BREVIEW: Doug Stanhope @ O2 Academy 12.06.18

Doug Stanhope / Illustration by Emily DoyleWords & illustrations by Emily Doyle

Andrew O’Neill seems like a strange choice to warm up for Doug Stanhope. The self-described occult comedian and heterosexual transvestite has eschewed the skirt tonight. He wears an oversized vest and skinny jeans, tinny in hand.

O’Neill delivers rapid fire one liners (“a bad workman doesn’t blame his tools, he blames ‘the Muslims’”) and enforces audience participation. It becomes clear that he has a tough job. The room reluctantly plays along as he sings…

If you’re depressed and medicated, clap your hands!”

His set is short, but towards the end it’s become evident that he’s running out of material. By the time he’s getting the crowd clapping along to ‘We Will Rock You’, it’s time to introduce the main man. By way of a goodbye, O’Neill boasts of how he recently fist-bumped Ozzy Osborne.

Stanhope shuffles on stage in his trademark oversized suit, grumbling about O’Neill. The 38-year-old’s comparatively youthful energy made our host feel like an “angry old grandpa” in the green room.

In his interview for Birmingham Review back in May, Stanhope made it clear that he was not looking forward to his trip to our fair city. Tonight he announces that he “didn’t think it could get worse than Leeds”. This entrance is a far cry from the staple exercise of most touring acts; it seems customary to walk on stage to Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’ any time you’re in the West Midlands. Instead, Stanhope tells the crowd that he feels like he’s in the Island of Dr Moreau every time he steps out of his hotel. Similar sentiments surface on his Twitter page the next day, where he writes the following:

‘The ferals of #Birmingham have come out in mass. They literally look unearthed. Every venture out for a smoke is a dangerous experiment. What is it that they seek? What is the addiction? Paint? A Gassy rag? I wear similar ratty pajamas as camouflage.’

He must be enjoying his day off.

It may come as some relief to know Stanhope doesn’t reserve this level of disdain just for his UK crowds. A Magners sponsored tour of East Asia earlier this year saw him performing to a string of expat audiences. Tonight he announces that they all reminded him of American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman.Andrew O'Neill / Illustration by Emily Doyle Following this, Stanhope launches into a much anticipated retelling of the Bangkok fiasco he detailed in his podcast, and how he avoided being detained under Thailand’s strict lèse-majesté laws. These laws state that ‘whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment’.

When they say don’t make fun of the king, it’s not a suggestion… I did a very timid show, but I’ve made fun of him every show since.

He tells of people who’ve fallen foul of these laws, including author Harry Nicolaides. Nicolaides was imprisoned for three years over a 2005 novel which sold a total of seven copies. Stanhope encourages the skeptical crowd to check his Twitter feed for the facts. They can be found amongst a string of tweets criticising Thailand’s monarchy tagged #KingOfThailand.

As Stanhope’s set progresses, he delves deeper and darker into comedy’s untouchable subjects; he quips on racial prejudice and sexual violence at whim. It’s uncomfortable to watch, especially when he’s performing to an audience which is predominantly male and entirely white. When challenged by hecklers on his choices of topic, he shuts them down, shouting, “I’m not done with Indian gang rape, you fucking questioner!” The couple sat to my left, who are about five Jagerbombs deep in their evening, go from laughing at every sentence to a stony, indignant silence. One of them resorts to shouting their objections at an increasing volume, until Stanhope acknowledges them with a cursory, “Wow, you REALLY wanna get noticed.

Doug Stanhope / Illustration by Emily Doyle

He goes on to dedicate his next joke to them, which happens to be on the topic of dead children.

I’m sorry, did I take a subject that’s horrifying and maybe unavoidable and try and make it fun?

At times Stanhope seems to defend his right to make jokes about certain topics. In the past he’s done whole bits about his partner’s mental illness. Tonight he tells how his longtime fan and friend Laura turned up to his North Carolina shows without fail in her final months, each time demanding new zingers on her terminal brain cancer. It’s all well and good, but this angle seems to undermine his jokes about race and gender. Why bother to justify the odd jibe about schizophrenia when in a heartbeat you’re rolling out cheap shots about black Americans and tipping?

