Woody Allan Variety Acts

The Halloween instalment of Enterteasement has come and gone and even if I do say so myself, it was another success.  A quick overview would say, Scott Gibson stole the show by making the whole audience cry with laughter. Ray was friendly & funny and has done a lot for the ginger community.  Darren, left the audience with a sense of, “that madman was a funny weirdo”  The burlesque acts were varied and teased and tantalised the audience, the magician scared the audience by avoiding putting his hand through the spike and the surprise act surprised us all by not turning up.  The venue was lovely and the only complaint we received was the table at the back who continually spoke through all the acts.  Fortunately this is an easy one for me to solve as they are my family so I’ll reinstate a family life ban.  What other’s had to say:

“You were so awesome last night I can’t wait to the next show” – Belinda

Chris Matthews “ It was an amazing night, your magic tricks and the comedians were fantastic, not to forget the burlesque dancers…Everyone of us enjoyed it and will defo return”

Hanna Rae “Awesome show last night, The spike under the cup trick was brilliant and enjoyed all of the acts the whole night.  Will definitely be back.

Mick Miller – “I’m having my works night out here”

Gravey Flair – “you looked cute”

Kieran “Scott Gibson was as funny as I’ve seen people at my table were crying with laughter”

Full overview.

Enterteasement was at the Admiral on Waterloo Street our doors opened at 7 and the first act audience member arrived around 7:05.  I still can’t figure out why the Enterteasement audiences arrive so early.  As there were so many other parties on this weekend there was a real panic with numbers but I was assured by a good 50 friends & family that they would be in attendance.  1 by one they trickled in and the venue was full without being crammed which is always a good thing.  As the clock struck 8:30 it was time for our host and compere to take the stage.

Ray Bradshaw Compere

Ray is one of the most in demand compere’s in Scotland.   Not only is he funny, he’s extremey friendly.  So we were very happy to have him at the helm.  He got the show on the road by asking with lots of audience interaction which created a warm friendly feeling in the room.  Ray’s compeering style is like an aeroplane.  Whereas most comedians start with their strongest material Ray starts by talking to people and getting to know them.  But as the show goes on he tells some fantastic stories from Rock ness to train journeys.  Ray has some of the strongest material on the Scottish Comedy circuit.

Mocha Deluxe  Burlesque

Mocha got the show on the on the road with the Lady Gaga song ‘Monster’ which tied in perfectly with the Halloween weekend.  I’ve seen Mocha perform before and she’s totally unique in the burlesque world because she can mix burlesque with gymnastics I’m tempted to call this burlestics but it sounds daft so I’ll just call it Burlesque gymnastics.  From the splits to one handed cartwheels, every time Mocha performed gymnastics the crowd screamed in amazement.  Mocha is one of my favourite burlesque performers.  High energy, fun, themed acts, well choreographed.  The only criticism / improvement I would like to see from her would be more connection with the audience.  However as long as she keeps the splits & glitter in the act I don’t think anyone cares too much.

Woody the magician

Otherwise known as Chris Dinwoodie or Me (the guy writing this) I run Enterteasement and on the day of the show I become a monster.  I go over every little detail and drive myself insane.  People who haven’t seen me perform before always enjoy the show but people who have seen me perform know I’m not anywhere near my best when I take to the stage.  I had intended to perform a 20 minute mind reading set but I left it at home by accident (I’m an idiot).  I had the option of driving home to get it but as around of 85% of the audience were new to Enterteasement I just performed my tried and trusted stuff with a finish none of them have seen before – Spike.  A spike is placed under a cup by an audience member and I smash the cups one at a time avoiding the spike.  I was a bit disappointed with my performance  as I just didn’t get into the show and because I know so many people in the audience it’s hard to get into character.  However, the Head Spin and the Spike got good reactions – next time new show I promise.

==Break==

Electra Volt – Burlesque

Electra is one of the most helpful people you could meet and she performed her signature act ‘The Absinth Fairy’. Backstage she asked me “who’s in charge of Stage Management”.  I replied, “What’s stage management?” Yes it’s true, we are that new to this.  After the delightful cupcake had taken care of the stage management, Electra Volt took to the stage in a green outfit with green lips.  As I’m a Celtic Fan this was always very pleasing, as (the other host) Allan is a Rangers fan I don’t think he watched it.  Her act was performed started with the sugar plum fairy music and she took to the stage and started telling the story of the Absenth fairy wilst seated her bottle of which was on the table.  The audience watched and as a burlesque act it’s very strong but as we don’t really have a burlesque audience I think they were starting to think they wouldn’t be seeing any boobies.  However, the music changed to ‘It’s Not That Easy Being Green’ and the audience loved the change and as the story developed the audience got right into the act and it received  a fantastic reaction.

