"Knee-length blazer"?? That is a '50s-style drape jacket as worn by the Teddy Boys and a nod to his own comedy hero Ted Chippington who used to wear one on stage. Can't BELIEVE you didn't know that...
Basic Lee in Kingston upon Thames was interesting. The ending was better and slightly different than the Lowry version, and different and slightly better. As well as being slightly better and different. And I liked it. But then I am a genuis, and our audience doesn't need everything explained in fine detail like you do in the north.
I showed up only slightly late to a Stewart Lee gig once, and the stewards were under order to hold us back till he'd done his first few jokes so that the late comers entered the room at the exact moment he needed them to. That's how heavily structured his shows are.
I mean, the start time is given on the ticket, the website and if you phone them up they'll also tell you down the phone into your ear. Yet. There you were. Late. 🙂
I was actually surprised (unless I missed it) that he left out something from when I saw him: after doing some crowd work he mentions that he's become that good that he can make something entirely planned seem spontaneous, that he has blueprints that can be applied to basically any interaction, which I felt lent to the overall theme. As an autistic person myself I read this as being a metaphor for masking/constantly attempting to indulge in new things before inevitably assuming comfortable routines.
I've had better full-belly laughs from other comedians, but of all the comedy "bits" I remember and think about long afterwards, a lot of them are Stewart Lee bits.
I went to see it in London at the start of the year. We had a conversation about comics in the middle of the show and I got an applause because I’m a genius
Great review, I’ve watched it 4-5 times and though it’s excellent (I particularly liked his version of crowd work in this one), I had similar feelings in regard to material being recycled. The overall message being too concealed in this special I agree with, as until now I hadn’t ever considered the neuro-divergent diagnosis stuff as being anything grounded in reality, but now you’ve pointed out the potential meaning of those cut-aways I think I might need to rewatch it through that lens as clearly I didn’t get it. “Don’t come and see me if you don’t know what anything is.” PS: Not sure how you’d go about reviewing it but Sam Campbell - Companion is fantastic.
Even the message I pulled out of it was after really trying to analyse and think about it. It’s very very ambiguous. Glad you agree, there’s always a fear I missed something haha Sam Campbell is a great shout! Was thinking of talking about Eric Andre’s special ‘Legalise Everything’ and what makes good absurdist/surreal comedy. Campbell is a great example of an absolute oddball who delivers insane comedy while understanding how jokes work. Appreciate the comment ;)
@@ComedyWithoutErrors Wtf are you two talking about -- "The Message"? It's fucking comedy -- that's tge message. Lee must be chuckling away at dorks like you. As Dylan (and some others) have said, "What people get from my music is nothing to do with me".
His joke about there being "no point writing jokes about Sunak, he wont be around long enough. It would be like trying to befriend a disposable barbecue" got me so good I spat coffee across the room. Always a risk having any liquids around while watching Lee
The number of people who seem to spit drinks out at RUclips videos is ridiculously high. I can't wait for the inevitable Stewart Lee bit calling out all these people who seem to spit fluids out at a joke, and then have everyone claim they never said they did that. Nobody does that, no you didn't spit out your coffee.
@@Skippymabob yeah we all have mate but the frequency of the claim would have you believe that people watch comedy with a permanent mouth full of coffee, it's always coffee too isn't it for some reason, never beer, never sprite or peach kombucha is it? The bigger likelihood is that people are just parroting a thing they've heard others say. I've probably actually spit drink out from being caught off guard less than 10 times in my entire life and it's usually not when im watching comedy shows or stand-up, because i sort of expect to laugh when im watching those. Do you not expect to laugh when you watch comedians doing comedy?
honestly, i found the jazz bit beautiful, it felt less "just repeating a phrase until it becomes funny" and more like a person digging themselves in a hole, no one is pushing back but he keeps "haggling" with an imaginary audience also i think the "you fed them those berries" is a reference to his old joke about his grandfather feeding crisps to his old army buddies and them all dying?, its pretty much the same joke with a different noun but with no setup
Oh wow I didn’t think of that. Did it work for you as a finale? The jazz bit was my favourite part of the show. It reminded me a bit of him smacking the mic on the stand in 41st Best but with more play and musicality. Thanks for the comment :)
you fed them all those berries is metaphor for that old man, that stop thinking because he knows he feed all those poison on their friends, on the youngin.
@@ComedyWithoutErrors Ah lad, come on now, he's done that berry joke since forever. No offence but I think you'd be better off doing reaction videos rather than these in-depth, Team-B-ass critiques.
i think it's more simple, everything is reference to what audience think it would reference of. "you fed them those berries" => the ingmar bergman death guy. he made his fans that often analyzed his bit obsessively, sidetracked by the improvized jazz bit. it get to the point where you didn't get the laugh, wondering why it is not you that are laughing. "is the jazz metaphor for brexit ?", "is the jazz, simple audience splitting at seated late audience ?". it was just the sound. the simpleton idea i think splitting audience "psychologically" is something recent. fleabag is not just about talking to audience, it's the squirming part. lee is showing how he can do it too better. he pushed it at the last office bit. basically, he split people using "you" , "you all" (is it excluding me ? is it me ? is it them ? ). 1. lee basic fan, those that come alone, watched it alone, maybe has undiagnosed problem. (that's your life isn't it?). 2. those fan who bring others (hedgehog has fallen on it's milk). also the woman. 3. all others imagined the jazz either as laughing at him or laughing at the hedgehog. you should rewatch season 4 last episode again, he basically being inclusive to all audience all this time!! the cackling sycophant
Re: Lee needing to mix things up for his next special, iirc it's a show in which he's a comic book hero fighting something called the Man-Wulf. So i guess he's got you covered there.