The audience for Stanhope’s brand of comedy can be split into three groups. Some people seem uneasy with a lot of his material; he dares people to laugh at the jokes he makes, and in doing so pushes them to examine their own internal prejudice. Others seem worryingly oblivious to the whole subtext, cheering and laughing at every cliché. Stanhope acknowledges this himself, openly lamenting the upshot of his staunch anarchism.

I think I’ve moved a lot of Nazis in my direction…

It’s hard to make people sit and reflect on their own flaws, least of all at a stand up show where the bar sells plastic two pint cups of lager.

The third group of people can be described as the eagerly offended; it feels like a portion of the audience are here to hate on Stanhope as a pastime. After all, his reputation precedes him everywhere. No one can have bought a ticket not knowing what to expect.

Doug Stanhope - Twitter feed 13.06.18

For a follower of Stanhope’s work, it’s a strange and awkward evening. It turns out that watching his heavily edited TV performances, or even listening to his very candid podcast, is a sterile way to consume Stanhope’s comedy. What seems like a nuanced and thoughtful observation on capitalism becomes far blunter and messier when it’s just a sweaty man shouting over a drunk crowd, “how many jobs would be immediately lost overnight if you cured cancer?

The couple on my left are still heckling, in between holding a conversation amongst themselves about whether or not Stanhope is a “real alcoholic”. It’s hard to believe they’re this outspoken in day to day life. The next day fans tweet at Stanhope that they were ‘suitably offended’ by last night’s show; it seems his comedy hits home with some and not others. The man himself seems not to mind.

For more on Doug Stanhope, visit www.dougstanhope.com

For more on Andrew O’Neill, visit www.andrewoneill.co.uk

For more from the O2 Academy Birmingham, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

ELEANOR’S PICK: Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) @ NEC 28.05.18

ELEANOR’S PICK: Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) @ NEC 28.05.18

Words by Eleanor Sutcliffe

Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) comes to the NEC in Birmingham on 28th May. For a direct event information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk/whats-on/slam-dunk-festival

As one of the most anticipated dates in the UK pop punk calendar, it’s safe to say Slam Dunk Festival are taking no prisoners with this year’s line up. With a bevy of bands and artists descending upon the NEC in just under a week’s time, I took it upon myself to comb through the roster and select a number that I personally love.

ELEANOR’S PICK: Holding Absence at Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) @ NEC 28.05.18

Holding Absence / Rock Sound Breakout Stage

Birmingham favourites, Holding Absence, are set to make their Slam Dunk debut this year on the Rock Sound Breakout Stage. Having recently announced the departure of guitarist Feisal El-Khazragi, it will be one of their first performances without him in their line up. But with Holding Absence recently nominated for Best British Breakthrough Band at the 2018 Heavy Metal Awards, plus playing a string of dates supporting Being as an Ocean across Europe in June, they’re certainly not letting El-Khazragi’s departure slow them down.

Represented by Sharptone Records – who bought us the likes of Don Broco, Miss May I and We Came As Romans – the Cardiff based band also recently toured and released a co-EP with Loathe titled This Is As One, which earned them numerous positive reviews from critics for tracks such as ‘Saint Cecilia’.

Holding Absence perform at 3:30pm on the Rock Sound Breakout Stage. For more on Holding Absence, visit www.holdingabsence.com

Saint Cecilia’ – Holding Absence

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ELEANOR’S PICK: PVRIS at Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) @ NEC 28.05.18

PVRIS / Jägermeister Main Stage

Having recently performed at Coachella, PVRIS will be returning to Birmingham hot off the heels of the American leg of their All We Know of Heaven, All We Need Of Hell tour – promoting their latest album of the same name.

Lynn Gunn’s dreamy vocals, combined with the band’s heavy rock influences, have earned them a dedicated fanbase and won them Rock Sound’s Artist of the Year Award back in 2017. Here’s hoping PVRIS also perform some tracks from their debut album, White Noise, with songs such as ‘St. Patrick’ and ‘My House’ being on my personal wish list.

