Gonzo's Tea Room December Comedy Night - The White Mason Review!

On 4th December 2015, Mr White & Mr Mason were invited to a wondrous event by Mr Nelson T Gombakomba Jr. The venue? Gonzos Tea Room. The occasion? Comedy night! What else were we to do... but to REVIEW?!

The famous Gonzo - namesake of the venue!

Gonzos Tea room is a well known place in the Fine City, having shirked more unsavoury reputations garnered from its previous antics as Kartel and Havana (yes... those days!). Now it has an interesting atmosphere of hipstery hysteria crossed with a wannabe geekiness. On a Friday night, such as that of our visit, the music could be said to be over-compensating for what could be a good atmosphere of everyone enjoying conversation -- but it seemed to to get even louder when more voices filled the room. Honestly, learn to let people talk, not so they're sitting 30 centimetres away from one another and they have to shout to be heard.

The Teege™ and I part ways on this particular outlook. Not only am I a fan of the funk and soul music that Gonzos so readily proffers, but I'm also not that against the volume of said tuneage. Indeed, I've a review for a certain OTHER venue in Norwich, recently opened, which plays music at a thundrous level far less conducive to decent conversation than the brilliance of Gonzos' own!

Gonzos Comedy Nights, usually held once a month, have become a highlight of our own social calendar, so it's a privilege to review one. Showcasing up and coming comedic talent from around the country, no two events are ever the same -- yet a menagerie of established favourites frequently tread the boards to lay down the laughs. The event of 4th December did not disappoint! 

Music aside, the comedy was to start at 8PM. After meeting friends and having some drinks, the
night began rather interestingly... some squeaky teen jumped up on stage and gathered everyone's attention.

Introducing stand-up comic and Gonzos Comedy Night mainstay Mr Alexander Oliver. Myself and Mr White have listened to Alex's trials and tribulations previously and found him to be fantastically funny. Some of the things this guy goes through are unbelievable! Engaging with the crowd, Alexander set about lightening the mood of the room, then a rather large heckler opened up... at which point Alex shut him down using his wife! Some light-hearted jokes flowed, the room was ready. The audience interest was there, but down-key -- as for Alex? Honestly, the only way to describe this guy is a Pikachu on speed! His back and forth with the audience was interesting, it started to lose some of the audience half way and at the back of the room the bar was completely lost to drinks and hubbub. Eventually with some specific interaction they came back, and Alex introduced the first act. Teege's Rating 3.5/5 Fed a little too much off the audience -- but when hearing what this guy has been through, you can do nothing but laugh!


Alexander Oliver has played numerous times at Gonzos, and each of his performances seems to build on the last. This particular event marked his first time as the venue's Master of Ceremonies, and he actively engaged with the audience to build up some excitement. To describe his comedy style is simple, yet nuanced -- Alexander Oliver is, essentially, exasperatedly disappointed in people at large, and wants you to know it. His humour runs the gamut from acute self-loathing ("If I was a Pokemon, I'd be the one nobody wanted to catch!") to wry audience interactivity, and his material is consistently fresh and humorous -- as well as astonishingly, starkly biographical.

The only caveat? I feel like he was waiting for the audience, and the audience were waiting for him. Alexander -- your material is sublime, and if the audience seem silent, it's only because we are eager to hear it! 3.5/5  from Mr White -- Always a pleasure when Mr Oliver takes the stage!

Now lets see who's first up?

Alan Wycherly -- Odd jokes, started off coldly, didn't really see past the first couple of tables as far as audience interaction goes. The back of the room drifted off, the jokes weren't particularly funny -- there were a couple of quips about being a father and life living with kids, which was okay, and there were a couple of murmurs from the crowd. This was short and sweet, nothing special but could possibly bear to listen to him again if I had to... Teege's Rating 2/5 - Could do better, maybe find how big the audience is and you might entertain them... other than those five girls around a guy.

 Alan's performance had a few highlights, most notably the foibles of the dating game and the peculiarities of life in the Millennial generation. That said, if you asked me to conjure my favourite of his quips, I'd have a hard time recalling any. The gentleman's got some talent, yet it seems as if it's waiting to reach its full potential. I'm eager to see what he can concoct in the future. 2/5 from Mr White.

Next on the billing for the evening was Ryan Cross. I'd previously heard some of his material, and have seen him perform two or three times before with the same stuff. Now -- this guy, at the last Gonzos gig I saw him at, had the audacity to open with a dead baby joke. The room went silent. Again, this time he opened with a race joke, and again the room went silent. This is how impressed I was... "Yaaaawwwwnnnnnn." It's the same material as last time, with a couple of new bits. The audience was lost to their own conversation. The Teege's Rating -1/5 Disappear off this planet you Frankie Boyle wannabe. (Other words were whispered between me and Mr White on the night, but you get the gist).

