Andrew J. Lederer

went to sarah bennetto's storytellers' club last night.

on the tube home, sat with ava vidal, while others from the show, who had left separately, sat close-by with tom bell.

i found tom's group visually interesting; people of significantly different sizes and looks, one of whom had bright pink/red hair.

and tom himself is interesting-looking.

he said onstage that people think he looks like the "joined-together" guy" in "the corpse bride" and he does, which implies a deathly pallor but actually he has real color in his face; ruddy cheeks in a kind-of vertical, rather than the more common circular pattern.

what else have i got to think notice/think about on the tube, especially after a few wines? (ava was interesting too.)

still without a computer to call his own,
andrew

at the world's end in camden town, probably as i was standing right next to it.

diversion crime, i think the officer called it.

also in the bag was my phone charger, so for the time being, i'm to a great extent incommunicado.

more when possible.

andrew

with Pappy's Fun Club, Terry Saunders and Earl Okin -- Spread the Word!

An Evening Standard Critic's Choice/Top 5 pick.

Guests on 21 Sep. include if.comeddie award nominees, Pappy's Fun Club, telling a four-man story, Terry Saunders, and Earl Okin.

Tickets available online at http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=235356&interface=etcetera

A great way to start the Day of Atonement!

apparently thinks it's okay to lie down, stretched across an entire couch, in a coffee house.

i don't think i've ever been in a place with more broken/unhinged toilet seats than the uk.

i'm staying with apologized because it was too cold and he had to close the windows and turn on the heat. but he wanted to know why i like it so cold. can he not know that i keep the windows open, not because i like the cold, but so that i can breathe?

he closed all the windows.

and lit a cigar.

then reopened his loft window a crack.

but it was not enough.

near where i've been staying.

i was going to jaywalk when i saw him and i considered not jaywalking but i didn't think that london was one of those cities where they get you for jaywalking, so i started to cross the street right in front of him when, suddenly, he asked me to come to him.

at least that's the way i remember it.

but he didn't say anything about jaywalking. he wanted to know if i was involved with drugs.

according to him, i saw him and then ducked behind a bus shelter and put something in my left pocket.

in fact, (before the jaywalking thing) i didn't see him and ducked behind a bus shelter to put my foot up on its bench and re-tie my shoes. i also put my cell phone into my pocket.

the cop (are they called that here? are they bobbies? patrolmen? constables?) didn't believe me when i told him i had re-tied my shoes because a few days earlier i'd seen guys spraying insecticide along the path i'd be walking i didn't want the loops of my laces to touch the bug spray-poisoned sidewalk.

now, why wouldn't a guy accept a reasonable explanation like that?

he made me show what was in my pocket.

it's good to know that london police officers (i actually mean this) are on the job.

tonight, i headlined at laughing horse, oxford circus (shouldn't it really be called laughing horse, carnaby street?) and enjoyed myself thoroughly, as did the crowd (of 6),

no gig scheduled tomorrow, which means i theoretically don't have to leave the house.

i wonder if i can get through the day without spending any money.

see here: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/comedy/article-23412029-details/Critic%27s+choice%3A+top+five+comedy+shows/article.do

and also a Time Out pick: http://www.timeout.com/london/comedy/events/513262/andrew_j_lederer-talks_to_you.html

Tonight, I'm not doing the "Anthology" storytelling show with guests, rather an hour called "Andrew J. Lederer Talks to You", which is a (somewhat one-sided) improvised conversation between comedian and audience. I made an event page the show but the ticket-buying link on that page is wrong. It's actually http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=235357&interface=etcetera. Here is the event page -- http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=18970173792.

Like "Anthology", the show is at the Etcetera Theatre, 265 Camden High St, NW1 7BU, above the Oxford Arms. (Here's a map: http://www.timeout.com/london/map.php?event_id=513262)

But there is a DIFFERENT START TIME. Tonight's show starts at 8:30 pm.

I hope some of you can come.