PVRIS perform at 8:15 pm on the Jägermeister Main Stage. For more on PVRIS, visit www.pvris.com

‘Anyone Else’ – PVRIS

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ELEANOR’S PICK: Taking Back Sunday at Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) @ NEC 28.05.18

Taking Back Sunday / Monster Energy Main Stage

Returning to Slam Dunk for the 3rd time, Taking Back Sunday were in the first wave of bands to be confirmed to at perform this year’s festival.

Having released their 7th album, Tidal Waves, in September 2016, and parting ways with their original guitarist Eddie Rayes last month, it will be interesting to see if we get to hear any new material from the group. Although I’m hoping to hear classic tracks such as ‘You’re So Last Summer’ and ‘MakeDamnSure’ as well as songs such as ‘You Can’t Look Back’ from their latest album live.

Taking Back Sunday perform at 8:05pm on the Monster Energy Main Stage. For more on Taking Back Sunday, visit www.takingbacksunday.com

‘You’re So Last Summer’ – Taking Back Sunday

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ELEANOR’S PICK: Astroid Boys at Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) @ NEC 28.05.18Astroid Boys / Impericon Stage

The Impericon stage will be hosting hardcore grime band Astroid Boys, who have always delivered impressive shows in Birmingham. Growing steadily since their formation back in 2012, they were bought to my attention after being featured in BBC Radio 4’s documentary Operation Grime, which tailed them on a tour across the UK.

Astroid Boys‘ music is not for the faint hearted – expect brutal lyrics addressing issues such as racism, mashed with hardcore and grime influences to create a sound you probably have never heard before… but will just as probably want to listen to again.

Astroid Boys perform at 2:20 pm on the Impericon Stage. For more on Astroid Boys, visit www.astroid-boys.com

‘Foreigners’ – Astroid Boys

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ELEANOR’S PICK: As It Is at Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) @ NEC 28.05.18

As It Is / Signature Brew Stage

Announcing the August release of their latest album, The Great Depression, only a few days ago, Brighton based As It Is will be headlining the Signature Brew stage this year.

A band who’ve amassed a dedicated fan base with tracks such as ‘Dial Tones’ and ‘Hey Rachel’, their material is catchy, easy to listen to and fun – however it’s unfair to assume they lack a more serious side. Their latest release, ‘The Wounded World’, delves into a much darker side of their ever-expanding noise, having been cited by the band as a ‘new era’ of their music which expands on ‘the societal romanticisation of depression’ and ‘the disrepair of present-day human connection’.

As ever with this band, though, As It Is approach their subject with the respect and sensitivity it warrants – referencing their new material as a means for them to work to create a positive change for mental health.

As It Is perform at 8:30pm on the Signature Brew Stage. For more from As It Is, visit www.asitisofficial.bandcamp.com

‘The Wounded World’ – As It Is

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ELEANOR’S PICK: Luke Rainsford at Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) @ NEC 28.05.18

Luke Rainsford / The Key Club Acoustic Stage

The Key Club Acoustic Stage is hosting a stellar line up of bands and artists, including Birmingham’s Luke Rainsford – combining upbeat guitar with gut wrenching vocals, making music that is hard hitting but a real treat to listen to.

Having toured the UK extensively since the release of I Feel At Home With You in February 2017, and having recently released his latest EP, I Just Don’t Deserve To Be Loved, in April 2018, Rainsford’s music deals with difficult issues such as loss, bereavement, low self esteem and mental health. Good, honest stuff.

Luke Rainsford performs at 4:15 pm on The Key Club Acoustic Stage. For more on Luke Rainsford, visit www.lukerainsford.bandcamp.com

‘Home Safe’ – Luke Rainsford

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltnvyxgWovs

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ELEANOR’S PICK: Stand Atlantic at Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) @ NEC 28.05.18

Stand Atlantic / Rock Sound Breakout Stage

Australian trio, Stand Atlantic, will also be making their Slam Dunk debut this year, having recently toured with other performers such as ROAM and Knuckle Puck. With their latest EP, Sidewinder, reaching an impressive #10 on Rock Sound’s Top 50 Albums of 2017, and having been cited by Kerrang! as one of the hottest bands of 2018, Stand Atlantic are proving they’re a force to be reckoned with.

Claiming influences from Blink-182 to The 1975, they’re certainly considered a mixed bag musically too – but in the best possible way. Trust me. Go and listen to ‘Coffee at Midnight’. You can thank me later.