Indeed, Stu's next special is titled _STEWART LEE vs THE MAN-WULF_ and there's nothing I'm looking forward to seeing more. From his website: > Lee shares his stage with a tough-talking werewolf comedian from the dark forests of the subconscious who hates humanity.
Thats quite exciting does anyone remember when Lee helped out Baconface do some surprise shows. Shadowed in secrecy. Never got to see one myself but everyone raved about it
This is the best show I've ever seen him do live. The recording missed about 30% of the magic. I was suspicious of everything taking place in the theatre and onstage. I refuse to believe a flickering stage light was an actual technical error, but instead planned psychological warfare.
I was very lucky to see Lee in London one time when there happened to be a huge snow storm, and only half the aidience showed up, and they were just not into it at all. He ended up dropping the whole routine and walked off stage and into the crowd and did the whole next hour just in the audience. And he worked them and worked them until by the last ten minutes everyone was absolutely dying from laughter. It was an absolute masterclass for me as an aspiring writer. It felt like in a way, having not the immediate live from the audience and then abandoning the material allowed for a absolute raw early club days type of experience.
Basic Lee seemed to be a greatest hits reference album. But looking forward to his new set. Not quite sure how his maybe autism matches up with his always manning the merch desk after his gigs and interacting warmly with his audience
Autism doesn't always mean being crowd & interaction phobic. I have a very gregarious autistic friend. His issue is obsession with specific topics 'du jour' which he will repeat relentlessly to anyone who will listen (and also to those who don't).
As a jazz fan I enjoyed the jazz bit, if only because all the references are extremely accurate (except for ending a piece with a diminished 7th chord)
I see Basic Lee as a retrospective piece, a clever best-of mixtape of various pieces from his career and a their recontextualization. Therefore I didn’t see the familiar routines as disappointing due to a lack of novelty, but rather as a thankful reestablisment. (Also, I have impaired memory, so I get a feeling of curious surprise even in a yesterday’s weather forecast.)
He's utterly peerless. He is to comedy, what Radiohead are to music. Considered pretentious by some. Recognised as the greatest by their contemporaries.
Seeing him live makes a big difference. I've always liked his stuff, but when you see him live it's almost as if he's doing all of it just for that audience on that night, even though you know that's bollocks. And he gives it to you straight...
I saw this live in Sheffield and the audience members turning up late was part of the routine, as was the empty chairs as Lee riffed with someone sitting next to the empty chair about who was supposed to be there. I suspect the chairs were left deliberately empty for this reason.
I have listened to the new special many times... Highlighting its strength! I try to pass through the 10 minute 'jazz in your head' bit now. None of the rest of it. I love the 'good night' bit!
The more i watch it, the better it gets. And it was very good on the first viewing. I think it's his best yet. "Don't come and see me if you don't know what anything is" 😂
Yep, at least that's my take on it. Have you watched King Rocker? There's a part in it where he's standing outside the same place. Making that film brought him back to the place for the first time since he was a tiny baby. He jokes how he's found himself using this devastating moment only as an emotional set piece for the film instead of dealing with the weight of the reality of it.
Glad to hear someone felt similarly. I thought Carpet Remnants was almost the peak of his career, with Content Provider being the polish of that. But after that, it got a bit too familiar, and a bit opaque. The Thatcher/Scooby Doo/Chicken routine from Carpet Remnants made my face ache from laughing and being so immersed.
I first met Stewart Lee at my local sperm bank. He emerged from the cubical cup in hand and passed me his copy of Razzle. He recommended a story in the readers wives section. He said it had hidden depths, duality of meaning, and a plot twist that he didnt see coming until he did.
He realised we all watch short clips on RUclips, so could do a set basically about his old routines. I did see this live and the recorded version is much more complete.
As a comedian who does material about autism (although in my case, very openly), and takes a lot of inspiration from Lee, this show resonated with me on an incredibly deep level. Although, I see how someone without autism or at least an understanding of neurodiversity, could see the show as a series of disconnected ramblings. Conversely, for this reason, I actually really liked the "Imagine Jazz" routine. I think sometimes, as comedians we can fall into the trap of writing jokes purely for ourselves or at least people like us, not realising that not everyone will be able to empathise with our experiences. I'm still trying to find that balance between doing jokes about autism, and making my comedy relatable to audiences. It's an interesting challenge 😂
I loved this show. Anything the man does is a joy for me. Yet having seen similar routines, with similar pacing and similarly predictable audience deprecation bits for years now, I'm ready to see something very different.
Thought it was good but not great. But I don’t think we should always expect every show needs to improve on the last one - he is a content provider doing a two hour show every couple of years, and they are consistently high quality. That’s all he needs (to pay his mortgage) and it’s all we need (to keep us engaged). He’s like a jazz musician churning out albums who has mastered the business of his craft, rather than an experimental artist always pushing the boundaries.
