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Blog Archive
5 July 2009 Sorry for the lack of blog entries over the last few weeks! As most comedian-run organisations tend to go, we go AWOL for a bit... We've had some great nights of comedy over the last few weeks, with headliners The Dickster, Peter Egner and Jason Starrett, and some first time MCs in Nick Haynes and Daz Thorne - plenty of Newcastle comics in there and great to see home grown comics up on stage too! The next couple of weeks will be great, 2 of the funniest bald men of comedy Dave Jory and Simon Kennedy are on the way before July is out, and the Coopers Comedy Competition grand final is in 2 weeks, Newcastle's best up and comers competing for your votes and $500! So if you want a great night of comedy for FREE, drop in to the Ori! 8:30pm starts. 14 June 2009 What a great crowd for last night's comedy! One of the best we've had this year, not only in size but in keen-ness to hear some fantastic comedy! And a treat for fans of great stand up last night, with some brilliant new acts performing at the Ori. MC was the talented actor / comic Tom Oakley, carving out a name for himself around Sydney and clearly working his charms on the Newcastle crowd! We also had a new open micer from Sydney Danny Morgan who did a great 10 min set, including his story about being beat up by Danny Green (needless to say, he wasn't heckled!) Also local comic Jeremy Ryan did a tight five. The headliner was Matt Okine, who's performed on Rove and has moved from Brisbane to Sydney to pursue his stand up career, and a great set from a guy you're certainly going to see more of not just at the Ori, but around the traps as his career shoots onwards and upwards. Next week the Dickster is back to headline! We got a taste of his wares again when he was MC a few weeks back, now as headliner he's set to rock the Ori as the star of the show! See you there! 6 June 2009 Another solid crowd at the Ori tonight, and why not, with a treat - Newcastle lad the Dickster back to MC the evening! Back from his time in Western Australia and touring around, the Dickster had the crowd laughing and hecklers cowering! He'll be headlining in a few weeks time too so you'll get a double dose of Dickster at the Ori! Our open micers tonight were Sydney comic Nick Capper making the trip up to do a tight five, and local comic Jeremy Ryan jumping up with some new gear. And of course the headliner was the sax-wielding Gary Bradbury, always a pro and a crowd favourite. Gary was seen chatting to punters long after the mics were off - looks like another big night at the Ori hey? Next week we have another great show, the headliner is Matt Okine who has been on Rove and is the 'Chickkkennnnn' guy from the Maccas ads! Look forward to seeing him. Plus for open micers, it's one of your last chances to make the final of the Coopers Comedy Competition - the final is only a few weeks away! 31 May 2009 A massive weekend of comedy in Newcastle! Two bumper nights of stand up with great comics and great crowds! Friday night was the 'Newcastle Comedy Showcase' at the Royal Exchange theatre in Newcastle, with a dozen Newcastle comics putting on a great show for a 70 odd crowd. Fantastic venue and judging from the response, we'll be back there soon. Thanks to everyone who bought tickets and is following comedy through this website - your support is appreciated! A massive set list - thanks to Rob Bukey, Ness Smedley, Jabez, Trish Medioli, Soame Chopra and Darren Thorne for the first half, and Rhys Nicholson, Mark Bergin, Hannah Gissane, Brendon Knott and Paul Sansom in the second! Local comic Jeremy Ryan MC'd and with such a great performance space and responsive crowd, there will be more shows in the future like this. Saturday night saw comedy at the Ori as usual and Rhys Nicholson backing up to MC the room - after his appearance at the national finals of Raw Comedy you can expect to see a lot more of Rhys and his comedy around town! Our headliner was the always great Garry Who and with open micers Ness Smedley and Soame Chopra stepping up again, another great night of comedy. Keep watching this space as the final of the Coopers Comedy Competition will be up in a few weeks - it's not too late to enter! Check out the home page for details. May 23 2009 They say at comedy nights to expect the unexpected...you put comedian Jimbo and a comedy night together and there is NO unexpected! Anything goes - and last night another full crowd at the Ori saw comedy, nudity and a fantastic show from Jimbo! One of our favourites here and obviously one of Newcastle's from the audience size! We also had open micers Ness Smedley and Jabez trying out some new stuff - they'll be back next week in heat 5 of the Coopers Comedy Competition. Don't forget to give that a shot and you could win $500! This week is a big one coming for Newcastle comedy - the showcase Friday night at the Royal Exchange is virtually sold out already and Saturday night Garry Who rocks back into town! MC is Ray Badran fresh from a stint at the Sydney Comedy Store, so we can expect a great show again. See you there! 