If you ever get the chance to see Noel Fielding live, do it, he’s hilarious!

“It’s like ‘yoghurt’, but with a ‘b’.”

– Anna explaining to her friend how to pronounce Andrew Bogut’s name when we were watching a basketball game.

It has been a little while since I last checked in, but we’ve been super busy. Anna’s friend, Elaine Ang, was staying here for a week and a half and two of Anna’s other friends, Don Pek and Petrina Tan, had both been here since Wednesday.

I mentioned in my last post that we were going to see Noel Fielding a few weeks back, one of the funniest people ever. He’s been in a few things including probably my all-time favourite show, The Mighty Boosh. If you haven’t seen it, here’s a quick rundown:

The Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six-episode radio series, it has since spawned a total of 20 television episodes for BBC Three and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the United States. The troupe is named after a childhood hairstyle of co-star Michael Fielding. The Mighty Boosh is a BBC production which aired from 2003 to 2007. The first series is set in a zoo owned by Bob Fossil, the second in a flat and the third in a second hand shop in Dalston called Nabootique. Vince and Howard run the shop and Naboo owns it.

The Mighty Boosh was similar to a being a modern day version of The Goodies, but set in outer space and they hang out with a shaman and his familiar, who is a talking gorilla. It is a bit odd and Anna accuses me of having “Boosh Brain” after I watch it, because she thinks it makes me start acting weird.

We had seen Noel Fielding a few weeks previously on Conan and he told Conan O’Brien that he was playing in New York. Anna looked over and gave me that smirk that said, “You’re going to make me sit through this shit, aren’t you?” Actually, Anna finds him pretty funny, too, so we got tickets. Here is what we were in store for:

GOTH COMIC TAKES AMERICA.

Known in his native UK as a purveyor of surreal and hilarious sketches, characters, animation and artworks, Noel Fielding, he of Ronnie Wood hair and Bowiesque jumpsuiterry, makes the jump across the pond to bring his unique brand of comedy to the nation! So hold on to your hats as the Mighty Boosh and Luxury Comedy star befuddles and bedazzles on his first big US Tour.

first rising to prominence alongside his comedy partner Julian Baratt in the madcap Mighty Boosh, Fielding’s indie-rock wannabe character Vince Noir captured the attention of an army of fans as the duo headed out on strange adventures, meeting a cast of bizarre creatures, like Old Gregg the half man fish, and hanging out with their gorilla pal Bollo and Shaman Naboo.

Branching out solo, Fielding created his own show ‘Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy’ introducing audiences to even more of his impressions and skits. Don’t miss an evening in the company of this wonderfully weird performer!

When the day came to finally see him it was raining most of the afternoon and the line at the Gramercy Theater was around the block. We didn’t have an umbrella, so we just hid out in a cafe for an hour until it was time for the security to finally let us in. A good excuse for Anna to have cake, too.
Of course, once we were inside it was time for some silliness. A few photos we took from the night:

It was a pretty bizarre show. The first half was kind of just stand-up stuff, but the second half was a strange story that involved a triangle and a plasticine Joey Ramone. It was a while ago so I can’t really remember the exact plot, but I recorded the whole show so you can listen for yourself. If you like The Mighty Boosh, then the second half of this was just as surreal.
Anyhow, here it is:

Fielding had been doing this same tour in Europe and had released a DVD of it. This scene from the DVD might give you a rough idea of what we saw:

Now we’ve got American Psycho: The Musical this week, which, according to their website:

DIRECT FROM A SOLD-OUT RUN IN LONDON…
AMERICAN PSYCHO comes home to the city that inspired it.

Based on the best-selling novel by BRET EASTON ELLIS, and set in the epicenter of excess: 1980s Manhattan, this hit musical tells the story of Patrick Bateman, a young and handsome Wall Street banker with impeccable taste and unquenchable desires. Patrick and his elite group of friends spend their days in chic restaurants, exclusive clubs and designer labels. But at night, Patrick takes part in a darker indulgence, and his mask of sanity is starting to slip…

BENJAMIN WALKER (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson) stars alongside a first-class cast, including Tony Award® winner ALICE RIPLEY (Next to Normal), HELÉNE YORKE (Bullets over Broadway), Tony nominee JENNIFER DAMIANO (Next to Normal), and DREW MOERLEIN in his Broadway debut. Featuring a score by DUNCAN SHEIK, the Tony and Grammy Award®-winning composer of Spring Awakening, and reinvented for the stage by Olivier Award-winning director RUPERT GOOLD (King Charles III), writer ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA (“Glee”), Tony-nominated choreographer LYNNE PAGE (La Cage Aux Folles) and three-time Olivier Award-winning scenic designer ES DEVLIN (tours for Adele, Beyonce, U2, Kanye West), this new musical is the sexiest show on Broadway.

American Psycho is one of my favourite novels and films so this could be interesting;

After that, we are off to Washington DC and Baltimore for a few days, because Anna has to be at Johns Hopkins University for work, so that could be a fun weekend away.

Anyway, if you get the chance, go see Noel Fielding!