon as we can as there's so many brilliant acts, old and new, that we're desperate to see this year. (Sheeps, Totally Tom, Colin Hoult, McNeil & Pamphilon, James Acaster... to name just a few).

Finally, a little plug. After tonight's show three of us are taking part in Lee's brainchild The Great Big Sketch Off which will be a fun, if under-rehearsed sketch comedy extravaganza. Tickets are still available if you fancy seeing your favourite sketch teams mixed up into random groups and given a day to come up with ten minutes of new material, or fall flat on their faces. Either way it'll be entertaining.

Hope to see you there!

x

The First Night...

So the first show went surprisingly well for a first night! Nice, big crowd and most of the sketches and songs seemed to work.

As we're still previewing for another two nights (tickets only a fiver!) we're still in the finding our gimp feet stage so we're rehearsing and tweaking this afternoon: playing with running orders, finding new punchlines, editing Paul out of the show, etc. But I reckon it was about a 7/10, which is good for a first night.

After the show, once we'd towelled ourselves down from the sweat drenching we'd given ourselves over the previous hour, the euphoria or surviving the first show carried us to the Just the Tonic party at The Caves, where we met up with the lovely Shappi Khorsandi, friend of the gimps and force to be reckoned with on the dance floor.

Matt Tizzle our techie was on a mission, and he quickly reached 100% humidity and 120% proof. My ears are still ringing this morning, not from the music... but from Tizzle's unique interpretation of previously popular floor-fillers.

To anyone we saw last night, we're sorry.

That's all.

Countdown...

Two days in Edinburgh and we're already straight into the swing of things. Sleeping very little... panicking about the show... drinking till late... and getting soaked in the rain. But it's great to be back.

Yesterday we had a mammoth tech run which, while stressful, gave a good indication of how the show will run in the venue. Our show this year is much, much more technical than last year's which brings all kinds of new and head-scratching challenges and nervous clock-watching in the tech run. Luckily we have our trustee technical gimp Matt Tizzle with us for the first week (before he returns to London as he has "a dog"... "a wife" and "a life", apparently). The staff at our venue were also massively helpful and accommodating, so a big thank you to the Pleasance Above team.

Then we set off on the traditional props and costume buying mission, raiding all the pound shops and bargain stores Edinburgh has to offer. We managed to find a baby that looks exactly like Matt, so we bought it. As you do. I can't decide who looks more like Matt now, the baby or himself...?

In the evening Steve our legendary director took us all out for a curry, after which we came home and blocked all the toilets. (sorry)

The looming deadline is now very much in sight and whatever happens, the show has to be ready by tomorrow. Our first night. 10:30pm Pleasance Courtyard. Hope to see some of you there...

Good luck everybody.

david

Oh Hello again...

Haven't done this in a while have we?

Well fear not... we are well and truly back in the blogosphere.

We've arrived in Edinburgh and our flat "the gimp-house" is genuinely amazing. For the first time we won't have to share beds at the Fringe (I've woken up next to Richard's face one too many times...) and our flat includes some incredible and unique design features...

a telescope.

a giant lava lamp.

a painting of a child angel of death.

... and a larder that looks into the shower.

All true.

So stay tuned people, as we document what should be another chaotic, exciting and hopefully succesful Edinburgh Fringe. We'll be blogging every day and video blogging as much as we can too.

Better go now... we're up at half six for our technical rehearsal.

We open in three days!

david.

The Last Night...

Help.

We.... feel..... awful.

Let me explain...

Last night we did our last show at the Galway Comedy Festival 2010 and it went brilliantly. We'd made some tweaks to the show since the night before, and the best surprise of all was that the room was full. About a hundred or so people turned up and were a fantastically supportive audience. If you were there- thank you. You made our weekend. A big Thank you to Kevin and everyone at the Roisin Dubh too for putting us up, looking after us and showing us the best that Galway has to offer, we loved every minute.

After the show however, is where things started to go wrong for us in terms of decision-making. Pappy's had come to the show so we decided to go drinking afterwards. Bear in mind it was now midnight and we had to be up and off to the airport to fly home in six hours. An hour and a few drinks later we decided to go to the silent disco... it is here the wheels really started to come off.

Between songs, Matt from Pappy's was inexplicably downing pints of Guinness so naturally, we all joined in. We were all stood in a circle (except Paul- who'd given his pint to Lee while he went to the loo) and were going round downing Guinness after Guinness like some bizarre alcoholic initiation ceremony.

Of course we all gleefully got on with the downing, pint after pint until it got to Lee. Now Lee was looking worried, but none of us knew why, we were all just shouting at him to down it, which after a moments hesitation, he did. As Paul returned from the loo in search of his pint Lee'd been looking after.... we all realised. Paul wasn't happy. Everyone else was in stitches. Still, minors* shouldn't really be drinking so fair's fair.

At half two, with three and a half hours till we had to be up, we probably should have knocked it on the head. Instead, we traipsed across town to the Raddison hotel as their bar was open till four. Of course. A few more Guinness and, regrettably, a kebab later... we got back to the apartment at five. One hour before we had to be up for our flight.

The hours of the morning between six and landing back in England are something of a miserable blur. All I know is I was in more pain than I thought possible, and I was tired. So, so tired. We were in a bad way, and as we slumped into our seats on the plane, we duly collapsed:

All in all though, it was all worth it. What a brilliant weekend and what a fantastic thing the Galway Comedy Festival is. Thanks to everyone to came to the shows, we hope we'll see you again next year!

Gimp-love,

LNGF.

x

*Paul's nickname is Junior.

The first show...