Andrew

due to one too many event invitations. nobody contacted me to say that but the timing made it obvious.

perhaps it speaks to the rightness of their decision that i can't figure out who's gone. still, is promotional e-mail (which is what we're discussing, really, since facebook users are alerted to messages via e-mail) that much of a nuisance in the modern era?

not in my experience.

for instance, i use gmail as the interface for all my accounts, as it has a great spam filter. i have but to scan the spam folder to make sure good mail hasn't been misunderstood (it usually hasn't), then, with the click of a mouse button, i can delete everything in the folder. messages sent via facebook and its ilk are not treated as spam, since i may want to see some of them, but when the subject or sender is uninteresting to me, i simply ignore then -- i never even open them.

so, what's so annoying or intrusive about promotional email?

it says more about the receiver than about the (as we've demonstrated) low-impact messages that he or she is so exercised by this minor nuiscance that squelching it becomes a major -- and genuinely distracting -- priority. these are people who are naturally inclined toward being irritated.

hell, it's not as if i wouldn't like to be above the fray and not have to push my shows or be so eminent that people clamor to be apprised of my offerings.

but that's not where i'm at.

i have to inform as many people as possible of my appearances 'cause i can't risk not reaching someone who might be interested.

so, with that in mind, please consider coming to tonight's "anthology" storytelling programme at the etcetera theatre, above the oxford arms in camden town.

guests will be matt crosby, sajeela kershi, gary colman, elise harris, and luke roberts of the gently progressive behemoth. (ray peacock is sick.)

show's at 9:30. tickets are £7.50.

there. that wasn't that hard, was it? (of course, it wasn't e-mailed.)

in the holland park area for rosh hashonnah services.

according to its literature, it's the only synagogue in the uk that offers a traditional turkish/balkan service.

well, i grew up in an ashkenazic synagogue (and a non-orthodox one to boot), so they ween't my liturgical customs. but i felt comfortable there just the same as the words of the prayers often familiar and the overall sound was, well, jewish.

i loved what were, to me, englishy touches like some of the elders wearing top hats.

and i was exhillerated by the notion of "duelling shofars" (rams horns played like bugles).

so, having happily done my new year's duty and all but certain i would now be inscribed in the book of life, i reentered the harsh, secular world to find, while shopping at boots, that i had lost a fiver.

now, this, on top of the rounds of drinks they force you to buy around here, whether you can afford to or not, and the constant topping-up of the mobile phone and the expense of the tubes was a crushing blow, causing me to question my luck. (and who knows? maybe i haven't been inscribed in the book of life.)

also, now i can't afford stuff i was gonna buy today.

and it's all transport for london's fault.

y'see, when i purchased my oyster card in july, they didn't give me the holder that's supposed to come with it, which i typically use as a wallet and which i thought would replace the one i'd lost in december.

in the interim i'd been checking my pockets frequently, fearful loose money would be pulled out and lost when i reached for other items.

well, my fear was not unfounded.

that day has come.

but i don't expect tfl to make me whole again. i'll just have to suck it up and suffer my heightened pauperdom somewhat gladly.

although they did give me a black holder thing when i went down and asked after discovering my loss. i wasn't gonna let that loose, lost, money thing hit me again anytime soon.

of course, now i don't have any paper to put in the thing.

but i'm prepared.

and again i had no one to celebrate with.

in this city of some 250,000 jews, it seemed there was not a single plate of gefilte fish with my name on it.

here at the kitchen and pantry.

when i got here the place was filled with beautiful mothers, beautiful older women, beautiful younger women, beautiful black women, beautiful foreign women . . .

now a second wave may have begun.

and tobacco smoke and it's been making me sick.

yet other people live on it.


there's another storytelling show at the etcetera tonight at 9:30 with martin white, chris neill, peter buckley hill, and more. 5 quid if you demand that price. (otherwise, £7.50.)

etcetera theatre
265 camden high street
london nw1 7bu

phone: 020 7482 4857

I've been concerned about my storytelling show on the 11th because I arranged it too late to get in any listings and also about the early shows in general, so I've decided to offer a discount to readers of my blog and selected others for the "Anthology" shows on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 11th and 12th.

The discounted price will be £3.50 on the 11th and £5 on the 12th with the code "I thought this was supposed to be £____ (state appropriate ticket price here)."

Storytellers on the 11th include Abi Roberts, Mackenzie Taylor, and Gareth Berliner. The 12th features Martin White, Peter Buckley Hill and Chris Neill.

