"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...
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. 🙂
You made Stewart Lee’s newsletter with a review of your review that reads: “Here is a thorough, and not entirely positive, review from a thoughtful young man on UA-cam, still better than most pro-critics.”
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.
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 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
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.
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 :)
@@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.
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.
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 UA-cam 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?
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 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.
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".
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.
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 find that I often get treated far more seriously and with more reverence when I wear my t-shirt with the slogan, "I get Stewart Lee." Emblazoned on both sides.
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
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 feel like he's maybe spearing the confessional comic stylings that became popular among millenial and gen z comics and fans. Theres all the set up for a parasocial punchline but instead it goes into this very rigorously planned routine instead, then ends with a non-sequitor. The final gag parallels his refusal to engage with an overly confessional style. I get it because I like him more than you, which makes me more geniuser.
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.)
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...
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.
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" 😂
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 did like him saying “he couldn’t afford jazz due to Brexit copyright issues” and brought on a Jazz sax 🎷 player at the end. That was a great (hidden) joke.
It's much better than the tornado stuff. Lee would probably hate me for how I lean politically and he can get a bit too circlejerky but he's easily my favourite stand up of all time. His bit about introducing a woman on stage was hilarious, I had to watch it twice.
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).
I'm a teacher who can lecture a room full of people, interact with hundreds of people a day, yet I still have autism. We aren't unable to interact warmly so I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion that we can't.
The Wrekin is a mountain (well, hill) in Shropshire. 'Round the Wrekin' is an expression meaning taking the long route to do something. Only I knew what the outside shots were a reference to and I had to explain this as I assume no one else knew because I, like Lee, am a genius.
He realised we all watch short clips on UA-cam, so could do a set basically about his old routines. I did see this live and the recorded version is much more complete.
He's utterly peerless. He is to comedy, what Radiohead are to music. Considered pretentious by some. Recognised as the greatest by their contemporaries.
Lee's 'observational comedy' running around is greeted by the audience as a familiar old friend, like a call back to a previous joke, in this case from another show. He keeps it very short, enough for the audience to enjoy the familiarity, without milking it. It's similar to the audience's love of the 'raise your game' style of 'Stewart Lee's' attacks on the audience's 'ineptitude'. His best observational comedy joke remains 'I haven't noticed anything about your lives'.
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.
I've watched this through now, several times, and the final sequence between 'the producer's rebuff' and the 'autistic' affirmation) is something which I buy totally as shockingly sincere and moving. Shifting the self-deprecatory focus between bathos and pathos is a rhetorical trick reluctantly familiar to outsiders of all stripes - 'spectrum' lurkers and shirkers, maladroit frustratees and (in my case) stammerers alike. Reinventing one's own pain - on the fly - is another coping mechanism.
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.
So, I picked up on the autism thing as he started talking about it and found it funny but unable to laugh, as now it made so much sense as to why I like his comedy so much, but also why it is as it is. I spoke to him afterwards (Oxford Playhouse show in 2023 I think?) and he said he had actually gone to the doctor about it, however a diagnosis at his age is pointless as you'd be essentially taking up a slot for people who need it more (younger people), and it would take over a year anyway (the waiting list when I asked was 18 months...).
dude your review is on stewart's website now xD under "FROM THE WOKE CESSPIT OF STEWART LEE - DEC 2024 Regularly Returning The Sausage Since 1968" and he complimented it
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.
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.
I watched a pirated version here on UA-cam 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
The part where he's telling the audience to imagine jazz was one of my favourite parts of the show. I didn't think it was repetitive, or dragged, because he was elaborating it continuously with really good gags about the exact nature of the imaginary jazz. And I loved the silly surrealness of it and the way he was berating the audience. Overall I don't care about the structure or themes or cohesiveness of his shows, none of that affects how funny I find the actual routines and gags that make up the shows. I thought Basic Lee was on a par with anything else he's done, at least in terms of being consistently funny. He does seem a bit more mellow compared to the anger he had when younger but maybe that's a purely physical result of being older, his voice and mannerisms may have changed a bit and seem less aggressive maybe.
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!
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
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.
