I went to see Rich Hall earlier this week. It was an evening well spent; he was very funny and I enjoyed the stand-up material as much as the songs, which included the one in this post, which I suspect a lot of Afterworders will identify with.
Since the show I’ve re-watched a couple of his documentaries on Youtube, and it’s these I want to remind everyone of. There’s one in the comments to get you started; like the others it’s an hour and a half long, so you might want to watch it on the TV rather than computer or iPad.
They’re the antidote to modern ‘celebrity’ docs. Where the current trend is for half hour shows to be stretched into hour long chunks, Hall makes you feel like you’ve watched a whole series edited down to 90 minutes. He doesn’t pretend to be an ignoramus discovering his subject on ‘a journey’ along with the viewer; he knows his stuff and is telling us about it in an opinionated and entertaining lecture. And, thankfully, he doesn’t visit craftsmen and the like in order to ‘have a go’ at glass-blowing, lace-making, taxidermy or whatever (I’m looking at you here, Portillo. No, don’t pretend your reading your Bradshaw’s; you can’t try to look inconspicuous when you’re dressed like that.).
It’s a pleasure to watch something so enjoyable and not feel patronised by it, so if you’re fed of the election then here is your viewing for the evening. Pour a drink, put your feet up, and pay attention at the back.
Gatz says
drneil says
I can commend his book Things Snowball.
Zanti Misfit says
Famously, Matt Groening says that Moe Syzslak from The Simpsons was inspired by Rich Hall.
I’d buy that for a dollar,
Moose the Mooche says
A very great man. This belongs on the Scottish thread, but here it is.
Fiction Romantic says
Met him after a gig once, seems like a genuine (and very funny) man.