Perth Concert Hall, Tuesday 22nd November 2005
When you think about it, it’s pretty amazing how much mileage Al Murray has gotten out of his Pub Landlord character. I mean, how fresh can you really keep a one-man show when it’s based on what was a fairly basic stereotype even in the beginning? Frankly, I find it incredible that he’s able to make the persona last for an entire gig, let alone the five-years-plus that he’s been touring with it.
But make it last he does, and Murray in full rant, with both beer-taps blazing, truly is a sight worth seeing. On this latest leg of his 2005 “And Another Thing…” tour (“Perth on a Tuesday – I insisted!”), he was on stage for fully two-and-a-half hours, with just the shortest of breaks in the middle to allow the sell-out crowd to scamper to the all-important bar.
The last time I saw Murray perform it was at the Edinburgh Festival in 2000 and, though the character was still in its formative stage, it was one of the funniest and most wickedly-observed stand-up shows I’ve experienced. Still, going into
Thankfully, my fears were totally misguided. From the moment Murray wheeled onto the stage driving a bizarre mobile bar contraption, to the big finale involving an unorthodox sing-a-long to “I’m A Believer”, this show had the entire venue in stitches. Perhaps saying more about the audience than Murray himself, it was his “Make Poverty Geography” gag and his boasts about raising money for guide-dogs by organising an illegal charity dog-fight (“one of them was blinded, which was a bit ironic now that I think about it”) that went down particularly well.
In fact, my only problem with the Pub Landlord is that sometimes he’s a little bit TOO convincing. Murray slips into character so comfortably that sometimes I had to make a conscious effort to remind myself that it’s all just an act. Seriously, some of his loudmouthed, student-hating cracks and comebacks are so quick and so believable that, if you went to one of his shows not realising he’s just a comic creation, you’d probably find yourself hating him pretty quickly. Then again, even if you did hate him, you’d still find it impossible not to appreciate comedy as good as this.
Gary Panton.
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