Stand Atlantic perform at 6:00 pm on the Rock Sound Breakout Stage. For more on Stand Atlantic, visit www.facebook.com/StandAtlantic 

‘Coffee at Midnight’ – Stand Atlantic

Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands) comes to the NEC in Birmingham on 28th May. For direct information on Slam Dunk Festival 2018, including details on all the events happening across the UK, visit www.slamdunkmusic.com

For a direct info and online ticket sales for Slam Dunk Festival 2018 (Midlands), visit www.gentingarena.co.uk/whats-on/slam-dunk-festival

For more from the Genting Arena, including full events listing and venue details, visit www.gentingarena.co.uk

INTERVIEW: Doug Stanhope

Doug Stanhope / by Brian Hennigan

Words by Emily Doyle / Pics by Brian Hennigan

On Tuesday 12th June, comedian and author Doug Stanhope brings his one man stand up show to the O2 Academy Birminghamfor direct show information, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here. 

Emily Doyle caught up with the American comic before he sets off for the UK, to talk about his new book, upcoming tour, and the joys of a rioting Wolverhampton crowd.

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I’m calling across the Atlantic, not expecting international comic Doug Stanhope to pick up first time. And yet after a couple of rings, I’m greeted with a jubilant “Good evening!” It’s coming up to midday in Arizona, but it’s nearly 8pm here in Birmingham.

Stanhope has been touring his stand-up for a quarter of a century, gaining a reputation along the way. Chris Rock has called him, “the most dangerous comedian in the world.” British listeners will know his blunt social commentary from his turn as the ‘Voice of America’ on Charlie Brooker’s BBC show Newswipe. When asked how he ended up working with Brooker, Stanhope pauses before replying.

“…I don’t know. My manager sets up a lot of stuff just, tells me “Oh, we’re gonna do this thing.” The first one I did was Screenwipe where I had to shuffle down with a hangover to the theatre and sit in a chair – “Okay, here’s the topics, just riff on ‘em, and let ‘em edit out anything you might have said that was vaguely entertaining…” – but after that we set it up over here. It was always fun to do.”

Stanhope has released ten stand up albums and authored three books. The latest of these is This Is Not Fame – from What I Re-Memoir, a celebration of the chaos and excess of his comedy tours. His previous book, Digging Up Mother: A Love Story, was subject to a statute of limitations because of its descriptions of credit card fraud. I’m eager to know if the same is true of the new release.

“Oh, no, there’s nothing illegal,” confirms Stanhope, “There’s probably a lot of stuff I could get sued for. If I WAS famous, I’d probably get sued for that book, but no one would care.”

With the book, of course, comes the inevitable tour. And that means leaving America. I look out the window at Birmingham’s grey skyline and ask Stanhope if there’s any UK dates he’s especially looking forward to.

“What… over there? No!” he laughs, “I don’t look forward to the U.K. at all! You know what, we’re not doing it, but I’d be excited to go back to Wolverhampton just ‘cause the one time I played there – I mentioned it briefly in the book – was absolute chaos. It was one of those towns that everyone said was a piece of shit and we’d hate, and we knew we were gonna love it just ‘cause of all the warnings we get about it. And it became my favourite team and they just got promoted! The Wolverhampton Wolves!”

“I guess other people listen and don’t go there. So, it was just one of those crowds where they were really overly excited that anyone showed up, and they bum-rushed the van. There was a brawl outside after the show, unrelated to the show. But there was some, you know, violent ejections during the show, and fisticuffs outside afterwards but they (the venue) didn’t know what it was about, the rumble, so they secreted us out the back to the waiting van and then a bunch of fans, cool ones, were pounding on the side of the van and screaming like you’re the fucking Beatles. It was… fantastic. The only good part of that seven week tour.”

It seems fitting that Stanhope should feel at home in Wolverhampton, even in the middle of a riot he might have created. The self-proclaimed anarchist never shies away from the grittier side of life. His stand-up revels in the taboo and the touchy, tearing apart topics such as gun violence, prostitution, and his own mother’s suicide with nihilistic glee. Many of Stanhope’s American fans see him as a defender of free speech. I ask if he finds international audiences any more sensitive.

