What a veritable comedy feast the Slaughterhouse served up this weekend. Home-bred character comic Keith Carter as loveable scally Nige, South American music sensation Mundo Jazz and, topping the bill, award-winning Canadian comic Phil Nichol with his first visit to Liverpool in four years.
Local legend Chris Cairns ably took the helm as MC, ad-libbing with supreme confidence as he pointed out the uncanny likeness of a dubiously dressed front row with their counterparts in classic children’s game “Guess Who.” Playfully leering over a blonde named Melissa on the front row - younger than some of his best pairs of boxers – Cairns swiftly warmed the crowd up for the jam-packed night of mirth ahead.
Keith Carter AKA Nige is an amiable scally with a lot on his mind, an instantly recognisable character if you’ve ever spent more than a few minutes in Liverpool. Carter delivers stereotypical Nige’s view of the world with such quick-fire wit it is impossible not to admire his act, for his ability not to pause for breath alone. Having seen Nige only a few months ago, it was a relief to see fresh material as he grabbed the mic bursting with an over-anxious urgency to tell us something to do with him having a piss. Inevitably Nige goes off on tangents throughout with anecdotes about his nan’s flatulence, his ma’s psycho budgie and the St John’s Market fish”mong”er’s anger that no-one wants to buy his incredible array of fish. Carter handles this poetic tongue twister with incredible aplomb before climaxing with the funniest song about suicide I’ve ever been privy to witness.
Mundo Jazz saunters onto the stage clutching a guitar bearing the stickers “Fight Capitalism for only 99p!” and “Vote Minge”, a campaign close to his heart, he even hands out badges for the audience to take home. All the way from South America (Or perhaps a little closer to home), Mundo treats the crowd to various humorous ditties and observations on life in Liverpool. “Scally Scally Scouse” was a highlight, asking why scallies need so many hubcaps and why their children are named after soap opera stars, before rounding off his act with an impressive off-the-cuff performance dedicating a song to the girl “who looks a bit slappy”, the long-suffering Melissa. Yet Melissa and fellow victims seated on the front row had no idea what was to come when Phil Nichol took to the stage.
Bounding up to the mic, Nichol exudes such energy and delivers such powerful laughs it feels like you’ve literally been punched in the stomach. A good sport named Dan on the front row soon discovered that feeling was to become all too real as Nichol straddled his seat shouting “LICK THE BELLY!”, thrusting his hairy paunch in Dan’s face. A Canadian who has lived in London for many years, Nichol cursed his initial Canadian friendliness as it met the mindless cockney attitude “Do you want some??” - “I’d love some!...OWWW!!”
A comedian, actor and singer-songwriter, Nichol’s ability to combine all three talents was met with a roaring reception. Bashing out comedy tunes, ardent fans sat at the front singing along with his classic “I’m The Only Gay Eskimo.” Our front row hero Dan became the butt of the majority Nichol’s jokes, transforming him into a human plaything, even planting a tender kiss on his lips. As Cairns tried to regain some manner of decorum, Nichol burst out from behind the curtain, topless, screaming for Dan to come and join him backstage. Yelps of laughter, gasps for breath and rousing applause from the crowd confirmed I had not been alone in my appreciation of this quality mixture of mirth.
9/10
For full Laughterhouse listing and tickets for either venue at The Slaughterhouse or Lenny’s Bar and Smoke Grill please visit www.laughterhousecomedy.com
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