Darren “Chippy Pickle” Connell Comedian

Darren was introduced as one of the weirdest comedians in Scotland and he lived up to his reputation.   Not many people cover the topics Darren Covers from Chippy Pickles to putting an array of polly bags on his head it’s not an act anyone could copy.  I’ve seen Darren perform on many occasions and I’ve seen him be the funniest act on many of them.  However on our night his jokes either got extreme laughter or extreme confusion.  What I found out afterwards was that there was a table at the back of the room chatting throughout Darren’s act and the surrounding groups of people said they couldn’t hear most of Darren’s set.

Not at his best but still very funny and still totally original and above all very likeable.  Loved his new polly bag joke but don’t want to spoil it Go and see him

==Break==

The next act Poppy & Aurora’s driver got lost in Edinburgh and had turned up over 2 hours late.  It happens to the best of us but they had let me know 2 hours earlier they were running late so it was good as I could factor it into the show and having moved them into the second half no one was any the wiser and  this gave me the chance to talk to the table who were causing all the problems.  Normally speaking it’s a simple case of asking people to leave, however, this table was different…It was my family & family friends.  The only person who was loving them was the bar staff who made a tidy profit J  So with the message passed on in not the politest manner the final burlesque act had arrived.

Poppy & Aurora burlesque performers

Poppy and Aurora gave a double act which was high energy and very impressive.  Both girls looked fantastic and performed well.  The highlight of the act was the head cartwheel between Poppy’s legs. The act was performed flawlessly and the lateness was forgiven.  I’d have them back

Scott Gibson – comedian

Scott Gobson, Scott Gibson, Scott Gibson.  It’s a name you’ll not forget.  Ray had spoken about Amsterdam and Scott Picked it up with 10 minutes of material I’d never heard before.  The crowd were literally eating out the palm of his hand.  His story of the blocked toilet is performed to perfection and the audience weren’t laughing, they were crying.  Glasses steamed up and people had to leave the room because of sore sides.  My brother spends a lot of time at comedy clubs and has only ever earmarked 2 comedians for fame and fortune.  The first was Kevin Bridges and the second was Scott Gibson.

All that was left was to announce the act of the night which was the easiest decision we’ve had.

ACT OF THE NIGHT SCOTT GIBSON

Assistants

Cupcake – She’s our burlesque assistants, stage manager, raffle girl, facebook sign-up assistant, my assistant and god knows what else she does.  This is the second time she’s worked with us and she get’s the same review from everyone she interacts with.  “Cupcake…She’s brilliant, we love her!” I won’t giver her real name in case anyone steals her.  But she was an absolute star on the night.

Duncan Fredrick Hamilton – The tallest photographer in the universe

Special Thanks

Chris Matthews – What a star! Chris txt me a week before the event to say he was coming with his wife’s uncle.  I thought that was a bit weird and asked him if he could bring anyone else as our numbers were struggling.  He txt to say 6 people were coming, the 6 became 8, the 8 became 10 and on the night when the phone went I couldn’t look at it for fear.  The message arrived, “I need 15” He’s possibly the best audience member of all time.  Not only did he bring a crowd, he also won the joke contest with the joke, “There’s 3 things I hate about fat people…their chins”  If you’re looking for anyone to do balloons, DJ or provide a mobile bar.  Get in contact with Chris Matthews.  One of the nicest guys you could meet.

Jen & Elle from Forward Fitness Glasgow.  Elle & Monkey took care of the door and Jen brought in a crowd of 10 people for a second time.  They also provided us with a raffle prize of 2 free tickets to pilates lessons.  If you haven’t been to pilates lessons I used to think it was a bunch of women breathing – hell no.  It’s fun but it’s a hell of a workout.  I go to their classes on a Saturday Morning and it’s tough but the rewards are amazing.  So yeah, sign up

Belinda. I met Belinda at my wee brothers 21^st birthday party and it became apparent she was a big magic fan.  She’s also got amazing eyes and a really distinctive laugh so when she said she was coming I was really excited.  She brought 8 people with her.  The more people you bring – the more love you get from me J

Barry’s 30^th Birthday Party.  One of my lovely facebook friends Hannah decided to treat Barry to a night of Enterteasement and he turned up with a lovely group even though one of his friends had broken his hand.