To me the core of this special is Lee's "coming out" about his neurodivergence diagnosis, which is all but confirmed by his delivery of the doctor's questions. Even the seemingly recycled material to me looks like a setup to make the answer to the question "Do you always have the same routine and get very anxious if it changes?" implicit to the point where the audience laughs at it as soon as he reads it. Of course this is done in an unmistakable Stewart Lee fashion, as it is only implied (albeit heavily) instead of outright stated, and only near the end of the special in order not to give it too much space and make the entire thing about himself. I also think that delving into more personal topics, coupled with an undeniable change in his demeanour, points to an overall intention of "removing his metatextual armor" and establishing a more intimate and less detached relationship with his audience, but if that's the case I think it will happen less abruptly than how Brookes does it in Body of Work and over the course of a few years.
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
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
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.
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 felt Basic Lee was Stew’s way of giving the same jokes one last victory lap before doing something else. It was enjoyable in its familiarity which was obviously deliberate and was like a greatest hits tour of his material. I fully expect Stew to pivot slightly for his next tour, which I have tickets to and have been avoiding reviews of. It seems unlikely that such an intelligent and considered comedian would riff on the same beats ad infinitum, Basic Lee is perhaps a medley of his best tunes before a relaunch. Not quite Stew 2.0 (Stew.0 ?!) but a fresher set from a creatively new angle
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 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.
Good takes. I see it a bit differently though, I'm going to say post covid just as a marker but really a year either side of that marker is the same. For me he's really driving home how mundane all this has become, repetitive, losing fidelity on replay. I think that's meant. From the title alone I think this is on purpose. Let's get back to basics, implying some new exhibit of long lost dark arts but really it's material to flesh out the repetition causing the fidelity loss and done to amplify just that. Of course even a hardened Lee fan would baulk at that. The sparkles of Lee as you pointed out and very well I thought, are still there. The fact that they are means to me at least, he was eyes wide open on what this should be for him. Which makes me think that for the first time it was more of a looking inward. I've not seen that before from him. I think this special was an introspection a test of the water on where to go with subsequent material. To me he's really saying it all with the title alone. The "basics" are off, the no jazz and lights thing where there was jazz and lighting. He's not providing the basics of comedy but does to pacify the expectation and does so in a selfish and inward (his) style, it's all about something else. My take anyway. I could be typing this on a laptop, on my chest, in bed. Thank you though, I had some similar observations to you and I'm glad you brought this up as it let me think a bit. Cheers.
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.
Stewart is very clever, his work is an art form and I always learn something from his shows as well as laugh my head off. He is niche but that's his whole raison d'etre.
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.
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"...
You made Stewart Lee’s newsletter with a review of your review that reads: “Here is a thorough, and not entirely positive, review from a thoughtful young man on UA-cam, still better than most pro-critics.”
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.
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.
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
In Polish Stan Dup means the State/quality of the asses
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
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.
Wait, does this mean that Stewart Lee is actually letting himself go?
*Slobodan Milošević
Morrissey
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 :)
@@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 wish I was dead Bill Hicks."
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.
so it was better and slightly different and also different and slightly better?
@christheghostwriter Yes, but more than that. You know? It was better than slightly different. Perhaps I should have made that clear.
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 UA-cam 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.
@@soilcredibility 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?
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.
Post-punk Bilbo Baggins has let himself go.
I had to scroll too far for this.
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.
Love him. The superior character he plays making everyone feel less than him is so funny in itself
I like him because he gives it to us straight
like a pear cider.. blah blah blah, rhythm of a joke.
The second half of basic Lee (in Salford on my specific night) was genius
I quite liked him shouting out The Fall during the jazz bit.
'Yeah see ya mate' is also from a Fall song - Cnc-s Mithering - a band he loves.
The sound of an audience cheering their own ability to remember an old routine of Lee's.
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".
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.
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 find that I often get treated far more seriously and with more reverence when I wear my t-shirt with the slogan, "I get Stewart Lee." Emblazoned on both sides.
One of the greats of standing up comedy, equal almost to Sir Jim Davidson (nic, nic, Chalky).
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
It was just one man, one microphone. Pure, simple, classic.
Richard herrings dad has let himself go
Keith?