V. good essay. I saw (+ reviewed) the show in its original Leicester Square Theatre run, and by the time he'd filmed it, the show had got substantially better than the version critics reviewed. The second half used to have more (and worse) lengthy joke-light passages that were clearly later abandoned. As a fan for almost two decades, too much of both versions of the show was old material. Without exaggeration I must've seen that Jehovah's Witness bit live 15 times by now. Abandoning it early during the filming was a best case scenario. When I saw him live two months ago, he was still doing the full routine, and people were still laughing. Basic rule of comedy: if you've put out/released material, stop including it in your sets. I'd argue this is still the case if you abandon a routine halfway through. That message board comment you highlighted may indeed have it. I think his river of great comic writing runs quite a bit drier nowadays, and his skill as a performer/improvisor only partly succeeds in making up for it. Even if he never recaptures his earlier magic, we'll still always have an astonishing 15ish year golden era to cherish.
I watched a pirated version here on RUclips with half a dozen ad breaks I couldn't tell for sure if they overwrote portions of the show either way, _I_ didn't get it
I started to feel the familiarity around 2017 and drifted away....and then came back and started to see things in those earlier works that made the present exciting again. I really rated Snowflake/Tornado as it goes. Looking into his act forensically is good, but also I think I learned a few things about where he's drawing from in terms of influence that helped guide me through some of the bits I previously didn't quite get.
Lmao I must admit the jazz meandering at the end of the special was my favourite bit, was even better live, just couldn’t stop laughing, ironically from what I remember when I saw it, he was still working the special out at the Leicester Square theatre and the jazz bit was like twice as long as it ended up being in the recording xD
If you want to know how quick Stewart Lee is, the bit in this show about his special being cancelled due to the Queen’s death and watching the film that was put in its place (not mentioning more details for spoilers about the punchline which is in this great video essay)…. He wrote it during the first weekend after her death and perform it the week after her death. I know because I was there at the Bill Murray’s Comedy club with a crowd of 30 people at his first performance during that week, with him having to check his notes and hands as he work the first draft and tried a joke about where he was when the Queen’s death was announced which was so dark he paused the routine to admit that he will properly never say that joke again (It was very dark 😂) And what was amazing was seeing it still in the show on his tour’s last week performances at the national theatre on the Southbank in a stage with 1000s of people, and that the person in front of me was also at the show at the Bill Murray also in shock that we had seen the first performance of material created by Stewart Lee. Also I cried during the first performance when I released it was an opening admission on him realising his Autism Spectrum Disorder (as someone with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD it really touched me, and he later changed during the tour of saying ASD to a more open and vague “neurodivergent” term to keep the vagueness of his diagnosed and I think you are right that he wants it to be vague and hidden), and given what has happened in his private life, it’s the most open he has been as a performer.
I think the jazz bit may actually be a case of trying to take the bit beyond its bounds. I found it deeply enjoyable when I saw it the first time (live), and genuinely did try to imagine my own jazz. As a result, the toppers about the kind of jazz we were to imagine were riffs on what I was imagining. When I rewatched it, I didn't bother trying to imagine my own jazz and, like you, zoned out a bit. At the risk of sounding too much like a Stewart Lee fan, it does feel like his bit about "having to put the work in" as an audience. Which is interesting as a kind of comedy experiment, but can have diminishing returns. In the end, comedy should be entertainment.
Very much take your points about the fact that it is like a parody of a Stewart Lee bit, and that he doesn't actually continue as if the audience is imagining jazz. It does feel somewhat out of place.
The prince andrew bit also evokes Princess diana setup and Scooby doo routien getting people to go on and imagine that reality. Again retreading his older material
I find Limmy very similar to Lee in this sense - both absolute geniuses who have sought out neurodivergent diagnosis, but struggled to reconcile with what it might mean for them (and maybe their career) if they are diagnosed with ADHD and/or ASD
Listening to Stewart Lee I am his political enemy & perhaps not even welcome to his gigs (I have been to many). But I still recognise him as the greatest stand-up of all time, including all American stand-ups & can enjoy his work.
Lee carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He gets how totally broken and pointless it is, with its endless suffering, and has decided that while he cannot fix it, he will do everything in his power to make the biggest possible contribution to helping the rest of us laugh our woes away from time to time. However, in an altruistic sense, he does not want to take any praise or credit for it. So he does it in the role of a thoroughly unlikable character.
The whole last bit of the show seems to me to be about his famous quip that his shows are more like jazz than comedy. I agree with you that the whole thing seemed a but less innovative… more like a distilled version of his previous work. Fair enough, with his mortgage and doctors’ bills and all.
Nice analysis. Well observed, the 'imagined jazz' bit did drag. The familiarity observation is insightful 'gradually reducing the quality of his own obituary' sadly. You didn't dwell on his self-critique in the voice of one of his fans is vintage Lee "you should go and see him"..."after you've seen him 15 times... " for me, it reduced his 'contempt for his audience' schtick to a concentrated tincture - medicine or poison. 'blah blah blah, rhythm of a joke' - a meta-comedy one liner. A joke about how formulaic jokes are. Doesn't get much more 'Lee' than that. Maybe the poison berries are an analogy about the way he's alienated other comedians - per a previous bit about wanting to be friends with ... Josh Widdicomb (I think). I'll get back to work now
i never thought of him as a standup - ive always thought of him as a guardian journalist, doing criticism on stage because doing comedian criticism in the guardian is pretty wankery.
