Unusually for us it was Saturday night this time that Sheila and I headed off to The Stand in Edinburgh for the comedy bill on offer. Also strangely for us was that there were three names on offer that we had not come across before, but undeterred we took our place with many others in the sell out gig, and having been well fed by the Stand kitchen and watered from the bar, we were primed and ready at 9-00pm  for proceeding to commence.

MC Billy Kirkwood took to the stage and within seconds we knew that we were in for a great night. Kirkwood is as good a compere as any and tonight he was just on fire. Both of us are fans of this likeable Ayrshire lad but cannot remember ever seeing him better, bantering well with the audience, raising laughs and setting the scene for the rest of the acts to build on.

The opening act was the first of the new names to us Irish born Mary Bourke. Ms Bourke certainly won over the packed crowd early on and didn’t let them go. Certainly not an in your face comedian, she had some well crafted funny material, often self deprecating delivery and would certainly be an act I’d like to see again.

The first interval followed and once glasses had been replenished, Kirkwood introduced the first of two acts for the second session, that being Tony Dunn. He was the second new name on the bill for us although he has quite an impressive CV for one so young. I have to say that although I found him entertaining, I was not absolutely blown away with his short set. There was some nice stuff, I just feel he didn’t captivate the crowd as perhaps he might. That said however, I’d certainly like to see him with a longer slot to give a chance to develop his set.

The closing act of part two was Londoner Simon Clayton, the third new name for us. Clayton has been on the circuit for a long time and is obviously well tuned in as to how to control his gig and had stage presence to spare. His style is very self deprecating, however with an occasional touch of almost arrogance certainly was appreciated by one and all. He talked on his ethnicity, stature and married life as he commands the stage and the gags flow freely. Certainly he is a name I’ll look out for in the future.

Following the second interval and prize draw, headline act Jason Cook took command of the club as only he can. Sheila has been going on about him for a few years now but it was as late as last year that I first saw his own show and instantly became a fan.

As well as being a top class headliner, Cook is also an excellent compere and his ability to riff off the crowd is just amazing. I know we got some set and a lot of new material also, but I’m sure we only saw part of it. His ability to interact with the crowd was superb and oh so funny, yet in spite of somewhat over running his time, I’m sure there was much, much more in his locker for the next time.

If you get a chance to see this widely traveled Geordie then do yourself a favour and go. You will not regret it that’s for certain and his future dates can be found at his website www.jasonlovescomedy.com

The Stand Comedy Club has shows on both in Glasgow and Edinburgh nearly every day of the year and the shows on offer can be found on their website www.thestand.co.uk