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Magic @ Café Royal
Maria Bamford
Mark Felgate: Freelance Fool
Mark Walker: One Man and his Gob
Maybe We Could...
McCloud and Black: The Hook
Mel & Sue
Men In Coats
Mental
Mervyn Stutter's Pick Of The Fringe
Michael McIntyre
Mickey D Was A Pub Kid
Midnight Velvet Comedy Club
Mike Gunn: Uncut
Miles Jupp: Gentlemen Prefer Brogues
Miranda Hart: It's All About Me
Mitch Benn and The Distractions
Molotov Cocktail
Mongrel Nation
Monty Python's Flying Circus
Mornin' After Flicks
Moving Conversations
Mr Kakushow: Japanese Crazy Sit-Down Comedy!
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Mitch Benn and The Distractions
BBC radio's Now Show and Bad Week have established Mitch as one of the UK's leading comic songwriters. Don't miss him and his new band.
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Original Review:
As far as musical parodies go, you can't get much better than Mitch Benn. He belts though a raft of spot-on spoofs in the first medley alone, using the fad for interactive entertainment as an excuse for a stylistically varied selection. It's a perfect showcase for Benn's versatile talents, and those of the two stunning women who accompany him on drum (Tash Bayliss) and bass (Kirsty Newton). The Distractions is certainly no misnomer. As pastiche, it's spot on - musically clever and sparkling with inventive little twists - but from a pure comedy perspective, the lyrics simply aren't that funny. There's the odd couplet that hits home, but generally the jokes cannot sustain the three and a half minutes a pop song demands. Benn's between-song banter is better, setting up the gags with some concise, assured stand-up - but it means the ensuing tracks have a tendency to do little more than reiterate the same thoughts. Sometimes, too, words are lost - either through poor acoustics, bad diction or a combination of the two - which doesn't help the louder numbers. The best tracks combine styles, dropping a country twang to Deutschland Uber Alles, for example, to back the revelation that Hitler was obsessed with Hollywood westerns. And the Shakespearean rap My Name Is... Macbeth is possibly the best comic song you'll hear all year. Though based on a very simple premise, it is perfectly executed - much to Benn's chagrin, as it's the element of the show displaying the least musical virtuousity. Whatever else, the show is a barnstorming hour of pure entertainment, and fans of this genre probably won't find a better example on the Fringe. If only the lyrics were as impressive as the music, this would be unbeatable by any yardstick. |
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Saw them in Leicester last week. What a show. Talent like this doesn't come along often. Mitch is consistently spot on and the girls are awesome. Minxie, February 2005 |
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Totally loved the show, the girls are gorgeous and extremely talented musicians. In my opinion they made the night. Ali, February 2005 |
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Absolutely fantastic show. Graeme, November 2004 |
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He's great, but he should have got some girls who can play and who are half good looking. Louis S, February 2004 |
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Mitch and his wonderband/Wonderbras are superb. Witty satirical tunes that get me toes a tapping. Flamingkitties, August 2003 |
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Absolutely brilliant. Frankie, August 2003 |
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Saw Mitch's Fringe 2003 preview yesterday. Always been a big fan but the addition of the band is just fantastic. This new direction can only take them into the stratosphere. By God, they can play. Melanie, June 2003 |
Mitch Benn And The Distractions 2007 tour
Mitch Benn and the Distractions: The Where Next Tour
Mitch Benn: Rhyme Lord
The World Stands Up Live
Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music
Comedy HayDay
Ha Ha Hammersmith II
Leicester Comedy Festival Preview Show 2009
Twitter Comedy Night
Mitch Benn's Music Club
Mitch Benn
Mitch Benn: Reduced Circumstances
The Distraction Club
Mitch Benn Is the 37th Beatle

