Andy Kirkpatrick_ Stockport Viaduct

October 04, 2010 10:34 AM

I’m doing the first night of my tour tomorrow in Stockport, a bit nerve racking, especially as I’m still fiddling with slides and switching music around, trying to work out what to cut and what to add - in fact until a few days ago I was still unsure just what the show was about at all (having an open ended titled like “off the wall” helps, so thank god I didn’t go for “My journey of self discovery and eventual sex change”!).

The shows kicks off with being rescued off the Eiger North face by Alastair Lee (yes that bits true), that leads to the realization that alpine climbing is just cold, scary and grim, and that my love lies in the warm embrace of El Cap.  From there I describe through stories and music my first time on El Cap, and a growing desire to climb it in a day, a desire that metamorphosis into a desire to solo it in a day - without doubt the most stupid ambition I’ve ever had (to climb it in a day is super hard, but to solo it you must jumar the whole thing in a day, abseil the whole thing in a day - oh and lead the whole thing in a day).  The show takes the audience through previous attempts to climb it in a day, and ends with my attempt.

What gets me so excited is that we’re starting in Stockport, because Stockport, and its viaduct, play a small part in why I wanted to stand up on a stage in the first place - and try and be funny, but without telling jokes, just stories.

You see my all time favorite comedian has always been Steve Coogan, a man I find funny no matter what he says or does.  I think it was Woody Alan who said that some people are just funny - funny voices, funny faces, funny stories - and that no matter what they do will make people laugh.  For me Coogan has always done this for me.

Anyway back in the 90’s he brought out a VHS video of his first big tour; ‘Steve Coogan Live and Lewd’ that I must have watch a couple of hundred times, if not a few thousand, and in every watching I found it more and more hilarious.  One of my favorite routines was Ernest Moss - a health a safety officer - who gives a slideshow that is without doubt the most important slideshow I’ve ever seen, being a masterclass of how to make what should be one of the most boring forms of entertainment, one of the funniest.  Forget watching all thoes high brow TED lectures for inspiration, just watch Ernest Moss.

As for the Stockport connection - well you’ll just have to watch this clip: