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I believe that Rhod Gilbert is the best comedian performing in the UK today. A bold statement perhaps, but last night's show at Leeds Town Hall was so epic that I find it difficult to come to any other conclusion. And I say this having seen most of the major comedians touring this country in the last 15 years.
Granted, the venue was a little echoey and I was put in the familiar situation of being sat directly behind a human tank, obscuring most of my view of the stage in the process, but for nearly two and a half hours, Gilbert entertained us thoroughly. I'll stress the two and a half hours part - it was nearly 11pm when we left - we certainly got our monies' worth. His angered indignation and inversion-based comedy is perfectly suited to his Welsh brogue, which merely emphasises the frustration, and his reaction to life's trivialities by taking situations from the sublime to the ridiculous was done in such a way that the laughter naturally flowed. And he took us along for the ride. He also does a mean Yorkshire accent, lad.
The show followed on from his two previous ones, meaning there was an awful lot about anger management in there. We had embarked on a journey with him and he spent a lot of time reading out sarcastic comments from his anger management diary while relating it to his general life experiences and his own unique sense of logic. We all get pissed off with life's little irritations and the sense of empathy built up only makes you warm to him even more.
We had already seen the workings of this show at a pre-tour gig back in November, upstairs in a north Leeds bar to less than 80 people. Most of what we saw that night was included in this show too although the narrative had been crafted far more strongly than the vague collection of ideas this show was five months ago. Yet despite having seen most of the show before and knowing what was coming, last night was probably even more hilarious because of it. And that's the sign of a great comedian.
If you can see him while he is on tour, then go. Definitely. I'm not going to spoil it for you by detailing the show here. In the meantime, we are looking forward to the Leeds Comedy Festival in two weeks' time.
Granted, the venue was a little echoey and I was put in the familiar situation of being sat directly behind a human tank, obscuring most of my view of the stage in the process, but for nearly two and a half hours, Gilbert entertained us thoroughly. I'll stress the two and a half hours part - it was nearly 11pm when we left - we certainly got our monies' worth. His angered indignation and inversion-based comedy is perfectly suited to his Welsh brogue, which merely emphasises the frustration, and his reaction to life's trivialities by taking situations from the sublime to the ridiculous was done in such a way that the laughter naturally flowed. And he took us along for the ride. He also does a mean Yorkshire accent, lad.
The show followed on from his two previous ones, meaning there was an awful lot about anger management in there. We had embarked on a journey with him and he spent a lot of time reading out sarcastic comments from his anger management diary while relating it to his general life experiences and his own unique sense of logic. We all get pissed off with life's little irritations and the sense of empathy built up only makes you warm to him even more.
We had already seen the workings of this show at a pre-tour gig back in November, upstairs in a north Leeds bar to less than 80 people. Most of what we saw that night was included in this show too although the narrative had been crafted far more strongly than the vague collection of ideas this show was five months ago. Yet despite having seen most of the show before and knowing what was coming, last night was probably even more hilarious because of it. And that's the sign of a great comedian.
If you can see him while he is on tour, then go. Definitely. I'm not going to spoil it for you by detailing the show here. In the meantime, we are looking forward to the Leeds Comedy Festival in two weeks' time.
