Comedy Review: Stand up against the Bankers @ Anseo

Anseo is one of those venues that I had made plans to get to but had never quite managed to make it. Since I had got to know Aidan Killian he had been suggesting that I go, so when I came across the Stand up against the Bankers gig in aid of Occupy Dame Street which sparked the inner protestor in me, mash that together with comedy and of course you will find me there! How could I refuse?

Anseo as a venue is brilliant. While sitting waiting for the gig to start, the one word that came to mind was “earthy”. This may have something to do with the colour scheme and the various odd illustrations… It has a raw edge feel to it unlike other venues I’ve been to. It seems less polished, but not in a bad way. It’s quite a big room but not that big that if you’re sitting down the back that you can escape the comedian’s beady eyes!

Dean Scurry

Our MC for the night was Occupy Dame Street resident Dean Scurry. This was Dean’s first stand up outing in 12 months, though to look at him you wouldn’t think so. Dean is a naturally funny, entertaining guy who talks with a no holds barred attitude with the audience! He began the gig by explaining what the Occupy Dame Street Movement was, followed by getting random members of the audience to hug each other! He asked the very important question….”What do you do to connect?” Hmmmm some very airy fairy answers to that question were given!

Jim Elliot

Jim Elliot graced the stage first. Jim is an American comedian living in Ireland and his witty observation of Dublin life were hilarious, from the lads on the bus journey to work one morning being so moved by his apparent bad mood, that they offered him some heroin to the sage advice to all the men out there about women – lads, if you want to know which girls are the slutty ones, look for the ones who look like walking Jaffa Cakes! The Occupy Dame Street Movement didn’t escape his comedic thoughts either as he imagined what the homeless people of Dublin were saying about them, the words pussies, tents and cardboard were involved! Jim is a natural story-teller with a natural ability to draw the audience in.

Go and Shite!

On Dean’s brief time on stage next, the audience were tasked with coming up with a new chant for Occupy Dame Street, em…we were not very good at this! We were also treated to some favourite swear words from Dean (most of which I can’t repeat!) and his favourite saying is apparently “Go and shite” – a truly typical Dublin saying! Don’t you just love it?

Next on stage was Enda Muldoon. Enda is hailed as a comic genius by some, as a head case by others. I’m somewhere in the middle of the two! He began his set in utter confusion, this I have to say I found absolutely hilarious. His non-racist face which is to aid in the welcoming of foreign nationals was comedy gold and apparently has resulted in one or two comments of the “are you gay?” variety! Enda regaled us with tales of his relationship with his 19 year old girlfriend including their song being “When we collide” by Matt Cardle God damn it! Not Biffy Clyro! Enda was less manic on stage this time than the less time I saw him, but there was still something about him that doesn’t quite connect for me… however he did gel with some audience members, so he is doing something right! Enda has amazing stage presence and has brilliantly intelligent material. His parting words to the audience were: I am the only sane person in the room….. I am still on the fence on that one!

Dean was back for his final MC duty of the night in which he just said random stuff in his head! This “stuff” included a current Occupy Dame Street chant, which is “This is what Democracy looks like” – not very original or exciting! He also gave a random elocution lesson and to end his random stuff on a high, Dean stated that poor people should move away from good looking areas……in foreign countries so as to not ruin his holidays!

Aidan Killian

Aidan Killian who is the regular MC for Anseo headlined this evening. Based on having seen Aidan MC in the BadAss Comedy Café a few weeks ago I was expecting big things from him. Was I disappointed? Kinda. Aidan set began quite strange, even Aidan admitting his set doesn’t normally start off slagging Twink. Aidan seemed put off by hecklers at the back of the room quite a bit and he admitted that he lost his way a bit on stage, skipping through stories, due to a busy day gigging. However he did the Who Am I sketch which is a personal favourite of mine and not only did he do it, he had also added bits to it and also managed to get the audience to sing along to his hold music! He began to tell us about the dangers of Fluoride in our drinking water and blamed the Irish attitude of “Ah sure it’s grand” At some points during the set Aidan lost the audience which made it quite a weird atmosphere. However Aidan’s set is so random that there is something for everyone. Plus is not every day that the person reviewing the show gets called a prostitute eh? Aidan is an intelligent comedian whose observations on life’s problems are hilarious. He believes that whatever the question is, love is the answer. Aidan mentioned numerous times during his set that he is styled on Jesus Christ; he may have needed some divine inspiration to get through some of his set tonight?

Overall the night was a success with a fair amount of money raised for Occupy Dame Street. Dean promised us honest comedy and that is what we got. As a venue I would highly recommend Anseo. If you want a fun night out in an intimate comedy setting, get yourself there every Wednesday from 8.30pm!

You can get Dean here: www.facebook.com/deanscurry
You can get Aidan here: www.facebook.com/aidankillain