Last night, I was fortunate enough to get to see Josie Long at the Nook Cafe in the Fishmarket. I say fortunate, because it was sold out and I didn’t have a ticket. I’d tried to get one, obviously, but I couldn’t see where to buy them online and the cafe never answered its phone. I assumed, as one does, that as it’s a hippy caff in the only place artists in Northampton seem to go, that everyone involved had gotten massively stoned and forgotten how things like phones and the internet worked. Not so, I’d just managed to miss out.
Anyway, I turned up and was told that if I hung around long enough I might be lucky and get a no-show ticket. I was told this by a chap called Benji, who I initally wrote off as being an art wanker, however while loitering in the hope of receiving a leftover ticket, we got chatting and he turned out to be a top bloke. We talked about some pictures of somebody’s meals that were hung up on the wall, and a video of a pissed bloke trying to look like an abstract statue, and I realised that I really should do more art things because they can be terribly interesting.
Anyway, after the best part of an hour standing around next to the art I was told I’d got a ticket, which made me very happy. Josie came out to do some “gig admin” to start with and I remembered that I do have a massive crush on her. I was squatted on the front row, on some cushions on the floor, which seemed like a great idea at the time. Then she surrendered the stage to the opening act, a comedian called James somebody. Apparently he was from “Northampton’s own Kettering” but nobody held it against him. It’s quite irritating that I don’t remember his surname as he was really quite good indeed and I’d like to recommend him. He got the audience to join in with tormenting two girls who went out for a wee mid-way through his show (poor bladder control, really) and being at the front I got some lines in this. Very exciting.
Next up was a one-man band calling himself The Pictish Troll. He was short, sported an excellent beard, and wore the foulest jumper I’ve ever seen. And, despite his protestations that he was not a comedian, he was very funny as well as putting out a few marvellous tunes. He was flogging a CD/LP that I would have loved to buy, but unfortunately it’s the wrong end of the month for that kind of thing.
Lastly, the lovely Miss Long returned to the stage to do her bit. For those who don’t really know what she’s about, basically she does quite rambling, tangent-ridden stories that take you all over the place. A bit like a more whimsical, less insane Ross Noble. She does get quite heavily political in places (not a bad thing for me at least, as she’s an out-and-out lefty was struggling not to agree too loudly) but never forgets to be funny with it- at one point she launched into an expletive-riddled attack on the Tories and everyone who’d voted for them that got her rather more applause than I think she was expecting, which was funny to watch.
The theme, if it could be called that, of the show was about being a better person (hence the show being titled “Be Honourable”), but it wasn’t preachy- it was just about Josie’s attempts at putting a bit of effort into being better. And it was a bit inspirational. I was certainly inspired by it. Inspired to do what I don’t really know, apart from write this blog post. But that’s certainly a start, right?
