onionbagblog
Funny Bones Arms
Bank Holidays were meant for booze. All the better if the beer is flowing in your (semi) local, and the evening's entertainment is a work pal who has crossed over the great divide to become a genuine friend.
Remember rule #1 in the onionbagblog work mantra: make genuine friends who will remain with you outside of the coalface.
And so the fragrant mrs onionbagblooger and I, plus a couple of othercolleagues close friends from Peckham (blimey) made our way across Sunny Stockwell and the short walk through Albert Square (seriously) to the Cavendish Arms, for a bit of comedy with @comedybeard. Naturally.
I'm ashamed to say that even as SW8 locals, this was our first visit to the Cavendish Arms. I've heard glowing reports about the live entertainment venue for around six months now, but it's always been just a bit too far on the other side of Sunny Stockwell to make it our local.
Not so now - what a bloody brilliant venue! A spacious bar, and then a backroom that looks as though it should be holding court somewhere along Piccadilly, rather than the mean streets of SW8.
Essentially the performance space is a large Punch 'n Judy booth. Not so large that there's no atmosphere, but the red velvet lined stage area certainly gives a very agreeable vaudeville stage presence.
I regret now not coming along to The Cavendish sooner, following the refurbishment of two summers ago. But is your pint glass half empty or half full? We may have missed out on some top nights, but hopefully there's more to come at The Cavendish over the coming months.
Monday night is Comedy Virgin night. I think that's a singular expression, rather than a plural take on the performers. For your FREE entry fee, you got to see just under twenty comedians, each given five minutes on the mic to showcase their talent.
The quality ranged from vaudeville virgins, to a handful of skilled performers, who are clearly taking this comedy lark rather seriously (ha ha) and hopefully might even be able to turn it into some sort of profession.
I wasn't expecting @comedybeard to fall into this latter category, but blimey - Mr Beard has progressed at an alarming rate since we last saw his show. Incredibly confident, commanding the packed audience, and a rousing cheer at the end.
It's not a beauty contest (although Mr Beard would probably fare rather well if it were,) but our man with the mic walked off with the audience led Performer of the Night trophy. Well deserved, and which just happened to be the darts boards from the old boozer - all the old darts trophies had been handed out in previous weeks.
I'm no observational comedian (I think that's a singular description,) but I did notice a lack of female performers, perhaps the only downside to the evening. Only one female with balls, battling it out with around twenty testosterone males. But being an open mic policy, then there's an open invitation to address this gender imbalance.
Despite only two pints downed all evening, every comedian got at least a couple of laughs from me. And here's lies my slight worry with the Cavendish business plan:
I really hope the venue survives - it is a rare treat on an otherwise soulless Stockwell entertainment circuit. But the format of the evening was to buy a pint, take it through to the Ballroom, and then sit down in the bar-less Ballroom for the first hour of the set. A brief bar break, and then repeat again.
The intimacy of the Cavendish Arms would have meant it rude to wander off mid-set for a top up. I'm not sure what the solution is, but I hope that the fine Mr and Mrs Cavendish aren't cutting the profits for the sake of comedic respect. I would happily have doubled my offerings behind the bar, had the moment felt right.
And so we wandered off into the balmy Bank Holiday SW8 evening air, cheered on by much comedic love for @comedybeard, and happy to have found a new home at The Cavendish. Mr Beard and the other non-Stockwell crowd seemed to like both the pub and the area, and so hopefully they'll return.
I hope they weren’t joking.
reply via twitter
| Tuesday 26 May, 2009 |
Bank Holidays were meant for booze. All the better if the beer is flowing in your (semi) local, and the evening's entertainment is a work pal who has crossed over the great divide to become a genuine friend.
Remember rule #1 in the onionbagblog work mantra: make genuine friends who will remain with you outside of the coalface.
And so the fragrant mrs onionbagblooger and I, plus a couple of other
I'm ashamed to say that even as SW8 locals, this was our first visit to the Cavendish Arms. I've heard glowing reports about the live entertainment venue for around six months now, but it's always been just a bit too far on the other side of Sunny Stockwell to make it our local.
Not so now - what a bloody brilliant venue! A spacious bar, and then a backroom that looks as though it should be holding court somewhere along Piccadilly, rather than the mean streets of SW8.
Essentially the performance space is a large Punch 'n Judy booth. Not so large that there's no atmosphere, but the red velvet lined stage area certainly gives a very agreeable vaudeville stage presence.
I regret now not coming along to The Cavendish sooner, following the refurbishment of two summers ago. But is your pint glass half empty or half full? We may have missed out on some top nights, but hopefully there's more to come at The Cavendish over the coming months.
Monday night is Comedy Virgin night. I think that's a singular expression, rather than a plural take on the performers. For your FREE entry fee, you got to see just under twenty comedians, each given five minutes on the mic to showcase their talent.
The quality ranged from vaudeville virgins, to a handful of skilled performers, who are clearly taking this comedy lark rather seriously (ha ha) and hopefully might even be able to turn it into some sort of profession.
I wasn't expecting @comedybeard to fall into this latter category, but blimey - Mr Beard has progressed at an alarming rate since we last saw his show. Incredibly confident, commanding the packed audience, and a rousing cheer at the end.
It's not a beauty contest (although Mr Beard would probably fare rather well if it were,) but our man with the mic walked off with the audience led Performer of the Night trophy. Well deserved, and which just happened to be the darts boards from the old boozer - all the old darts trophies had been handed out in previous weeks.
I'm no observational comedian (I think that's a singular description,) but I did notice a lack of female performers, perhaps the only downside to the evening. Only one female with balls, battling it out with around twenty testosterone males. But being an open mic policy, then there's an open invitation to address this gender imbalance.
Despite only two pints downed all evening, every comedian got at least a couple of laughs from me. And here's lies my slight worry with the Cavendish business plan:
I really hope the venue survives - it is a rare treat on an otherwise soulless Stockwell entertainment circuit. But the format of the evening was to buy a pint, take it through to the Ballroom, and then sit down in the bar-less Ballroom for the first hour of the set. A brief bar break, and then repeat again.
The intimacy of the Cavendish Arms would have meant it rude to wander off mid-set for a top up. I'm not sure what the solution is, but I hope that the fine Mr and Mrs Cavendish aren't cutting the profits for the sake of comedic respect. I would happily have doubled my offerings behind the bar, had the moment felt right.
And so we wandered off into the balmy Bank Holiday SW8 evening air, cheered on by much comedic love for @comedybeard, and happy to have found a new home at The Cavendish. Mr Beard and the other non-Stockwell crowd seemed to like both the pub and the area, and so hopefully they'll return.
I hope they weren’t joking.
reply via twitter
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