“The only problem I really run into over there is getting halfway through a bit and realising ‘Oh shit, the payoff to this is something they’re not going to get’ and I’m already into it.Doug Stanhope / by Brian Hennigan I should have prepared and I just realised the big fucking punchline makes no sense whatsoever over here. So, then you have to make the judgment call, do I just keep doing the next three or four minutes of this bit knowing it’s gonna die, or do I just abruptly end it?”

Stanhope pauses, “When you do that, you just go “Ah you’re not gonna like this bit, let me move on,” then people think you we’re about to say something really shocking and then they goad ya, “Do it, do the bit!”” 

One authority did see fit to draw the line, however: the BBC. In the wake of the 2015 Paris attacks, Stanhope’s segment for Charlie Brooker’s 2015 Wipe was deemed to offensive to air.

“We filmed some stuff over here; I forget what it was about. Some news story crushed the best bit that I had. I have an album titled ‘…before turning the gun on himself’. It was supposed to the title of the two previous albums I put out, and both of ‘em got shitcanned because there was a shooting right before they went out. So, I had two last minute title changes before I finally managed to self-publish and put that one out. It’s hard to time that title without there being gun violence.”

America is no stranger to the occasional public shooting spree. But, especially to the rest of the world right now, any mention of the US brings to mind one ominous, flatulent word: Trump. Stanhope has gone on record saying that he doesn’t talk about the American president in his stand-up. His UK tour is mere weeks before Trump’s visit though, so I can’t resist asking if he’ll get a mention.

“Yeah, unless something strikes me that I think might not have struck every other comedian, I’ll avoid it,” tells Stanhope. “It’s even destroyed twitter. My whole fucking twitter feed. All the comments are dour fucking really serious anti-Trump stuff. People are still really surprised when he gets caught in a lie? How many news stories are we missing because it’s all the fucking news?” 

Doug Stanhope & Amy Bingaman / by Brian HenniganStanhope becomes irate, and it’s easy to see why. He makes his living cracking wise about authority and institution; Trump beats commentators to the punchline with every move he makes. 

“I’m trying to avoid the cliche of ‘the jokes write themselves’,” continues Stanhope, “but… I love that people are upset about it. They fucking created this. Reality TV, you know. Fawning over people that just talk shit from fucking Jersey shore. Why do I know who a fucking Kardashian is? I shouldn’t know that, you fucking brain-raped me into that. All these fucking zero-weight assholes. You celebrate them, and look at what you got. Good. Fucking sleep in it. I don’t have kids, I have no hope for the future. What do I give a shit about Trump?” 

It’s a valid point, especially from a safe distance across the Atlantic. But whilst British audiences may be on board with Stanhope’s provocative material, that’s not the case everywhere the comedian performs. Earlier this year he completed a seven date tour of East Asia for Magners International Comedy Festival. In his podcast, Stanhope tells listeners of his “$12,000 boo boo”, which saw him almost cancelling his Bangkok show for fear of being locked up for treason. “You’ll hear about that onstage,” he confirms. “ You’ll hear about that for a while.” 

At this point we are interrupted. Stanhope pauses to curse his girlfriend, Bingo, for calling while he’s in an interview. “Brain injury, she claims, but she was that dumb before the brain injury…”

A familiar voice to listeners of The Doug Stanhope Podcast, Amy ‘Bingo’ Bingaman has had her fair share of drama. Currently recovering from a life-threatening coma, which Stanhope lovingly documented by tweeting regular photos of her complete with tracheotomy and feeding tube, Bingo has been promoting her own book, Let Me Out: A Madhouse Diary – a journal of her experiences being institutionalised under the Wyoming Mental Health System.Doug Stanhope / by Brian Hennigan

Stanhope says it’s been a cathartic experience, both for her and for readers who’ve had similar experiences. “It’s in some cases made her a de facto spokesperson that she doesn’t wanna be – like, ‘Hey this is a diary, it’s not necessarily something I wanna be the face of’. A lot of people will email her looking for help.”

