Jimmy Carr: Not Bill Hicks

It’s a weird thing when you’ve been away for a couple of days at a search conference then you come home to be thrown straight into another kind of night out. I’ve been looking forward to seeing Jimmy Carr doing his new stand-up for a while, although I’ve not really talked about it. I struggle to get excited, what can I say?

Jimmy Carr

As expected, he was damn funny. I’m not going to give away any of his jokes, because that would be mean (he worked hard to write most of them), but besides the fact that it was a comedy show and he made people laugh I do have an anecdote that made me not only dead chuffed but also actually motivated me enough to write something here. So that’s pretty something, as my record isn’t great lately.

During the show he did a lot of rude and offensive jokes (offensive if you don’t know what humour is, or that comedy is the best commentary of current society there is, anyway), and at some point he alluded to the fact that a friend of his knew Bill Hicks. Now, I’m a big fan of Hicks despite the fact his awesome insight has been lost to us for over a decade. I’d actually been watching a YouTube clip of Hicks before I left the house, but more on that later. Then at another point Jimmy mentioned that he’d be kind enough to meet with a few members of the audience after the show in the foyer or atrium or by the front doors or whatever the fuck you call it (I’d call it ‘front of house,’ but that’s because I used to run theatres so I guess that means nothing to most constituents of an audience). Naturally, I put a couple and a couple together and made some swinging fours. (I also thought ‘he must’ve learnt a bit about marketing – pay it forward with a bit of time and a few signatures to sell a lot more programmes’.. I know, I’m a cynic).

So at the end of the show I told my wife to hang back – the car park was going to take ages to clear anyway, and standing inside chatting was going to be much more fun than sitting in a procession of cars. I stood in the queue to talk to him. It felt a bit weird / geeky / sad to be in that queue, especially as there were a lot of people taking pictures with him and being all fame-struck. I hope he didn’t mind overhearing me as when I got close I responded to Lucy that “no, I don’t want his fucking autograph, wtf am I going to do with his signature?” but he’d already had to deal with a lot of numpties and a whole crowd of one-time paparazzi. In fact, in an amazing act of complete numptiness that deserves mention in its own right, a girl that spoke to him just before me asked him to sign a tampon. A fucking tampon!

The dreadful queue-iness ended and I got to shake Jimmy’s hand and say hello. Obviously my question was “did you meet Bill Hicks?”

He said “no.” Bill had died a few years too early – a sentiment that rings true for so many people.

But I saw the glint in his eye – someone had actually come to talk to him about comedy, instead of raping his time for a bit more of whatever they could get for themselves. He didn’t seem perturbed that I appeared utterly un-awestruck; it was plain that I was only interested in getting some first-hand insight on what Bill was like (and perhaps whether he was an influence), and I’m guessing this was quite refreshing after the hordes of ’sign my bra’ idiots he no doubt has to deal with every night.

I’m honoured he spent a few minutes talking to me instead of brushing me off after 20 seconds like most other members of this insane queue. Jimmy asked what other comedians I liked, and my first response was George Carlin. I explained I have a wide taste, and to be fair I wasn’t expecting a conversation – but I’d never have any qualms about recommending Carlin. Clearly understanding I’ve got more than a wet-my-fanny-when-I-see-someone-with-wetlook-hair interest in the comedic art, some suggestions for other comedians were made with a tip to look them up on YT (now I know he’s smart – pay it forward with real people and they might even blog about it instead of just banging up a load of inane photos behind facebook’s walled garden).

Here’s Jimmy Carr’s tips:

and:

Not a bad result at all, and I’d hazard a guess Mr. Carr has watched the nuances of these guys a little too. I just hope his girlfriend hasn’t withered away while he’s been caught up.

For those few of you that are interested, the reason I was watching Bill Hicks earlier is quite straightforward. I work in SEO and online marketing, and every now and again (especially after a big love-in like a conference) I need some grounding. So I always return to this clip:

No more need be said.

Final point: Jimmy Carr can’t be doing too bad for himself from paying it forward (or just being hilarious), as Google has cottoned on to the fact that some people like him:

Save your soul. Or at least, go see some comedy.