This was, I believe, my fifth time seeing Mr Cross in action -- I've seen him several times at Gonzos, and once at Aroma. I've a little more time for wry, dry, cynical humour with deadpan delivery than my esteemed colleague The Teege, and was impressed to see Ryan administering some fresh material to the masses. Though I'm scarcely an expert in the field, I feel what holds him back is that much of his material is anecdotal. For example, his act that night crescendoed in tales regarding a recent trip to Germany, which had apparently culminated in his encounters with individuals best described as with... strong and unpopular political views. He recited how he and his entourage of travelling companions had implored one another to leave the company of said individuals as soon as possible. He then admitted that that story wasn't particularly funny. With respect, sir -- why are you telling the audience of a comedy club it, then? 2/5 from Mr White.

Next up was James Farmer. Neither me or Mr White had heard this gentlemen before, so our ears were pricked. This guy captured the audience with his family-centred humor. He was upbeat and energetic, he worked with the audience, lost them in the middle, but towards the end of his set had me and Mr White holding onto our sides. Honestly a contender for the performance of the night! The Teege's Rating 3.5/5 - Good, maybe learn to open up a little more and capture the back of the audience as well as you do the front.

Mr Farmer was witty, quick with quips and smart in his delivery. Upon learning that an audience member's name was 'Cleopatra', he staunchly refused to believe her and declared her instead to simply be shouting random 1990s girl group names at him. Later during his set, he returned to Cleopatra, who responded to her name with "Coming atcha!" -- James, like lightning, regarded her comeback as a lewd sexual innuendo and declared that he was shortly to begin dodging unsavoury bodily fluids in some slow-mo Matrix sequence.

He also read out some Facebook statuses, which is actually more common among modern comedians than you might think -- but his delivery, cheeky appraisals of each and final punchline of "HASHTAG DEAD NAN!" was the very comedic tincture that The Teege has chronicled as the source of our much-tickled ribs. 4/5 from Mr White. Best audience interaction and among the best newcomers!

A new favourite of ours to take the stage was Tom Appleton, the punk rocking Norfolk original. His first words? "F**k the mic!" -- he left that there, running into the middle of the audience and using his booming voice to hold to room's attention for the entirety of the performance. His jokes were insane; varied from the locality to life itself. There wasn't a single point where he didn't stop moving! The hair was used as a medium, the 8-inch spikes atop this man's head! The audience were engaging! They wanted more! But alas his set came abruptly to a stop. Why?! Dammit! This was after a year out of the comedic light; honestly man, do not disappear again! The Teege's Rating 4/5 - Do more you spiky headed madman! BRING THIS MAN BACK!

Tom Appleton utilised to full effect the old adage, "Always under-promise and over-deliver". We had the pleasure of meeting him before his set, and a more humble and convivial fellow you could seldom hope to meet, spiketacular hair and angry plaid trousers or no. On stage, though? Imagine Ade Edmonson's performance as Viv from The Young Ones turned up to eleven, injected with the fury of The Sex Pistols and the mania of a ten-year-old after five cans of Monster. A complete transformation that held the room rapt -- Tom swarmed from the stage into the room and back again, sending peals of laughter at his antics with every quip and step. Highlights included his poetry about Justin Bieber (which comprised of him simply screaming the word "WHYYYYY?!" at the ceiling for almost ten seconds straight and then slumping to his knees), to his 'dark comedy joke' finish -- why was Hitler a terrible athlete? Because he couldn't even finish a race!

"It's positive, it's a good thing, he DIDN'T finish a race!" Tom hooted as the crowd howled with laughter and sighed with guilt at the sordid humour it entailed. 
Magnificent talent - 5/5 from Mr White! 

Gbemi Olapdieo was next -- friend of the orchestrator of Gonzos comedy nights, Nelson T Gombakomba Jr. This guy was odd... prior to his set, he kept wandering around all evening, laughing hysterically and then running through a door. What the deuce, man?! On stage, his jokes were far too long-winded, and the only one that got a laugh was him holding up a stick, saying something about it being a Nigerian selfie stick. This was his third performance and I would probably suggest you stay at home for the next one. At least you're not like the next guy, so I suppose you are tolerable. The Teege's Rating 2/5 - Seriously WTF man?