10 May 2009 A packed Oriental last night for heat 3 of the Coopers Comedy Competition - 6 brave competitiors in the fray with our MC Tanveer Roowala. Congratulations to David Picketfence who was our winner and will go through to the grand final. We also had Newcastle comic Jeremy Ryan doing some new gear before his Sydney shows in a few weeks, and then headliner Mick Meredith (with guitar in hand) doing his A grade material and his brilliant song parodies! We hope you didn't lose too much sweating on stage Mick, it got a little warm with the Ori jam packed to capacity! Next week is heat 4 of the comp plus our headliner Ben Ellwood. If you've ever thought about giving stand up a go enter this comp from our home page, you could win $500 and it's a great room to start off in. 3 May 2009
After a week off for Anzac Day, comedy was back at the Ori - and so was the 2nd heat of the Coopers Comedy Challenge! Congratulations to English comic Nick Haynes who won his way through to the final in a few weeks time. Don't forget you can enter this competition, just follow the info on the home page! Newcastle comic Brendon Knott was our MC and the headliner was Sydney comic and Green Faces winner Brett Nicholls. Brett is doing some really good stuff on the Sydney scene and is one of those comics you'll hear more and more of in the future! Next week we have the comedic genius of Mick Meredith headlining from 8:30pm, Mick's nights are always huge so get in there early for a great night of comedy! 16 May 2009
We had another full house for the comedy last night, and another 4 comics trying their hand at the Coopers Comedy Competition. Heat 4 was won by Darren Thorne, who'll go through to the final for $500 in a few weeks time! A great set in front of a loud and sometimes boisterous crowd and a deserving winner.
Our MC was Sydney up and comer Oliver Phommavahn and our headliner was first timer in Newcastle Ben Ellwood, who's featured on Triple J before and great to have another new face at the pub!
Next week Jimbo's back! Hosting heat 5 of the Coopers Comedy Competition and no doubt creating more headlines on and off the stage, so should be good! We'll see you there for another big night from 8:30pm!
5 March 2009 A huge rock up tonight at the Ori - no less than 8 open micers in the first half, which is unreal to see! Good to see a few guys continuing on after Raw Comedy, and it's great to have a venue where you can try out new stuff and for newcomers to get up! Newcastle's best up and comer Brendon Knott was our MC and headliner was Jacques Barratt - Sydney comic doing a great set! It's great to have such comics of a high standard up in Newcastle every week and Jacques is no exception - doing heaps of great stuff in Sydney too. Next week it's the return of Jimbo! If you've seen him before, you know why we're excited to have him back...if you haven't, one you don't want to miss! You'll laugh at things you know you shouldn't, but hey, we're not here to judge you! Turn up for a big one next Saturday! 19 April 2009 Well we're recovering after the first heat of the Coopers Comedy Challenge 2009! 5 open micers in our first heat with MC Newcastle comic Jeremy Ryan holding court. A generous and attentive crowd saw some new comics vying for their approval - in the end though it was Soame Chopra who won the vote and got through to the final in a few weeks time. Our headliner was Sydney comic Peter Egner - the self proclaimed Blacktown member for tourism had the crowd laughing from start to finish with his dry wit! Next week we're taking a break because of Anzac Day, but we're back May 2 with Sydney comic and Green Faces winner Brett Nicholls and heat 2 of the Coopers Comedy Challenge. If you want to enter check out the home page here for more details! 12 April 2009 Another great night of comedy at the Ori - it always is when Jimbo is in town! Big thanks to Jimbo for taking time out of his travels to come back - good stuff! Next week we actually bring back the Coopers Comedy Competition for 2009! This went down pretty well last year and thanks to Coopers for jumping on board again. It's an audience votes system...basically there'll be 8 heats with up and coming comedians doing 5 to 10 minutes of their best material... The winners of each heat go through to the grand final and the chance to score $500! There's heaps of Coopers merchandise to win also so get on board and give it a go, you never know how the audience will vote! Next week is heat 1, we'll also have Sydney comic Peter Egner headlining. Starts at 8:30pm! 29 March 2009 Another great crowd for comedy last night, and a couple of Sydneysiders coming up to make us laugh! MC for the evening was Sydney up and comer Ray Badran, who has been doing plenty of gigs in Sydney too, so great to have him come up the F3! Our headliner was Daniel Townes, previewing his show for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Much like Kent last week, a great show and we wish Daniel all the best for his run down in Victoria! As always we welcome open micers and you can email us if you want more details from the home page! Next week is Jacques Barratt with special guests, be there for a big show! 8:30pm start. 