The phrase "But doctor, I am Stewart Lee" is a reference to a famous joke and a poignant moment in literature, particularly from a story about the character Pagliacci, a sad clown. The line suggests a deep irony: the clown, who is supposed to make others laugh, is actually feeling profound sadness and despair himself. This line is often used to illustrate the idea that people who appear joyful on the outside may be hiding their inner pain. It underscores themes of mental health and the complexity of human emotions, highlighting that those who entertain others may struggle with their own issues. The phrase is especially known from a joke told by the comedian Louis C.K. and is rooted in the broader cultural understanding of the tragicomic nature of life. So, now you know.
You may realise that, or you may not realise that. None of the critics did. I missed the tour, but have watched it about five times on RUclips in the last few months. I certainly realise it is as good and cleverly structured as his others, but I would, wouldn’t I ? Because I’m a genius.
Yes it’s very good, and the clue of the theme is in the title. He explores lots of comedy tropes and goofs around with them (crowd work). He drives it perfectly. I don’t think it’s a critique of stand up at all, he done that 20 years ago. It’s actually meat and potatoes stuff, just having a little frolic through the art form.
I despised 90s Lee, but modern Lee is brilliant. Interesting how his old stuff works in a new show - seen clips of his okd work and it wasnt the memory cheating for me, it was woeful so....interesting!
He's a genius. And so am I, because I like him.
impeccably reasoned.
I like your comment AND Stewart Lee, so I’m even cleverer.
I am agreeing with you ironically while explicitly observing that I am doing so. This locates me in a realm beyond human achievement.
Which is one of his bit’s.
He is completely self aware of this label & mocks it.
@@jaybot303functionerror4really? I hadn't considered that at all
I never knew I was a genius until I watched Stewart Lee.
"Knee-length blazer"?? That is a '50s-style drape jacket as worn by the Teddy Boys and a nod to his own comedy hero Ted Chippington who used to wear one on stage. Can't BELIEVE you didn't know that...
Goofy af though. Regardless.
It's a blazer expertly chosen to hide the fact that he's now 30 stone. And it does it so well!
It's the velvet trimmings that mark his attire as a "Drape".
That Ted Bovis has let himself go.
@@dgoo8294Goofy ahh, ion even finna.
Basic Lee in Kingston upon Thames was interesting. The ending was better and slightly different than the Lowry version, and different and slightly better. As well as being slightly better and different. And I liked it. But then I am a genuis, and our audience doesn't need everything explained in fine detail like you do in the north.
It's 'different from' not different than. Get thissen to a Northern Grammar school.
Lee loves playing in Kingston.
I showed up only slightly late to a Stewart Lee gig once, and the stewards were under order to hold us back till he'd done his first few jokes so that the late comers entered the room at the exact moment he needed them to. That's how heavily structured his shows are.
I mean, the start time is given on the ticket, the website and if you phone them up they'll also tell you down the phone into your ear. Yet. There you were. Late. 🙂
@@Surv1ve_Thrive The Stewart Lee Stewards have let myself go in.
@@EmperorSmith Ah yes. Blame them. Johnny Come Late Lee.
Were you Ang Lee?
At our local theatre the "Steward Lee's" do a 3 hour Stewart Lee awareness training session to understand the purpose of the theatrical "hold back"...
I was actually surprised (unless I missed it) that he left out something from when I saw him: after doing some crowd work he mentions that he's become that good that he can make something entirely planned seem spontaneous, that he has blueprints that can be applied to basically any interaction, which I felt lent to the overall theme. As an autistic person myself I read this as being a metaphor for masking/constantly attempting to indulge in new things before inevitably assuming comfortable routines.
Same conclusion, and I am not (officially) autistic.
I've had better full-belly laughs from other comedians, but of all the comedy "bits" I remember and think about long afterwards, a lot of them are Stewart Lee bits.
My imaginary black wife says exactly the same
@@highdownmartinnot like my Irish wife.
Imagine how silly it would be if there was a standup called Stan Dupp. That would be fucked. People wouldn’t be able to handle it
The second half of basic Lee (in Salford on my specific night) was genius
Love him. The superior character he plays making everyone feel less than him is so funny in itself
I went to see it in London at the start of the year. We had a conversation about comics in the middle of the show and I got an applause because I’m a genius
Great review, I’ve watched it 4-5 times and though it’s excellent (I particularly liked his version of crowd work in this one), I had similar feelings in regard to material being recycled. The overall message being too concealed in this special I agree with, as until now I hadn’t ever considered the neuro-divergent diagnosis stuff as being anything grounded in reality, but now you’ve pointed out the potential meaning of those cut-aways I think I might need to rewatch it through that lens as clearly I didn’t get it. “Don’t come and see me if you don’t know what anything is.”
PS: Not sure how you’d go about reviewing it but Sam Campbell - Companion is fantastic.