Suzie & Dell – Haven’t seen these guys for ages so thanks for coming and bringing your friends

Denise and Tara.  I attended the same comedy course as Denise which was a pleasure and a shame as is so incredibly funny it made me feel totally incompetent.  Luckily she’s left the world of comedy to perform Street Poetry.  I was lucky to attend her first show and it was AMAZING.  She goes under the name of Gracey Flair and watch this space as it’s one to watch.

If I’ve forgotten anyone I appologise

Please join us on facebook/enterteasement & add facebook/chris.dinwoodie for more information or email woody@topclassmagic.co.uk or send a carrier pigeon over and I’ll get back to you via esp

In front of another packed house, 3 comedians, 3 burlesque dancers, a magician a top compere and an excellent singer took to the stage for our best ever Enter Tease Ment.  Enter Tease Ment really is going from strength to strength and has been described as ‘The best  night in Glasgow’ by some of our fans.  We’re always making small improvements and they are getting bigger and better which wouldn’t be possible without the acts and the audience – THANK YOU!

VIV Gee Compere

The lady who taught Woody stand-up comedy took the helm with her cheeky sexual energy and had the audience in the palm of her hand.  As far as I’m aware Viv hasn’t compered a burlesque night before but her material on the subject was quick and fantastic.  A gentleman in the audience thought he’d try to heckle her but Viv reworded his reply to imply he was there to perve on his daughter do burlesque.  Once the laughter had died down the ice was truly broken and like a true pro Viv calibrated the situation to get the Guy back on side.

Whiskey Blitz Burlesque

The Dark haired beauty was on first and she got the crowd screaming with one of her classic burlesque acts.  I’m told she had a minor problem getting her golden dress off but I didn’t see it myself – very sensual and well received

Tommy Reid Comedian

The man from paisley.  Tommy took to the stage first or should I say the stage took to Tommy. He was suppose to do 10 minutes but due to having to stop for the amount of laughter and applause he ran to almost 15 minutes.  As the organiser of a night this is normally a crime that would annoy people but in all honesty, I was gutted he stopped – couldn’t get enough of him – Hilarious

Second half

By this point, the audience had well and truly settled into the swing of things and with the assistance of our beautiful assistant, Sarah Lumsden, I’m not saying they were drunk but let’s just say they bar made a good profit.  It all got too much for one guest.  The combination of spirits, burlesque dancers and Viv’s six pack got too much for her and she announced she was a proud lesbian – it all became part of the fun.

Favourite Sin Burlesque

Favourite sin’s has The Longest legs in Scottish Burlesque and she wears heels as well – kinda Scary for Allan and myself as we could disappear in her cleavage if we gave her a hug.(I did…and I did)

She opened by taking off her Gloves and producing a stream of red glitter.  She then proceeded to throw out some fake £100 notes in tune with the music and the theme of her act.

Most burlesque acts are relatively short as there can be too much faffing about taking off one’s clothes.  However Favourite Sin has a background in drama and has the art of tease down to a tea.  Her song was long but she held the audience very well.

Grant Gallagher Comedian

The man with the hat.  Grant performed lots of material about his life as a student and the experience of his gap year.  He was well received from the audience especially when he removed his hat to reveal his bald napper .

Allan Park Comedian

Co runner of Enter Tease Ment and the Allan in Woody Allan took to the stage full of confidence.  Allan performed on our first bill and in the last 2 months he’s developed lots of new material.  I was concerned for Allan for 2 reasons.

1)    By the time Allan got on stage the crowd were getting drunker and louder.

2)    Not many people know this but Allan likes shiney things and can often be found picking up anything that shines.  The glitter from Favourite Sin’s act was enough to put him in a frenzie

However, Allan mixed some of his tried and tested material with his new stuff to great effect and held the audience throughout.  This is the best I’ve seen Allan perform and if he continues to improve at the rate he is he has the potential to be one of Scotland’s top comedians.

Lady V

Lady V has new burlesque classes in Airdrie and kindly donated 3 free lessons to our raffle.