22 March 2009 A packed Oriental last night for a very special show - and a whole bunch of new comics too! We had Newcastle born Kent Valentine previewing his Melbourne International Comedy Festival show 'How to Love Everyone (Even the Arseholes)' - and from last night's show Victoria is going to love this! Thanks to Kent for getting up and giving it a bash! You can check out more at www.micf.com.au about the comedy festival. We had Newcastle comic Hannah Gissane MC for us (her old teacher in the audience Mr Saxon will never be the same after hearing her material!) and a few up and comers from Sydney making the hike to the Ori - big thanks to Ray Cashman and Amanda Gray who were very well loved! We also had a young bloke Sean from Tamworth giving it a crack - great to see more and more new acts performing! Next week another MICF preview show - this time it's Sydney comic Daniel Townes. Get there early for another big night of comedy, and thanks for supporting comedy in Newcastle! 15 March 2009 Another full front bar for the comedy last night! The numbers keep turning up and so do the open micers - we had Jeremy Ryan and Trish Medioli doing 5 to 10 up front, and thanks to MC for the night Clint Starrett with a stack of one liners to get us going. Headliner was Newcastle's best, Jason Starrett, who's in the process of writing a brand new show, so it was a treat to get to hear the new stuff first! Always the professional, it was another great set from Jason, and looking forward to the full new show! Next week is a real big show - Newcastle boy Kent Valentine is back from England, and before he heads to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival he's previewing his new show here! Get in from 8:30pm next Saturday - this is comedy of the international standard for free! See you there! 8 March
What a bumper night of comedy - 8 acts for free tonight! 6 open micers - thanks to Jeremy Ryan, Trish Medioli, Ness Smedley, Jabez and Matt Jelenic from Newy for performing - plus we had Sydney up and comer Umit Bali do a great 10 to close out the first half. Mikey Mileos also did well in his first MC spot here. Our headliner was the always hilarious Gary Bradbury - with sax in tow he had the crowd in the palm of his hand! Fresh off the cruise ships he did a great set - expect to see him again in a few months time! Next week Raw Comedy is on Saturday night but we're still doing a show - we'll have Jason Starrett back to headline with his brand new show! And just to keep it in the family his brother Clint Starrett is the MC. Catch you there! 1 March
Another great night of comedy at the Oriental - we had 3 open micers Matt Jelenic, Ness Smedley and new recruit Darren the Irish bloke giving it a crack, well done guys! Our MC was none other than Newcastle's best up and coming comic Brendon Knott - word is he's heading interstate for some gigs soon so get in and see him when you can! The headline act was Sydney comic Daniel Townes - fresh back in Oz from doing stints in some of England's best comedy rooms. If you turned up you can see why he gets the spots! And good news for fans of Daniel - he's coming back soon to preview his show for the Melbourne Comedy Festival! Next week is Australia's only sax-playing comic (to our knowledge!) Gary Bradbury and MC is Sydney up and comer Mikey Mileos. See you there! 21 Feb 2009
Another great rock up of open mic comics last night at our comedy - and if you are an open mic comic getting ready for Raw Comedy in a few weeks time, the Oriental is a great place to try stuff you're not sure of! Thanks to Sydney up and comer Ray Badran for making the trip up to MC - supporting our open micers Rob Bukey, Jabez and Ness - and Brendon Knott also did some new gear. Brendon is MCing next week and a sharp, sharp writer of comedy so make sure you get to that! The headliner was Sydney pro Darren Sanders, a hit with the crowd. One wonders what people from England, the US, New Zealand, Tasmania or Bundaberg would have thought of last night's set, but one thing was for sure - Newcastle loved it! Another one we'll have back later on in the year, and Darren hoped you moved a few DVDs after the gig too. Next week we have Daniel Townes, back from England where he supported some great names of comedy, and brought back some great stories too! No doubt he'll tell them on stage, so get there early! 15 February 2009