Even the message I pulled out of it was after really trying to analyse and think about it. It’s very very ambiguous. Glad you agree, there’s always a fear I missed something haha
Sam Campbell is a great shout! Was thinking of talking about Eric Andre’s special ‘Legalise Everything’ and what makes good absurdist/surreal comedy. Campbell is a great example of an absolute oddball who delivers insane comedy while understanding how jokes work. Appreciate the comment ;)
I watched it 6-7 times, making me more clever.
@@ComedyWithoutErrors
Wtf are you two talking about -- "The Message"? It's fucking comedy -- that's tge message. Lee must be chuckling away at dorks like you. As Dylan (and some others) have said, "What people get from my music is nothing to do with me".
His joke about there being "no point writing jokes about Sunak, he wont be around long enough. It would be like trying to befriend a disposable barbecue" got me so good I spat coffee across the room.
Always a risk having any liquids around while watching Lee
Yup!!
Sunak, as an unelected foreigner, has many things to joke about.
His ethnicity first and foremost amongst them.
The number of people who seem to spit drinks out at RUclips videos is ridiculously high.
I can't wait for the inevitable Stewart Lee bit calling out all these people who seem to spit fluids out at a joke, and then have everyone claim they never said they did that.
Nobody does that, no you didn't spit out your coffee.
@@howdj have you seriously never done or seen an honest spit take?
@@Skippymabob yeah we all have mate but the frequency of the claim would have you believe that people watch comedy with a permanent mouth full of coffee, it's always coffee too isn't it for some reason, never beer, never sprite or peach kombucha is it? The bigger likelihood is that people are just parroting a thing they've heard others say. I've probably actually spit drink out from being caught off guard less than 10 times in my entire life and it's usually not when im watching comedy shows or stand-up, because i sort of expect to laugh when im watching those. Do you not expect to laugh when you watch comedians doing comedy?
Wait, does this mean that Stewart Lee is actually letting himself go?
*Slobodan Milošević
I quite liked him shouting out The Fall during the jazz bit.
"I wish I was dead Bill Hicks."
honestly, i found the jazz bit beautiful, it felt less "just repeating a phrase until it becomes funny" and more like a person digging themselves in a hole, no one is pushing back but he keeps "haggling" with an imaginary audience
also i think the "you fed them those berries" is a reference to his old joke about his grandfather feeding crisps to his old army buddies and them all dying?, its pretty much the same joke with a different noun but with no setup
Oh wow I didn’t think of that. Did it work for you as a finale? The jazz bit was my favourite part of the show. It reminded me a bit of him smacking the mic on the stand in 41st Best but with more play and musicality. Thanks for the comment :)
you fed them all those berries is metaphor for that old man, that stop thinking because he knows he feed all those poison on their friends, on the youngin.
@@ComedyWithoutErrors Ah lad, come on now, he's done that berry joke since forever. No offence but I think you'd be better off doing reaction videos rather than these in-depth, Team-B-ass critiques.
i think it's more simple, everything is reference to what audience think it would reference of.
"you fed them those berries" => the ingmar bergman death guy.
he made his fans that often analyzed his bit obsessively, sidetracked by the improvized jazz bit. it get to the point where you didn't get the laugh, wondering why it is not you that are laughing. "is the jazz metaphor for brexit ?", "is the jazz, simple audience splitting at seated late audience ?".
it was just the sound. the simpleton idea
i think splitting audience "psychologically" is something recent. fleabag is not just about talking to audience, it's the squirming part. lee is showing how he can do it too better. he pushed it at the last office bit.
basically, he split people using "you" , "you all" (is it excluding me ? is it me ? is it them ? ).
1. lee basic fan, those that come alone, watched it alone, maybe has undiagnosed problem. (that's your life isn't it?).
2. those fan who bring others (hedgehog has fallen on it's milk). also the woman.
3. all others imagined the jazz either as laughing at him or laughing at the hedgehog.
you should rewatch season 4 last episode again, he basically being inclusive to all audience all this time!! the cackling sycophant
Post-punk Bilbo Baggins has let himself go.
I had to scroll too far for this.
Re: Lee needing to mix things up for his next special, iirc it's a show in which he's a comic book hero fighting something called the Man-Wulf. So i guess he's got you covered there.
Indeed, Stu's next special is titled _STEWART LEE vs THE MAN-WULF_ and there's nothing I'm looking forward to seeing more. From his website:
> Lee shares his stage with a tough-talking werewolf comedian from the dark forests of the subconscious who hates humanity.
Thats quite exciting does anyone remember when Lee helped out Baconface do some surprise shows. Shadowed in secrecy. Never got to see one myself but everyone raved about it
This is the best show I've ever seen him do live. The recording missed about 30% of the magic. I was suspicious of everything taking place in the theatre and onstage.
I refuse to believe a flickering stage light was an actual technical error, but instead planned psychological warfare.
'Yeah see ya mate' is also from a Fall song - Cnc-s Mithering - a band he loves.
One of the greats of standing up comedy, equal almost to Sir Jim Davidson (nic, nic, Chalky).
literally just traveling back from my weekly comedy club volunteering, excited about comedy, and needed a stand up video. thank you josh
Richard herrings dad has let himself go
Keith?