Her act was certainly unique, she performed with one of the classic burlesque tools – the parasol.  However, she also performed most of her act on point.  For those of you who aren’t as up to date on your ballet terminology as my good self, On Point is when the dancer performs on their tip toes.  Unfortunately as we were on a small stage I don’t think the majority of the audience grasped this; however, it didn’t take away from her performance and she was received very well from the audience.

Woody the magician (that’s me)

I was going to perform some mindreading but as the crowd were, “a little merry” by this point and we’d had trouble keeping some of the people at the back quiet (someone got thrown out) I decided to go for the tried and tested stuff.  I’ll let you into some sad news as well.  Around 8 years ago I saw a magician perform rope magic for the first time and it totally blew my mind.  He was a magic expert by the name of Alan Hudson.  I could give you a list of reasons why he’s qualified to be called an expert but the fact he thought I was sh*te proves he knows what he’s talking about.  I found out a few hours before the show that he’d passed away the previous day.  So I in a very strange way performed my rope routine to say thanks to him RIP Alan Hodson – you’ll be sadly missed.

Anyway, So I performed a few of my classics and some adult magic and it went OK.  Not my best show but certainly not my worst.  Some of my fond memories were dropping the small rope, something I’ve done on several occasions and picked it up without anyone noticing.  However my partner in crime Allan Park kept signalling over to me it had dropped – sigh.

There was also a girl called Chelsea who I used in my sponge trick, I forgot her name only to see it tattooed on her wrist – result!

Cheryl Risk Singer

Cherly didn’t know about the gig until a few hours before the show when our singer Suzanne McKennzie had been told by the doctors not to sing for a couple of days.  Suzanne still came along to the show and also organised the replacement in Cheryl for us.

Cheryl done fantastically well.  Considering lots of the audience left to get the last train home and we had to wing the levels we done pretty well. The show closed with Valarie which was sung perfectly and many of the audience joined in and had a wee dance.

Act Of The Night

We brought the night to a close by awarding the Act Of The Night to Tommy Reid who not only was hilarious but you couldn’t meet a nicer guy.

Big thanks go to all the raffle prize donators

Jacki Clark  from Scarlet Fever Burlesque booked the burlesque acts and kindly donated 2 tickets for the next Scarlet Fever Burlesque night on September 10^th in O Couture in Glasgow

1 month free of Pilates classes from Forward Fitness Glasgow

2 free tickets to EnterTeaseMent – won by Zahra

3 free burlesque lessons from Lady V

2 Free tickets to Scarlet Fever’s next night “The Travelling Circus” donated by Jackie Clark (September 10,  19:30 - 22:30 O’Couture, 373 Sauchiehall Street Glasgow) Tickets £7 http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=266506686708255

A bag of revels – variety chocolate on a variety night – yeah – we thought of everything!

Our Groupies

Hardcore groupie Yum Yum couldn’t make this show which leaves 3 core members Stephen from negotiate now, Chris Stephen (Ginger comedian) and his lovely girlfriend Debbie.

Big thanks to:

VIV Gee our amazing compere  who dropped her in laws off at the pictures so she could come help out with the gig.  You done everything we asked and so much more J

Paul Rooney – our photographer and doorman who manages to take achieve all numerous roles whilst never being caught going for a fag J

Zahra for bringing such a lovely crowd with her

My sister in Law Sarah who had no idea what burlesque was but told my brother to, “Stop whooping at the acts or I’m leaving”.

James Gough and Stephen who are fans of the show but never like to turn up until near the very end.

Allan Park for the artwork

Jacki from Scarlet fever for booking the acts for me and providing a prize.

Andy from Nevada Base, my favourite indie band in Scotland and his beautiful girlfriend Iona.

Stuart Kerr & Lisa Kerr:  Thanks for bringing a crowd and for  telling the crowd if the show’s sh*t to come and see me J

Chris Beattie and fiancé Lynn We’ve got 2 new regulars it would seem J

Wylie and Bisset folks – I’m sure I saw you but I can’t remember seeing you – sorry.

Chris & Stephen who had a 5 day business meeting but still managed to make it along

Chris Stephen & Debbie Who filled up the front row and even helped untangle the wires when I was stressed out my box J

What we’re working on.

We need a venue where everyone can see & hear the acts and we’ll put measures in place to keep the audience quiet and we’ll look forward to seeing you again at the next Enterteasement.