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.
@@paulembleton1733 sounds a bit sus2
The diminished line proved that he is in fact human but the rest of that bit is hilariously accurate
@paulembleton1733 I love four part chords. I love all the four part chords.
Minor 7th...
All the four part chords
I feel like he's maybe spearing the confessional comic stylings that became popular among millenial and gen z comics and fans. Theres all the set up for a parasocial punchline but instead it goes into this very rigorously planned routine instead, then ends with a non-sequitor. The final gag parallels his refusal to engage with an overly confessional style.
I get it because I like him more than you, which makes me more geniuser.
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.)
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...
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.
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" 😂
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.
The scene somberly walking away from a care home is mocking the Ricky Gervais show Afterlife.
I did like him saying “he couldn’t afford jazz due to Brexit copyright issues” and brought on a Jazz sax 🎷 player at the end. That was a great (hidden) joke.
It's much better than the tornado stuff.
Lee would probably hate me for how I lean politically and he can get a bit too circlejerky but he's easily my favourite stand up of all time.
His bit about introducing a woman on stage was hilarious, I had to watch it twice.
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).
I'm a teacher who can lecture a room full of people, interact with hundreds of people a day, yet I still have autism. We aren't unable to interact warmly so I'm not sure how you came to that conclusion that we can't.
Just got a shoutout from the big man himself in his newsletter. Great review.
The Wrekin is a mountain (well, hill) in Shropshire. 'Round the Wrekin' is an expression meaning taking the long route to do something.
Only I knew what the outside shots were a reference to and I had to explain this as I assume no one else knew because I, like Lee, am a genius.
He realised we all watch short clips on UA-cam, so could do a set basically about his old routines. I did see this live and the recorded version is much more complete.
literally just traveling back from my weekly comedy club volunteering, excited about comedy, and needed a stand up video. thank you josh
Wow, this articulates so many things about Stewart Leee I'd struggle to put to words very well. Really nice.
Terry Christian has let himself go
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.
I like how you're giving career advice to a guy who is astronomically more successful than you are lol
Are you going to do a version with added microphone scraping noises?
Lee's 'observational comedy' running around is greeted by the audience as a familiar old friend, like a call back to a previous joke, in this case from another show. He keeps it very short, enough for the audience to enjoy the familiarity, without milking it. It's similar to the audience's love of the 'raise your game' style of 'Stewart Lee's' attacks on the audience's 'ineptitude'. His best observational comedy joke remains 'I haven't noticed anything about your lives'.
Will be very interested to see what you think of Lee vs The Man-Wulf, watched it at Leicester sq theatre a couple weeks ago.
I wondered if he planned for people to come in late the second time so that he could deliver the gag about repetition.
It's more art than comedy.
It's like jazz... 😂
Yes.. Modern art. Ie pretentious wank.
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!
I've watched this through now, several times, and the final sequence between 'the producer's rebuff' and the 'autistic' affirmation) is something which I buy totally as shockingly sincere and moving.
Shifting the self-deprecatory focus between bathos and pathos is a rhetorical trick reluctantly familiar to outsiders of all stripes - 'spectrum' lurkers and shirkers, maladroit frustratees and (in my case) stammerers alike.
Reinventing one's own pain - on the fly - is another coping mechanism.
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.
“See yer mate, yeah see yer mate” - nice to see a reference to the Fall in there
Totally underrated comedian
Former Danish primeminister Lars Løkke Rasmussen has let himself go…
Erving Goffman would of liked this
So, I picked up on the autism thing as he started talking about it and found it funny but unable to laugh, as now it made so much sense as to why I like his comedy so much, but also why it is as it is. I spoke to him afterwards (Oxford Playhouse show in 2023 I think?) and he said he had actually gone to the doctor about it, however a diagnosis at his age is pointless as you'd be essentially taking up a slot for people who need it more (younger people), and it would take over a year anyway (the waiting list when I asked was 18 months...).
Freddie starr has let himself go
dude your review is on stewart's website now xD under "FROM THE WOKE CESSPIT OF STEWART LEE - DEC 2024 Regularly Returning The Sausage Since 1968" and he complimented it
That jumper! Where did you get it from??
