For Lee Mack, being an established member of the TV Panel-Show Comedians Club has it's perks.
Expectant crowds of comedy revellers have kept the turnstiles ticking throughout his 'Going Out' tour, which is travelling the length and breadth of the UK.
And Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall was the latest full-house to be treated to almost two hours Mack's mad-cap gags.
A mixed crowd of young and old were well warmed up by Bath comic Noel Britten.
His self-deprecating brand of well timed one-liners and Tommy Cooper style prop comedy went down a storm with an audience, unfamiliar with his act.
A stand-up specialist, Britten provided the perfect introduction for Mack who's live performances are equally as lauded as his on-screen work.
And the main attraction took no time to settle into a hilarious opening gag involving the not-so-magical disappearance of an unsuspecting audience member.
For the Southport-born comedian, the Liverpool Phil wasn't technically a home gig ("That's right, I'm from Southport-Lancashire, not Southport-Merseyside Thankyouverymuch").
But he made great use of his local knowledge extracting laughter from the largely local audience, with a fantastic satire of the scouse sensibility.
Because of his TV fame, Mack's face is one of the most recognisable on the stand-up circuit.
And though his brilliant wit shines on programmes like 'Would I Lie To You?', the live arena gives Mack his most funny moments through audience interplay.
One of the skills of stand-up lies the comic's ability to temper his audience, as well as make them laugh.
But Mack uses the crowd as an unpredictable pawn for hilarious sections of the show in which he, as much as the audience, is reduced to fits of rib aching laughter.
Lee Mack's show is one for all types of comedy fan.
His cruel mocking of Kirsty Alsop ("That programme should be called "Biscuit, Biscuit, Biscuit") was never far away from a light hearted one liner ("How about that DFS sale eh?") or a cringe-inducing real life tale.
Despite berating fans for everything from their career choices ("I wanna be Doctor Who!") to their dress sense and accents, his likeable unpredictability effortlessly won over the crowd.
A bold Q&A section in the encore gave way for some more improvisation from his manic repertoire.
And when two hours of playing with the crowd were done, Mack made sense of his audience: "scousers, you're like dolphins, but with a shoe-obsession".
Not many comics could make that sound logical, but for a man with probably the best political 'why did the chicken cross the road' in the business, a little off the wall observation was all in a night's work.
Click Rating 8/10
BY Aaron Sharp @ The Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.
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