I was very lucky to see Lee in London one time when there happened to be a huge snow storm, and only half the aidience showed up, and they were just not into it at all. He ended up dropping the whole routine and walked off stage and into the crowd and did the whole next hour just in the audience. And he worked them and worked them until by the last ten minutes everyone was absolutely dying from laughter. It was an absolute masterclass for me as an aspiring writer.
It felt like in a way, having not the immediate live from the audience and then abandoning the material allowed for a absolute raw early club days type of experience.
Basic Lee seemed to be a greatest hits reference album. But looking forward to his new set. Not quite sure how his maybe autism matches up with his always manning the merch desk after his gigs and interacting warmly with his audience
Autism doesn't always mean being crowd & interaction phobic. I have a very gregarious autistic friend. His issue is obsession with specific topics 'du jour' which he will repeat relentlessly to anyone who will listen (and also to those who don't).
As a jazz fan I enjoyed the jazz bit, if only because all the references are extremely accurate (except for ending a piece with a diminished 7th chord)
Was wondering if a diminished 7th is a dominant 7th that has let itself go.
I see Basic Lee as a retrospective piece, a clever best-of mixtape of various pieces from his career and a their recontextualization. Therefore I didn’t see the familiar routines as disappointing due to a lack of novelty, but rather as a thankful reestablisment. (Also, I have impaired memory, so I get a feeling of curious surprise even in a yesterday’s weather forecast.)
Wow, this articulates so many things about Stewart Leee I'd struggle to put to words very well. Really nice.
He's utterly peerless. He is to comedy, what Radiohead are to music. Considered pretentious by some. Recognised as the greatest by their contemporaries.
You sound insufferable, and so am I cos I love them too.
Radiohead?! The greatest? Which peers?:)
@@timhall3575I think you both misspelled *Aphex Twin
Daniel Kitson has entered the chat.
@@clarseconscious That's now how you spell GWAR.
Seeing him live makes a big difference. I've always liked his stuff, but when you see him live it's almost as if he's doing all of it just for that audience on that night, even though you know that's bollocks.
And he gives it to you straight...
I saw this live in Sheffield and the audience members turning up late was part of the routine, as was the empty chairs as Lee riffed with someone sitting next to the empty chair about who was supposed to be there. I suspect the chairs were left deliberately empty for this reason.
I have listened to the new special many times... Highlighting its strength!
I try to pass through the 10 minute 'jazz in your head' bit now. None of the rest of it.
I love the 'good night' bit!
The more i watch it, the better it gets. And it was very good on the first viewing. I think it's his best yet. "Don't come and see me if you don't know what anything is" 😂
You're missing the filmed parts in which he's standing outside the orphanage where he spent his infanthood. That's the key bit you're looking for.
Is that what that is?! I googled the building and the result I got was a nursing home haha
Yep, at least that's my take on it. Have you watched King Rocker? There's a part in it where he's standing outside the same place. Making that film brought him back to the place for the first time since he was a tiny baby. He jokes how he's found himself using this devastating moment only as an emotional set piece for the film instead of dealing with the weight of the reality of it.
I missed that. I thought he'd just had an abortion and was walking away, depressed
@@BLINDTUBEMARES That would be for the best at his age really. He'd never fully recover, his pelvic floor would be in tatters.
That jumper! Where did you get it from??
Freddie starr has let himself go
Are you going to do a version with added microphone scraping noises?
Glad to hear someone felt similarly. I thought Carpet Remnants was almost the peak of his career, with Content Provider being the polish of that. But after that, it got a bit too familiar, and a bit opaque.
The Thatcher/Scooby Doo/Chicken routine from Carpet Remnants made my face ache from laughing and being so immersed.
Former Danish primeminister Lars Løkke Rasmussen has let himself go…
It's more art than comedy.
It's like jazz... 😂
Yes.. Modern art. Ie pretentious wank.
It was just one man, one microphone. Pure, simple, classic.
I first met Stewart Lee at my local sperm bank. He emerged from the cubical cup in hand and passed me his copy of Razzle. He recommended a story in the readers wives section. He said it had hidden depths, duality of meaning, and a plot twist that he didnt see coming until he did.
really thorough- nicely done mate xx
He realised we all watch short clips on RUclips, so could do a set basically about his old routines. I did see this live and the recorded version is much more complete.
Terry Christian has let himself go
The scene somberly walking away from a care home is mocking the Ricky Gervais show Afterlife.
As a comedian who does material about autism (although in my case, very openly), and takes a lot of inspiration from Lee, this show resonated with me on an incredibly deep level. Although, I see how someone without autism or at least an understanding of neurodiversity, could see the show as a series of disconnected ramblings. Conversely, for this reason, I actually really liked the "Imagine Jazz" routine. I think sometimes, as comedians we can fall into the trap of writing jokes purely for ourselves or at least people like us, not realising that not everyone will be able to empathise with our experiences. I'm still trying to find that balance between doing jokes about autism, and making my comedy relatable to audiences. It's an interesting challenge 😂
I loved this show. Anything the man does is a joy for me. Yet having seen similar routines, with similar pacing and similarly predictable audience deprecation bits for years now, I'm ready to see something very different.
that was a thoughtful critique, appreciated your take
Thought it was good but not great. But I don’t think we should always expect every show needs to improve on the last one - he is a content provider doing a two hour show every couple of years, and they are consistently high quality. That’s all he needs (to pay his mortgage) and it’s all we need (to keep us engaged). He’s like a jazz musician churning out albums who has mastered the business of his craft, rather than an experimental artist always pushing the boundaries.