Bingo often gets a mention in Stanhope’s stand-up. In his latest album, No Place Like Home, he speaks candidly about his partner’s treatment under Arizona’s mental healthcare system. In order to access her mental healthcare, which consists of Skype sessions with a registered nurse, Bingo goes to a strip mall that’s home to a gun shop, a brewery, and her provider – Community Intervention Associates. Stanhope is quick to point out that for any patients suffering from paranoia, walking through a door marked ‘CIA’ to converse with a TV screen isn’t optimal. I ask if this is still the situation.

No actually, that’s one of those things I secretly take credit for,” tells Stanhope, “after I released that they changed the name from CIA to CHA. I think I’m responsible for that. They had to have seen this, it’s a small town. They had to have heard about it. They changed the name, if nothing else. The mental healthcare hasn’t gotten any better but at least they didn’t make it so blatantly obvious they don’t care by calling it ‘CIA’.

With a population of around five-thousand, Bisbee, Arizona is indeed a small place. But Stanhope is evidently fond of his hometown. “Oh, I love it here. There’s few enough people that there a sense of community, I like knowing my neighbours, I like not having to lock doors. You probably should here… I’ve got angry dogs.”

Doug Stanhope / by Brian HenniganIt’s from their Bisbee home, a compound of bungalows, trailers, and miscellaneous kitsch, that Stanhope and Bingo run their annual ‘eBay Yard Sale’. I ask him what they’ve put aside; keen to know if there’s anything good going.

“That’s what we’re doing today,” explains Stanhope. “As soon as I’m done with you we start cataloging all the stuff. We got a bunch of shit. A bunch of suits, just stuff that just fills up your crawl space, you know. I’ll never look at this again. People send me, like, watercolour paintings of me and you know, hey, that’s a good painting, I guess, but what? Am I gonna put paintings of myself on my own walls? Fuck. So you sell it to the fans.” 

Historically, the clearouts have been mostly made up of eclectic clothing. A scroll through Stanhope’s eBay shows up such descriptions as ‘Plaid Jacket 40R Serious Polyester’,  ‘Bingo’s Turquoise Blue Pimp Suit’, and ‘Old Timey Wool Swimming Trunks’. This time around he’s got something a little more personal on offer. 

“I got a picture that was on my wall from the first time we went over to London with Johnny Depp. It’s me and Bingo and Johnny Depp and Amber Heard and Ron Wood from the Stones and his gal, and I don’t want fucking Amber Heard on my wall any more so I’m gonna sell that, with the explanation that…  if you know the stories then you know why I wouldn’t want this on my wall. But I will sell it and I’ll give that money to a charity for actually abused women. ‘Cause that’s what she supposedly did with her divorce money – “I’m gonna give it all to charities for abused women” – well I’m gonna do the same with your picture.” 

“She dropped the lawsuit,” continues Stanhope – referring to the deformation case Heard brought, and dropped, against the comic. “She had no lawsuit, she was just doing it to try to shut me up. It would’a been fucking hilarious if she went through with it. Sue me in my own small town? Gonna come down here and sue me for all I’ve got? Get that house? You know you can’t sell that house; you’ll have to be my neighbour. Houses don’t sell down here very well.”

Doug Stanhope & Amy Bingaman / by Brian HenniganThe legal run in Stanhope had with Amber Heard has been well documented, as is his friendship with Johnny Depp, who wrote the foreword for Digging Up Mother. Ron Wood is a new one on me, though. I ask him who else shows up in the new book. He simply tells me that, “you can’t have a book called ‘This Is Not Fame’ without name dropping a lot,” before directing me to the index, handily included in the press release I received: Brand, Russell. Clapton, Eric. Manson, Marilyn….

“I texted him,” beings Stanhope at the mention of Marilyn Manson, who sits next to ‘The Man Show’ and ‘Marijuana’ in the index of This Is Not Fame. “He’s legendarily flaky so I texted him, I said ‘Hey, will you write a blurb for the back cover of my book?’ And he just typed back ‘yes’ and never got around to it, so I just put that. He’s a fun character; he’s one who lives up to his reputation. We’ve hung out a few times but I don’t have that kind of stamina. He’s hardcore.”

“I envy the people like that who can party that hard and still create that much. I mean, I can hang with you for awhile but I’m not doing shit the next day. I’m not writing a song or… he paints, he’s just wildly artistic. I party like that and I’m just on the couch for twenty four hours.” Stanhope pauses, “often I will go out on stage to his ‘Killing Strangers’ song… puts you in the mood.”