It's apparent to me that The Teege enjoyed Gbemi's performance somewhat markedly less than I! His cheery demeanour and sense of vulnerability was, to me, somewhat endearing, and his humour was actually somewhat clever, being based almost entirely on entrenched First World predilections to diminish the status of other nations. What do I mean by this? Nigeria, the gentleman's native nation, is actually one of Africa's most prosperous and advanced economies. However, knowing that most outside of said continent don't know/care about this fact, Gbemi uses it to fuel his comedy, turning prejudices we don't know we have on their heads. Thus, the Nigerian Selfie Stick™ -- in actuality, just a tree branch -- represents his subtle nod to us all, his statement implying that we find it funny because we think it could actually happen, and he finds THAT hilarious in its own right, and is showing us such. More clever than a simple stick pun would first appear, no? 3.5/5 from Mr White.
 
 
 
The next 'act'? I suppose I should mention this guy -- Fedor Tot... more like Fedor Tw@t. He did nothing but insult the audience. The room ignored him, as I have in this review. I won't even give him a rating. Done. The Teege's Rating -- Two of the comedians had to remove him from the stage... 'nuff said.
 


Permit me elaboration on The Teege's scornful, though not undeserved, appraisal. Fedor Tot was a comic proclaiming himself of Serbian heritage. Small and scruffy, it initially seemed he'd play the underdog card to his advantage, and engaged in wordplay I found charming -- variations of his surname and common parlances, such as "There's tit for tat, but there's never any tit for Tot."

Not the audience's cup of tea, but we soldiered on. And for whatever reason, Mr Tot's act devolved from a mildly structured series of repeated introductions followed by puns, into a bizarre socio-political rant. Taking the recent decision for Great Britain to engage in Syrian bombing as the centrifuge around which his befuddling blather span, Tot brought the UK's historically recorded bombing of Serbia into the fray -- yet his delivery was one of blaming and shaming rather than any modicum of humour.. Silence soon became cringing as audience members exchanged genuinely pained glances. What, had we been the ones flying the planes?!

British people are fully aware of their nation's abject atrocities as historically committed -- and smart comics know how to leverage that into good humour. Standing and shambolically throwing abuse at paying audience members under the vaguest pretense of comedy is another matter entirely -- to say nothing of actually starting arguments with members of the crowd! Tot was eventually convinced to leave the stage, on around the fifth attempt, by his superior comedic peers. His departure garnered his biggest applause.

Matching both Mr Mason's own succinct surmising and Mr Tot's own credibility as a comic, I deem his festival of embarrassments worthy of a fat and spectacular zero.

Finally -- and luckily -- a hero rose to claim back the night. Presenting the one the only Nelson T Gombakomba Junior the Second -- the main reason, besides seeing friends, that we show up to this gig! This man is full of stories, and their levels are phenomenal. He can work an audience, handle the hecklers and even has a couple of awards. Nelson has won Beat the Frog in the northeast and King Gong in London. He even won the UEA's talent show. With simple one-liners, to race, politics, life and current happenings, if there is a topic, Nelson can make a joke about it. He literally killed the audience with a one-liner about Oscar Pistorious... maybe they are the wrong words for me to use...? But this King of Zimbabwe (and the only black guy in Norwich, as he believes) stole the night. The Teege's Rating 4.5/5 - Should have got better seats. But someone stole my damn corner!

Nelson exemplifies rapid wit turned to good comedy. Riding the wave of Tot's disaster, he turned the entire night around, and uplifted the tone of the entire room, as he effortlessly opened his act by remarking on current affairs with concise aplomb: "Britain's decided we're gonna be bombing more than the last act!"

The room erupted into peals of mirth, and when the unruly folk at the bar escalated conversations above him, Nelson affixed them with a soft smile and uttered, "Could you guys just shut the f**k up?", garnering cheers and applause from the crowd in his doing so -- because this crowd WANTED to hear Nelson's magic. I've had the pleasure of watching Nelson's performances for almost half a year now, every month, and this was by far his strongest showing. Fresh material, witty improv, hysterical insistence on never impersonating the Prime Minister unless he's also miming interacting with a pig in a certain manner... Nelson's both approachable and a giant of the stage, and for him to have turned a divebomb of a prior act into a sensational stand-up finish, replete with politics, prejudices and countless jokes about chicken, is representative of the rising star in our midst he truly is. 5/5 from Mr White -- Nelson was at his finest form as ever I've seen him, and I already eagerly await the next gig!

So, big guy - to summarise?
 

Overall, the comedy was okay, some of the performers were new to it and some were old hands -- but my comedians of the the night had to be Tom and Nelson! They both stole the show and had the audience in bits, a close runner-up was James Farmer... but honestly Nelson, if you're reading this and you even consider the thought of bringing Tot the Tw@t back, words will be had!

The Teege's Overall Rating 4/5 - Bring the good ones back!

Gonzos - https://www.facebook.com/clubkartel/
Nelson - https://www.facebook.com/nellyG14
Alexander - https://www.facebook.com/AlexanderrofledaLoliver?fref=tl_fr_box
https://www.facebook.com/ViktoriaDeRoyPhotography