Coming on the 15th, we'll have Ray Peacock and Matt Crosby. And on the 21st, Pappy's Fun Club, Earl Okin, and Terry Saunders

I know there are more "marquee" names in the later shows, but these shows are always good and you'll be doing me a favor if you come to the early ones. (In return, I'll be doing you a favor by making them cheaper. The later shows are £7.50.)

All the performances are at 9:30 pm at the Etcetera Theatre, 265 Camden High Street, London NW1 7BU. Phone: 020 7482 4857

Hope to see you.

Andrew

but i can't watch it because he has it laterally stretched to fit his wide screen -- it's not a hard day's night, it's some stretchy thing.

perhaps appropriately, the film seems to have been speeded up (i'm listening) to fit its time slot.

the other day and excitedly told me he'd seen me perform in camden once and i was terrific. (and that was a year ago.)

said he'd come to one of my etcetera theatre shows. (we'll see.)

then, last night, i was at joe allen's with a couple of friends and, after i chatted with her for a while, the girl who seemed to be running the place wiped a round of drinks off our tab.

it's kinda like, even though i don't have money, i was able to contribute twenty-two pounds to the proceedings. (she gave me her chips, too.)

wednesday night, i hung out with john gordillo, wandering around the bayswater area, lighting periodically upon stairs and other inviting perches.

i, of course, solved his personal problems quickly (well, we talked about our lives, anyway), enabling us to move on to discussions about comedy and broadcasting and the influential greats of yesterday and today.

also, we saw (or i did, anyway) orlando bloom and maybe natalie portman coming out of a richard branson bowling party.

thursday, hung with debra frances-white at the soho theatre. (where else would entertainment-types like us hang out?)

meanwhile, it seems tim colman's fine efforts have gotten my upcoming "andrew j. lederer talks to you" a recommendation star from time out london. (online, anyway.)

i hope enough people come to the various etcetera shows to keep zena from regretting she booked them.

will draw a few people, i think,

or would, if they were listed in time out.

but, though i sent the relevant information early monday -- before deadline -- yesterday, i began to fear the shows would not make the listings cut.

this fear began to grow into a panic when i checked the time out site and, though listings were theoretically available for the days of my shows, the shows were not listed. i knew i needed help, and fast, so i called tim colman, one of the guys who produced "phone book live" at the green room, and asked him to employ his expertise on my behalf.

though we still might not make next week's time out, in only an hour or so, tim had put a tremendous amount of promotional spin into play. no matter what happens, i appreciate his efforts and i think they might actually pay off.

these are the titles, dates and times of the shows. i hope some of you can come:

at the Etcetera Theatre
265 Camden High Street
London NW1 7BU --

Andrew J Lederer: Anthology

A changing array of top comedians tell stories from their lives, straight, without the artifice and stylization of conventional stand-up. Curated and hosted by Andrew J. Lederer Storytellers include Martin White, John Gordillo, Ray Peacock, Pappy's Fun Club, Matt Crosby, Terry Saunders, Earl Okin and many more. A Time Out (New York) Pick. Official Edinburgh Fringe Award-Winner. **** 'Thoroughly entertaining comedy' ThreeWeeks. Presented in association with The Green Room. (For more information, go to myspace.com/anthologypage.)

11, 12, 15 21 September 2007 at 9:30pm

tickets £7.50

ticketweb
BOOK ONLINE HERE

Andrew J Lederer Talks To You

A (somewhat one-sided) improvised conversation between comedian and audience. "Taking few cues from the ho-hum ba-dum-pum punch of some stand-up, Andrew J. Lederer is a conversationalist comedian with a shifting rhythm all his own." The Onion **** 'Whismically prismatic' ThreeWeeks. 'Extremely funny ... highly insightful' Stage. 'A fascinating man' "An eloquent, thoughtful and witty performer." Chortle "Possesses a wry erudition that could turn the dullest dinner party into the social event of the decade" Metro. Presented in association with The Green Room. For more information, visit myspace.com/anthologypage.

16 September 2007 at 8:30pm

tickets £ 7.50

ticketweb
BOOK ONLINE HERE

Andrew J Lederer: Every Day I Write The Book

What you be willing to give up to get what you want? For New York comedian Andrew J. Lederer', it turned out to be just about everything. On a ride through the theme park of hard times, sometimes the only solace in living each day is that you're writing your own story. Direct from the Edinburgh Fringe for one night only. "Like all great raconteurs, we actively enjoy hearing about his suffering, which becomes our entertainment because his ability to tell enthralling comic stories is innate." -- Chortle Produced in association with The Green 'Room.