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…
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.
Best bit is where he does an impersonation of me recommending the special.
I watched a pirated version here on UA-cam 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
The part where he's telling the audience to imagine jazz was one of my favourite parts of the show. I didn't think it was repetitive, or dragged, because he was elaborating it continuously with really good gags about the exact nature of the imaginary jazz. And I loved the silly surrealness of it and the way he was berating the audience.
Overall I don't care about the structure or themes or cohesiveness of his shows, none of that affects how funny I find the actual routines and gags that make up the shows. I thought Basic Lee was on a par with anything else he's done, at least in terms of being consistently funny. He does seem a bit more mellow compared to the anger he had when younger but maybe that's a purely physical result of being older, his voice and mannerisms may have changed a bit and seem less aggressive maybe.
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.
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!
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.
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
really thorough- nicely done mate xx
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.
Thing is if you'd bothered to imagine some light jazz that part would have been more fun for you
To me the core of this special is Lee's "coming out" about his neurodivergence diagnosis, which is all but confirmed by his delivery of the doctor's questions. Even the seemingly recycled material to me looks like a setup to make the answer to the question "Do you always have the same routine and get very anxious if it changes?" implicit to the point where the audience laughs at it as soon as he reads it. Of course this is done in an unmistakable Stewart Lee fashion, as it is only implied (albeit heavily) instead of outright stated, and only near the end of the special in order not to give it too much space and make the entire thing about himself. I also think that delving into more personal topics, coupled with an undeniable change in his demeanour, points to an overall intention of "removing his metatextual armor" and establishing a more intimate and less detached relationship with his audience, but if that's the case I think it will happen less abruptly than how Brookes does it in Body of Work and over the course of a few years.
Stewart Lee does well rehearsed improvisation really well. I think he's let himself go.
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
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
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.
if you’re familiar with limmy it would be cool to see a video on his style of comedy
Great show
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 felt Basic Lee was Stew’s way of giving the same jokes one last victory lap before doing something else. It was enjoyable in its familiarity which was obviously deliberate and was like a greatest hits tour of his material. I fully expect Stew to pivot slightly for his next tour, which I have tickets to and have been avoiding reviews of. It seems unlikely that such an intelligent and considered comedian would riff on the same beats ad infinitum, Basic Lee is perhaps a medley of his best tunes before a relaunch. Not quite Stew 2.0 (Stew.0 ?!) but a fresher set from a creatively new angle
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.
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.
Can i suggest this for review : off with his head by Hasan Minhaj. I interested how you gonna tackle this?
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.
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.
Good takes. I see it a bit differently though, I'm going to say post covid just as a marker but really a year either side of that marker is the same.
For me he's really driving home how mundane all this has become, repetitive, losing fidelity on replay. I think that's meant. From the title alone I think this is on purpose.
Let's get back to basics, implying some new exhibit of long lost dark arts but really it's material to flesh out the repetition causing the fidelity loss and done to amplify just that.
Of course even a hardened Lee fan would baulk at that. The sparkles of Lee as you pointed out and very well I thought, are still there. The fact that they are means to me at least, he was eyes wide open on what this should be for him. Which makes me think that for the first time it was more of a looking inward. I've not seen that before from him. I think this special was an introspection a test of the water on where to go with subsequent material. To me he's really saying it all with the title alone. The "basics" are off, the no jazz and lights thing where there was jazz and lighting. He's not providing the basics of comedy but does to pacify the expectation and does so in a selfish and inward (his) style, it's all about something else.
My take anyway. I could be typing this on a laptop, on my chest, in bed. Thank you though, I had some similar observations to you and I'm glad you brought this up as it let me think a bit.
Cheers.
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.
Stewart is very clever, his work is an art form and I always learn something from his shows as well as laugh my head off. He is niche but that's his whole raison d'etre.
When will you make a vid on daniel sloss
I think his Teddy Boy style drape jacket is a nod to Ted Chippington or.. Ted Bovis...
Watched it, enjoyed it muchly, will watch it again down the line. Can't ask for more than that.
As a neurodivergent person, my theory is that the entire show is actually about the moment when he got his diagnosis