Comedy @ Wychwood - Comments?

[vampcherry]

What did everyone think about the comedians this year?

What/who did you like/dislike?

What do you think about the venue for the comedy?

Personally I find it too loud with all the noise from the people who are in there just for drinking and chatting as it's the main bar and social area in the evening. It would be unfair to expect everyone in there to be quiet. I feel it would be much better in one of the green village tents, probably the larger Sycamore tent as it'd give more focus on the acts and it's not too far away from the bar tent. As a comedy booking agency ourselves we know a lot of the comedians who have been on in the past few years and having spoken to some of them afterwards, they have said they felt it was a really tough gig to do. I was rather confused as to why the comedy was compered by a street/festival performer as there are so many good professional comedy comperes out there who could have done it.

Wychwood if a great festival and we are now regulars at the event but I just feel the comedy, although good now, could be so much better.

Edited June 2, 2009 by eFestivals
removal of unnecessary commercial promotion.

[eFestivals]

as sponsor of the comedy, eFestivals agrees with much you've said there - the tent is often too small, and/or too noisy by those coming into the tent to use the bar. Even so, it seems to get more popular each year, so they're obviously doing something right.

Next time I speak to the Wychwood organisers (which I didn't get to do over the weekend - doh!) I'll again be raising these points for the purpose of trying to make things even better.

[theramm]

I believe the comedy tent was booked by a different group this year. In previous years 'Ribbed Comedy' have booked the acts.

[SeñorSpoon]

To be honest, I only saw comedy on the saturday night.

The compere started off terrible, got a bit better.

Mundo Jazz were funny and witty, a nice suprise, because i thought it seemed tacky.

Sol Bernstein - S**t. Terrible, completely unfunny, his whole 'act' was that he was Jewish and there didnt seem to be anything else. Insulted people in an unfunny and mean way. Anyone who didn't like him was antisemite.

If the other nights were in a similar vain, i'd give 5/10

[sprocketrocket]

I went to watch some comedy on Friday after SFA and thought it was way too quiet. Which may have added to my dissapointment, I can't remember the comics name (perhaps I didn't hear it) what i did catch was quite funny but I got fed up with the sound (or lack of) fairly quickly, so left.

[Aaron95]

I watched all of the comedy on the Friday night. Matt Barnard was amusing enough, but Phil James died a death. Not his fault really, the audience were just dead and completely disinterested. I thought Gareth Jones did OK as compere, until his last segment when he did the routine with the cling film, which would have been OK as a 5 minute thing, but was dragged on far too long.

What I heard of Robin Ince was very funny. The problem was that I could only hear about half of what he was saying. I don't know if the sound system had to be turned down later on in the evening or if noise levels in the tent had increased but it was way too quiet. I had no problem hearing any of the other comedians, just Robin.

Didn't see much on the Saturday night. Mundo Jazz were great, although I only caught the latter half of their act as they were on at the same time as Supergrass Would have liked to see Arthur Smith, but alas we had to head home about 11pm on Sunday night to be up in time for work on Monday morning.

I have to say though that the funniest act at the festival wasn't listed amongst the comedy. Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer was frankly hilarious. He went down so well on Saturday afternoon, playing to a packed tent, that I think he sold out of the CD's he brought with him.

[roundabout]

I agree about the sound, much too quiet considering the location, i.e. with the bar at the back. We saw two comics on Sat. who both went down like a lead balloon, it was painfull to watch and part of this I'm fairly sure was that unless you were forward of the mixing desk you had to strain to hear. Loud "shouty" comics could make themselves heard better, but the quieter types struggled. It could work in that location, either more volume, &/or repeater speakers halfway down the tent.

Agree with Aaron95, Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer, one of the many highlights for us, thanks to my son for picking him out of the progamme, otherwise I probably wouldn't have seem him.

Edited June 2, 2009 by roundabout

[david3103]

I spent most of Friday and Saturday evening in the Hooky Bar and found myself seats near the front by the time the comedy started. Matt/Sergei was fun, Gareth Jones held it together well and frankly I was disappointed by the audience freaction for Phil James who I found really funny in a Jimmy Carr meets Tim Vine way.

Can't comment too much on the clingfilm routine since I saw it from the stage with a roll of clingfilm in my hands :-)

Saturday - stayed for Mundo Jazz and, having been up all night over Friday night stewarding I left before Sol Bernstein came on.

Mundo Jazz were.......... Mundo Jazz.

I've loved them ever since I first saw them when it was just Juan on his own at Wychwood in 2006. The tent was difficult to get laughing that night too.... until Juan came on!

The noise levels are tricky in the current location but moving the comedy out to The Green would mean having to have another bar over there and thus create other issues I'm sure.

[MikelC]

I went every night from the start (as I did last year) and the sound was abysmal.

The reason Sol bombed was people were shouting to get the sound turned up, he thought they were heckling and things went rapidly downhill from there.

Mundo Jazz were very good (as always), but helped by there being a sound engineer actually *there* as they were classed as a group.

I believe the existing space would work with better sound.

[Richard Hall]

Hi,

I was one of the sound engineers working in the bar tent for the whole of the festival last year. As many of you have noticed, we did have a few problems with the comedy sound, largely because of the noise regulations after 11pm.

It is my understanding that the license does not cover *any* amplified music after 11, and any amplified vocals have to be kept to a bare minimum. That's why Mundo Jazz went on first, followed by the support acts at 11, rather than the other way around.

In terms of amplified vocals, we were caught out, at least on the first night, by the wind. It was carrying the sound towards the town, and as such the council were there making sure we didn't turn the sound up any more!

Rich