I live in a shithole and am grateful for the fact that he comes to visit every couple of years…
Great stand up routine, almost equal to Roy Cubby Brown at his best. Another misunderstood stand up genius, threading his comedy throughout.
Roy Cubby Brocolli?
@williamdew7143 Her too.
@@williamdew7143Roy Cubby Broccoli invented Broccoli by crossing a cabbage with a Cauliflower. True story.
@@sargonsblackgrandfather2072 Ah, the old 'Italian asparagus' of yore.
Stewart Lee does well rehearsed improvisation really well. I think he's let himself go.
Totally underrated comedian
V. good essay. I saw (+ reviewed) the show in its original Leicester Square Theatre run, and by the time he'd filmed it, the show had got substantially better than the version critics reviewed. The second half used to have more (and worse) lengthy joke-light passages that were clearly later abandoned.
As a fan for almost two decades, too much of both versions of the show was old material. Without exaggeration I must've seen that Jehovah's Witness bit live 15 times by now. Abandoning it early during the filming was a best case scenario. When I saw him live two months ago, he was still doing the full routine, and people were still laughing. Basic rule of comedy: if you've put out/released material, stop including it in your sets. I'd argue this is still the case if you abandon a routine halfway through.
That message board comment you highlighted may indeed have it. I think his river of great comic writing runs quite a bit drier nowadays, and his skill as a performer/improvisor only partly succeeds in making up for it. Even if he never recaptures his earlier magic, we'll still always have an astonishing 15ish year golden era to cherish.
Erving Goffman would of liked this
Watched it, enjoyed it muchly, will watch it again down the line. Can't ask for more than that.
I watched a pirated version here on RUclips with half a dozen ad breaks
I couldn't tell for sure if they overwrote portions of the show
either way, _I_ didn't get it
I started to feel the familiarity around 2017 and drifted away....and then came back and started to see things in those earlier works that made the present exciting again. I really rated Snowflake/Tornado as it goes. Looking into his act forensically is good, but also I think I learned a few things about where he's drawing from in terms of influence that helped guide me through some of the bits I previously didn't quite get.
oh wait I am on that comedy forum and in that thread too!
Lmao I must admit the jazz meandering at the end of the special was my favourite bit, was even better live, just couldn’t stop laughing, ironically from what I remember when I saw it, he was still working the special out at the Leicester Square theatre and the jazz bit was like twice as long as it ended up being in the recording xD
If you want to know how quick Stewart Lee is, the bit in this show about his special being cancelled due to the Queen’s death and watching the film that was put in its place (not mentioning more details for spoilers about the punchline which is in this great video essay)….
He wrote it during the first weekend after her death and perform it the week after her death. I know because I was there at the Bill Murray’s Comedy club with a crowd of 30 people at his first performance during that week, with him having to check his notes and hands as he work the first draft and tried a joke about where he was when the Queen’s death was announced which was so dark he paused the routine to admit that he will properly never say that joke again (It was very dark 😂)
And what was amazing was seeing it still in the show on his tour’s last week performances at the national theatre on the Southbank in a stage with 1000s of people, and that the person in front of me was also at the show at the Bill Murray also in shock that we had seen the first performance of material created by Stewart Lee.
Also I cried during the first performance when I released it was an opening admission on him realising his Autism Spectrum Disorder (as someone with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD it really touched me, and he later changed during the tour of saying ASD to a more open and vague “neurodivergent” term to keep the vagueness of his diagnosed and I think you are right that he wants it to be vague and hidden), and given what has happened in his private life, it’s the most open he has been as a performer.
Very long
Check out this guy, going to small comedy clubs with small audiences, what a hero.
@@howdj ...for £6 usually, and normally funnier / more personal than an arena/theatre
Thank you for the video. I love it, it was very interesting.
The fact he thinks he's clever makes him unbearable IMHO!
I think the jazz bit may actually be a case of trying to take the bit beyond its bounds. I found it deeply enjoyable when I saw it the first time (live), and genuinely did try to imagine my own jazz. As a result, the toppers about the kind of jazz we were to imagine were riffs on what I was imagining. When I rewatched it, I didn't bother trying to imagine my own jazz and, like you, zoned out a bit. At the risk of sounding too much like a Stewart Lee fan, it does feel like his bit about "having to put the work in" as an audience. Which is interesting as a kind of comedy experiment, but can have diminishing returns. In the end, comedy should be entertainment.
Very much take your points about the fact that it is like a parody of a Stewart Lee bit, and that he doesn't actually continue as if the audience is imagining jazz. It does feel somewhat out of place.
Where’d u get that sweater bro its dope
good review, well done and thanks.
Lee is a fantastic comedian, the best with a pulse imo
The prince andrew bit also evokes Princess diana setup and Scooby doo routien getting people to go on and imagine that reality. Again retreading his older material
Can i suggest this for review : off with his head by Hasan Minhaj. I interested how you gonna tackle this?
post-punk bilbo baggins is Geordie Greep's next album - good video, always love the analysis
Took me a while to get Lee but know I think he’s the comic in the UK - clever, hilarious, original.