So we did our first full Late Night Gimp Fight show at the Galway Comedy Festival, and it was a success, thank god.

We'd spent most of the day attempting to flyer and generally worrying that no-one would come as:

a) we're not exactly as The Beatles over here, and

b) only nine people had booked.

In the end, about seventy people made it down to the show so the room was pretty full and the reaction from those who came was really good. In celebration of this we decided to stay at the venue drinking guinness till four in the morning so today we are feeling a little worse for wear. Matt Tizzle has gone back to bed and Richard was last seen wandering down a road saying he was "Off to buy a postcard". That was three hours ago.

I think hair of the dog is the order of the day so we're off to have a pint and a chinwag with sketch legends Pappy's and then do our final show. Hopefully with a bit of luck the buzz after last night's show will ensure we get a good crowd tonight. Fingers crossed.

Our Irish debut...

One word to describe last night's gig... awesome.

Phil Nichol did sterling work as MC, and Phill Jupitus and Karl Spain kicked the night off in great style. We were on in the second half and spent the interval worrying if our references to British TV shows in our closing song would be completely lost on the Irish crowd. Luckily, they weren't. Turns out they have Loose Women over here too. Our stuff was really well received, which was great as it was a packed house so that should get some buzz going.

The highlight of the night however was the finale, after the brilliant Dead Cat Bounce had done their set Phil Nichol came back on stage and brought back all the acts on with him for a rendition of I'm The Only Gay Eskimo, the memory of which will stay with us for a while.

This morning Massimo and I ate our own bodyweight at the breakfast buffet and now we're checking out of our hotel to move to an apartment nearer our venue for the shows. The hotel lobby this morning is like a comedians Who's Who... we just met Brendon Burns who's flown in from L.A. to be here and Andrew Maxwell just wandered in with his son. Looking round I can see Jimeoin and David O'Doherty too... oh, and there's Phill Jupitus getting out of a lift. Just a normal Friday.

We wandered out in the pouring rain to the university to flyer some students and spread the word of the gimp, then we went for coffee and muffins and then Matt dropped his bouncy ball in a canal.

Matt Tizzle and Campbell just arrived so we're off for dinner now and then the show. We'll let you know if anyone shows up.

David.

LNGF hit the Galway Comedy Festival!

Hello from Ireland!

Our trip started off in rather alarming fashion this morning when we noticed our plane had propellors. Still, we survived the flight and arrived at Galway airport (more of a metal shed, to be fair) and found a taxi driver holding a sign saying"Massimo". Now, there is no Massimo in Late Night Gimp Fight. There never has been and there never will be. Still, when we approached the toothless driver and enquired if he was waiting for us he slurred "Are ye a band?" "umm... more of a comedy group" we nervously replied. "Whatever!" he shrugged, and we were on our way. And now Paul shall be referred to as Massimo for the rest of the trip.

Myself, Lee, Matt and Massimo are here a day early as we're performing in a mixed bill show tonight with Phill Jupitus, Dead Cat Bounce, Karl Spain and Phil Nichol. We're doing ten minutes that'll hopefully pick up some audience for our shows tomorrow and Saturday. We're staying the first night in a hotel, which is absolutely lush. We have two suites, on two levels and three bathrooms in each. That's right, more bathrooms than guests. Richard and Matt Tizzle will join us tomorrow, provided they don't miss their flight.

We went for a pint of guinness and a wander round the town, which looks like a lovely place, and we had a look at the venues we're performing at. Tonight's at a posh 400 seater Town Hall Theatre and our own gigs are at a cool 180 seater music venue, called the Roisin Dubh. We're on at 11pm on Friday and Saturday, after Rich Hall.

Right- better be off for tonight's show now- we'll let you know how it goes. Stay tuned for more gimp updates from the Emerald Isle.

David.

Hello again!

Well. Haven't done one of these in a while have we?

What have we been up to you ask? Well....

Since Edinburgh a lot of very exciting things have happened. We're in the final stages of talks before signing with a management company- gimps with agents. imagine. We have done a LOT of gigs around the London circuit, We've planned what we'll be doing over the next twelve months, We've been mentioned on Channel 4 news (not in a piece about Rape, for once) and most recently, we performed at the Brighton Comedy Fringe.

We love performing down in Brighton, and this time was no different. The crowd down there are always really up for it; dark, smutty and drunk. Just how we like them. More importantly though, going down to Brighton means we get to go on the games and rides on Brighton Pier. Gimps love slot-machines and rides. Paul (who went to Disneyland Paris twice in twleve months. No-one's ever done that before or since) loves the waltzer, Matt (gambling addict) can't get enough of the slot machines and David lost five pounds trying to win a sweet that he could have just bought for ten pence. Still, you live and learn.

So we went on a ride. To give you an idea of just how exciting this was, here's a photo. Look at David's face. The ride hasn't even begun. The safety bar hasn't even been lowered. It was that fun. If that's wet your appetite then take a look at this video of us on the ride.

The two dates at the glorious Upstairs at Three and Ten went really well, the second particuarly so as it was sold out and the crowd were fantastic. We'll definitely be back in the new year.

So what next? Next week we're off to Ireland for the Galway Comedy Festival and the week after, on 30th October at the Pleasance Theatre we're doing the Edinburgh show in London for the very last time. Do come, it's bound to be eventful.

I think that's about all in the gimp news round-up. Oh- one more thing, Paul has a new nickname (which he hates, so definitely call him it)... "Junior".

Stay tuned for more gimp news soon- I think we might blog from Ireland actually, if the internet has reached that part of the world.

Lots of Gimp-love,

David.

LNGF.