For more information, go to myspace.com/anthologypage.

22 September 2007 at 9:30pm

tickets £7.50

ticketweb
BOOK ONLINE HERE

talkin' to cal by the time i left the store. it was good to see her but i just couldn't stick around anymore. i needed to eat and the magicians on stage were just not sending me.

so, i left all the people previously named behind (steve bennett and brett vincent were also on there but were previously unmentioned) and went with elise harris to kfc, which was physically grimy but unexpectedly good.

then i got stuck on the strike-crippled tube to nowhere while cal made his first-ever visit to the phoenix without me. (probably good that i left though, 'cause it shows i have a life beyond the hang -- or implies it, even if it isn't so.)

today, there was another chance encounter as we sipped theoretically exotic drinks at a cuban place and cal noticed that tony law was sitting in front of a neighboring establishment. (as a new yorker, i love the small town encounters that are strangely typical in a big city.)

my gig at laughing horse camden was cancelled because of the strike. (that sucks.)

don't know what i'm gonna do tonight.

over by the bar.

started drinking -- and having significant discussions -- but also drinking -- at the albany with leon and cal around noon. anil joined us about 2:30.

left for john park's fringe report gathering around 5:30 and just happened to run into jessica delfino, chris brodeur, the trachtenburgs and steven of the green room -- some of whom joined us at the fringe report soiree -- as we strolled through soho toward the event. lawrence leung walked by as we were talking to them. (it's like our whole world has shifted to london.)

some of us snuk into tiffany stevenson's charity event at the store by walking in behind reginald d. hunter. (probably wasn't a worthy charity anyway. . . . i hope.)

reg says he likes me with facial hair.

ava vidal saw me as we walked in and planted a kiss right on my mouth. (validation.)

reg is on right now.

tomorrow, i'm at laughing horse, camden. (comparable?)

did well in richmond last night. (redeemed myself after last year's failure.)

life is (kinda) sweet.

at laughing horse, richmond. i'm just recovering from a sickness apparently brought on by an angus burger from the picadilly circus burger king.

boy, unlike mcdonald's, burger king has not maintained its quality on this side of the atlantic. (scoff if you want, but mcdonald's has great quality control.) my life force is returning to me, though, which is good, 'cause i gotta do a set.

last year, i did a bunch of laughing horse gigs after edinburgh and richmond was the only one where i did less than great. (in fact, i did badly.) this year, perhaps due to lack of confidence in me following that gig, i was booked into far fewer laughing horse rooms.

but the first one i'm doing is the very one where i wasn't good.

where's the logic there?

i get a chance to redeem myself, though.

i'll letcha know if i do.

i've heard from a second "scout" for the perrier/if.comeddie awards who confirms that the decision-makers don't listen to their recommendations. as i've said before, if scouts is ignored as a matter of policy, they are not scouts, they are a potemkin village, built for show.

i don't think the awards have to consider everybody but they pretend they do and so, as judged against their own expressed intentions, the awards are (again, as i've said before) bogus.

that doesn't mean brendan burns didn't have the best show of the year or that he doesn't deserve his award. but let the award authorities acknowledge that the winners are the best of the pre-selected and unexpectedly buzzed-about, but not of everybody.

i know some may think it hubristic for me to be harping on this, said hubris built upon a foundation of delusional self-importance leading to a sense of betrayal.

fair enough.

but back to scouts --

i'm now at elise harris' show at the ship in borough and a just for laughs scout is in the crowd. i did a spontaneous, weird, sleep-deprived set that actually pleased me a bit (though it might not have thoroughly pleased the audience).

i was followed, after a while, by a funny gay guy with props and music and the scout seemed to thoroughly enjoy this thoroughly enjoyable fellow, but seemed to have a hard time making eye contact with me as he left for the interval.

if he liked that other guy but not me, he's an idiot, unworthy of his job. (i wanted to end on that but he's been sitting in back of me talking while i've been writing this and he seems like a real nice guy.)

hey -- here's big news! two fans of this blog came up to me at tonight's show.

end of post.