We found it funny when you didnt get it.
if you’re familiar with limmy it would be cool to see a video on his style of comedy
Bill Hicks is up there for best ever recorded comedy shows. And Richard Prior.
I think his Teddy Boy style drape jacket is a nod to Ted Chippington or.. Ted Bovis...
I find Limmy very similar to Lee in this sense - both absolute geniuses who have sought out neurodivergent diagnosis, but struggled to reconcile with what it might mean for them (and maybe their career) if they are diagnosed with ADHD and/or ASD
Listening to Stewart Lee I am his political enemy & perhaps not even welcome to his gigs (I have been to many).
But I still recognise him as the greatest stand-up of all time, including all American stand-ups & can enjoy his work.
Lee carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He gets how totally broken and pointless it is, with its endless suffering, and has decided that while he cannot fix it, he will do everything in his power to make the biggest possible contribution to helping the rest of us laugh our woes away from time to time. However, in an altruistic sense, he does not want to take any praise or credit for it. So he does it in the role of a thoroughly unlikable character.
He also carries it on his hips, back, legs and feet.
The whole last bit of the show seems to me to be about his famous quip that his shows are more like jazz than comedy. I agree with you that the whole thing seemed a but less innovative… more like a distilled version of his previous work. Fair enough, with his mortgage and doctors’ bills and all.
Nice analysis. Well observed, the 'imagined jazz' bit did drag. The familiarity observation is insightful 'gradually reducing the quality of his own obituary' sadly.
You didn't dwell on his self-critique in the voice of one of his fans is vintage Lee "you should go and see him"..."after you've seen him 15 times... " for me, it reduced his 'contempt for his audience' schtick to a concentrated tincture - medicine or poison.
'blah blah blah, rhythm of a joke' - a meta-comedy one liner. A joke about how formulaic jokes are. Doesn't get much more 'Lee' than that.
Maybe the poison berries are an analogy about the way he's alienated other comedians - per a previous bit about wanting to be friends with ... Josh Widdicomb (I think).
I'll get back to work now
First time watching. Are you a kiwi who has lived in England a long time?
If you guessed that that’s genuinely uncanny haha
@ I’m a kiwi living abroad so I can sniff out my kind a mile away lol
What's his best starting work for a new fan?
_41st Best Standup_ is, to me, Lee's most perfect release, followed closely by _Carpet Remnant World._
Comedy vehicle series was great too
just search for Braveheart, in Glasgow of all places.
Im going to see him in Dec for the 8th time. There's a reason for that....he's a fucking genius....it really is that simple.
I’m autistic now too. So I like him.
i never thought of him as a standup - ive always thought of him as a guardian journalist, doing criticism on stage because doing comedian criticism in the guardian is pretty wankery.
When will you make a vid on daniel sloss
The phrase "But doctor, I am Stewart Lee" is a reference to a famous joke and a poignant moment in literature, particularly from a story about the character Pagliacci, a sad clown. The line suggests a deep irony: the clown, who is supposed to make others laugh, is actually feeling profound sadness and despair himself.
This line is often used to illustrate the idea that people who appear joyful on the outside may be hiding their inner pain. It underscores themes of mental health and the complexity of human emotions, highlighting that those who entertain others may struggle with their own issues. The phrase is especially known from a joke told by the comedian Louis C.K. and is rooted in the broader cultural understanding of the tragicomic nature of life. So, now you know.
That far little one from the Crankies has let himself go
....did he slip a Fall cover into his routine.
You may realise that, or you may not realise that.
None of the critics did.
I missed the tour, but have watched it about five times on RUclips in the last few months. I certainly realise it is as good and cleverly structured as his others, but I would, wouldn’t I ?
Because I’m a genius.
Yes it’s very good, and the clue of the theme is in the title. He explores lots of comedy tropes and goofs around with them (crowd work). He drives it perfectly.
I don’t think it’s a critique of stand up at all, he done that 20 years ago. It’s actually meat and potatoes stuff, just having a little frolic through the art form.
Best bit is where he does an impersonation of me recommending the special.
Lee's Knees.
A show about and from the perspectives of comic Stewart Lee's knees.
*SPOILER* The overworked and clearly struggling knees buckle in E2
Can he introduce other knees? Such as:
1. Knees he knows from his career.
2. New knees he has not previously known from his career.
Comedy is serious business
psst…they sell mic stands now.
Great review
"Blazer"
"See? Can you see what that feels like?"
"Well, I can *feel* what it feels like"
Genius.
Still haven't watched Basic Lee yet, though. Sorry😢
I despised 90s Lee, but modern Lee is brilliant. Interesting how his old stuff works in a new show - seen clips of his okd work and it wasnt the memory cheating for me, it was woeful so....interesting!
Post punk Bilbo Baggins has let himself go.
Can anyone explain 'Fergal Sharkey's Birthday Party', please?
Me neither.
Was Sharkey a Salford/Manchester native, maybe?
Edit: Nope. He was Northern Irish. So ... ???
@@thedolphin5428 It's a mysthtery.
I’ve never seen a more obvious and ludicrous case of emperor’s new clothing as in the cult around Stewart Lee.