October Live

If you like live comedy then Brighton is the place to be this month as the Paramount Comedy Festival rolls into the city for two-and-a-bit weeks of laughter and merriment. There's plenty of gigs to enjoy too as we get into the Autumn touring season... Plenty of choice then, so hope to see some of you in the next month! Here's some of the highlights:

01/10 - I saw Sparks live at the Dome long before I started working there, it must have been at least ten years ago and I got to meet them backstage afterwards... tonight they're back promoting their Hello Young Lovers album and I'll be there to check them out again with Gingerbloke - wonder if Ron will crack a smile this time?

03/10 - Fresh from their underwhelming England World Cup anthem, Embrace are at the Dome with support from The Delays. Surprised this one hasn't sold out but I suppose it was a late addition to the band's UK tour.

06/10 - With The Goodies (minus Bill Oddie) raising the curtain on this month's comedy the night before, the Paramount Comedy Festival really kicks into gear on Friday night. The hottest ticket is for Russell Brand in the Corn Exchange, who's subsequently sold out an extra show in the Dome on the 18th. I might check out Laurence & Gus whose Next In Line show is described as "a comedy relay where each sketch features a character from the previous one". Could be interesting.

07/10 - Pick of the today's comedy for me is Richard Herring who's performing his new show Menage A Un at the Corn Exchange. Meanwhile down at the Concorde Evan Dando returns with his newly reformed band The Lemonheads, out on the road touring their new album.

09/10 - It wouldn't be a festival without a sprinkle of comedy genius from Daniel Kitson - he's doing two shows at the Pavilion Theatre for a mere £5. These will be improvised as he hasn't bothered to prepare any material... otherwise you've got Marcus Brigstocke at the Corn Exchange. Well, if you've already bought tickets - he's sold out. And if you'd prefer some music then you can see Stereo MCs soundalikes (come on, their new single sounds exactly like Connected...) The Rapture down at the Concorde.

10/10 - The first of two TV recordings for Paramount, it's the Comedy Blue night at the Corn Exchange. Hosted by Mike Wilmot with special guests from a selection of Carey Marx, Dave Johns, Ed Byrne, Jim Jeffries, Lucy Porter and Scott Capurro. Tickets are FREE from the Box Office at Brighton Dome.

11/10 - One of my gig highlights so far this year was seeing Imogen Heap at the Komedia, and now she's at the Dome and I've got front row tickets! I can't wait!! She's been advertising for a local support act on MySpace so it will be interesting to see who she picks...

12/10 - Will Smith has been one of the most consistently funny comedy performers I've seen in the last couple of years with his previous shows 10 Arguments I Should Have Won and Misplaced Childhood. Now he's back at the Pavilion Theatre with his new show How To Be Cool. I'm expecting another hilarious self-deprecating performance.

13/10 - If you're not sure who to see during the comedy festival then the Best Of The Fest shows at the Dome are always a safe bet. The first dose is hosted by Adam Hills and will include appearances from Frankie Boyle, Phil Nichol, Rhod Gilbert and Russell Howard - and next Friday it's the turn of Alan Carr to host proceedings.

14/10 - Love him or hate him (it's an argument that runs and runs in our office) Ross Noble returns to the Dome for two nights of his new show Fizzy Logic. Meanwhile in the Pavilion Theatre, last night's host Adam Hills has his own show.

15/10 - I'm skipping the comedy shows tonight and heading to the Concorde for the solo show from Manic's frontman James Dean Bradfield.

16/10 - It's a night for the ex-Zero 7 vocalists as Tina Dico plays at the Komedia with support from Sophie Barker. Looking forward to this double-bill!

19/10 - Another must-see for me, it's Mitchell & Webb the stars of Channel 4's Peep Show. This will be the opening night of their first major UK tour and I believe it's going to take the form of sketches from their current hit and miss BBC show That Mitchell & Webb Look so not too sure whether it will quite live up to expectations... the show is sold out but they will be back at the Dome again in December.

21/10 - It's the last night of the Paramount Comedy Festival and the big draw this evening is Jimmy Carr who's performing an early and late show at the Dome.

24/10 - Getting back to music again we've a run of shows in the Corn Exchange starting with The Automatic who I saw earlier in the year at the Concorde. Really like their current single Recover so will probably check them out again once I've finished working.

25/10 - Was thinking of seeing Boy Kill Boy at the Corn Exchange, but looks like I've had a better offer - so should hopefully be seeing Keane at Brighton Centre instead. Under The Iron Sea is one of my most played CDs at the moment, although I can't take Crystal Ball seriously since Rich told me that he and his workmates all sing "lick my balls" when it's playing at Music Zone...

28/10 - It's a special one-off Halloween show at the Dome for local favourites The Go! Team. I missed their gig at the Corn Exchange at the start of the year, so will try and check them out this time around.

29/10 - The Guillemots are next in line at the Corn Exchange...

30/10 - Our final Corn Exchange concert this month sees The Fratellis here touring their Costello Music album. Like their singles so will give them a look I think.

31/10 - Razorlight play at the Brighton Centre. I'm not a big fan (not even a little fan) of their music, but I do like The Like who are supporting, so make sure you get there early and check them out if you're going along.