Terrible weather for a Valentine's Day comedy night - but a terrific crowd! The Oriental was packed again before showtime - and a massive show it was! We had 5 open mic comics in the first half, plus Newcastle comic Jeremy Ryan as MC. Thanks to our open micers - and a first ever performance from a newcomer Matt - who assures us he'll be back! Hope so Matt, very impressive for a first gig! Also well done Trish Medioli, Dane Durie, Rob Bukey and a treat Brendon Knott doing some great new stuff. Brendon's MCing in 2 weeks and well worth seeing. Our headliner was terrific Sydney comic Simon Kennedy, who's been on the Comedy Channel's Stand Up Australia and Nova radio in Sydney. Simon had the audience right from the start with fantastic impersonations, hilarious stories and a quick wit against hecklers! There's a headliner you'll see again in months to come - of course keep checking out the website for updates! Next week is Darren Sanders who runs the Sydney comedy room the Laugh Garage www.thelaughgarage.com and the MC is one of the best up and coming Sydney comics Ray Badran. See you there! 8 Feb 2009
Great crowds, great comics! That's the Oriental every Saturday - and we had it again last night. Well done to our 2 female open mic-ers Ness Smedley and Trish Medioli who did great sets, and a warning to hecklers - even our open mic comics can shut you down! (Well done Trish!) We had the well dressed Dominic O'Kieran headline (if you turn up to the Ori in a suit you must be performing!) and Oliver Phommavahn MC, who's doing well in the Sydney rooms so great to have him up here too. Check out the photos page too, they'll be updated shortly with more of you on the web! Next week it's an all bald guys show - Simon Kennedy headlining who's been on Nova Sydney and is a great comic, and MC local comic Jeremy Ryan. See you there! 31 January 2009
Another big crowd and another great night at the Oriental! Bizarre, unpredictable, random - but entertaining according to all who turned up! We had a great rock up and three open mic comics - local boys Brendon Knott and Jeremy Ryan testing out some new stuff and newcomer J-Bez doing really well in only his third ever time on stage! Our MC was one of Newcastle's finest, statesman of comedy Jason Starrett, who as well as having the crowd laughing all night, handled a bunch of heckling drunken cricketers with ease! In cricketing terms you could say the Uni boys were dismissed without scoring. We also had our headliner from Sydney Nick Sun close out the night - so with 5 comics in 2 hours you should come along - this room is value for money (especially because it's free entry!) See you there next week with our headliner Sydney comic Dominic O'Kieran - and our MC is an up and comer from Sydney too in Oliver Phommavahn. They've got great material and are well worth a look! 25 January 2009
Well what a big first night of comedy for 2009 in Newcastle! We had Jimbo kick off the year for us and... well if you weren't there you missed out! Sculling comps, dating games and Jimbo's stories of touring around Australia had the Oriental crowd going mental...just like Jimbo! Check out the man himself at jimbo.com.au, we at Newcastle Comedy think he's close to (if not the best) comedian for a pub crowd going around. Big thanks to the crowd that came along too - at one stage the guys behind the bar were down to half a dozen schooner glasses the place was that busy! I think the boys up the back put a fair few of them away - as well as the girls up the front (especially Vanessa and Amber who won the sculling comp!) We've got photos of the night on the photos page so check it out. Next week our headliner is Sydney comic Nick Sun - he's got a pretty impressive comedy resume (check out the headliners page!) and no two shows are the same with this guy. Love to see you there! 13 January 2009
We were meant to be starting a few weeks later, but because everyone's been calling the pub and demanding we put the comedy back on we're starting two weeks earlier with Jimbo headlining! Last time Jimbo performed here things got a little crazy, which is why we decided to get him back! We'll also have the open mic session at the start of the show, it's a good chance for new comics to have a go, and for experienced comics to do new material (and see if its good or if it bites the big pickle). Of course if you want to perform or run your own night then you can get in touch with us at comics@newcastlecomedy.com.au The comedy is free, and don't forget there's cheap drinks with $10 jugs! See you there Saturday night the 24th! 8:30pm kick off. And if you can't wait that long to hear some comedy, check out the ABC's web page where they've interviewed some Newcastle comics. http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/09/01/2351443.htm |