This is about all the comic will tell me about his upcoming tour; either he’s closely guarding some prime material, or he’s still to write it. Time will tell.

Our time today, however, has come to an end. It’s getting dark here in Birmingham, and Doug Stanhope clearly has a crawl space or two to empty out before the day is done in Bisbee. I wish him well, and try once more to find out what went on in Bangkok. He’s not telling. “Be at the show in Birmingham. This is such a long-ass story…”

Doug Stanhope performs at the O2 Academy Birmingham on Tuesday 12th June – as presented by Academy Events. For direct show information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham/events/doug-stanhope

For more on Doug Stanhope, visit www.dougstanhope.com

For more from the O2 Academy Birmingham, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

ED’S PICK: April ‘18

Words by Ed King

Easter Sunday, 1st April… There’s probably a joke in there somewhere. But with a basket of listings and entertainment based excel spreadsheets to plough through who has the time to be witty? Or hunt for Easter eggs, for that matter. Being an adult sucks.

However (…are you ready for this segue) it does allow me to enjoy all the delights of the Flatpack Film Festival without worrying about ID – actually, I’m not sure there’s too much on the programme with an age restriction but Dots & Loops are part of the festival and they brought us Lesley the Pony Has and A+ Day!, so…

Back for festival number 12, those glorious creatives at Flatpack have put on a nine day smorgasbord of celluloid, digital, and other audio/visual treats – running from 13th to 22nd April, in a variety of venue across the city. Too much to cram into this round up; look out for our more in-depth cherry pick in the days to come, or click here for more direct information on the full programme.

Elsewhere in the non-greenfield, Ebola flirting, footwear wrecking land of multi-stage events, we have the Birmingham Literature Festival – hop scotching from various corners of the REP to the Birmingham and Midland Institute from 27th to 29th April. Now old enough to drink beer in America, this year’s Birmingham Literature Festival has a focus on women in literature and publishing, alongside a weekend long programme of ‘inspiring conversations, writing and debate’. Again too much to adequately surmise, but click here for more direct info.

Following on with a female focus, Birmingham Jazz launches its Legends Festival on 27th April – running as a series of satellite events across the city until 20th May. This year’s linchpin is ‘Celebrating Women in Jazz’, with local artists such as Trish Clowes joining a myriad of talent from across the globe. Too much to fit into… you know the drill, click here.

Theatre comes in all shapes and sizes this month, including a couple of choice cuts on Hurst Street – with Wicked beginning its Birmingham run at the Hippodrome (4th-29th Apr) and The Twisted Tale of Hansel and Gretel at the Patrick Centre (4th– 8th Apr).

Across the duel carriageways and road works we have Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock coming to the Birmingham REP (10th – 14th) followed by the political see-saw of 1970’s Britain in This House (17th – 21st) – reminding us fear mongering comes from both sides of the aisle and a dash of vitriol isn’t a particular new idea. How times have changed… or not.

Music takes its usual fat belly slice of our monthly listings, with a few ‘big gigs’ of notE coming to the NEC portfolio – as the Genting Arena sees both Arcade Fire (15th Apr) and Dua Lipa (17th Apr), whilst Arena Birmingham welcomes the Manic Street Preachers (27th Apr) back to the city.

Playing across the non-arena rooms of our musical city, the Hare & Hounds has another eclectic mix – with Kushikatsu Records presenting Shonen Knife (15th Apr) followed Snowpoet (19th Apr) courtesy of Jazzlines. Whilst The Glee Club sees the very welcome return of Nerina Pallot (9th Apr) stopping off in Birmingham on the second date if her UK tour. Fingers crossed there’s a piano on stage.

The Sunflower Lounge sees Killer Wave and Outlander host their ‘Help the Homeless’ pay-as-you-feel charity fundraiser (8th Apr) – with all money raised going to Shelter and Tabor House. Then we have Lucy May Walker playing her first headline show in Birmingham (18th Apr) – both events well worth a stop, look and listen. And £5 of your hard earned cash, of course.

Our mobile branded venues see a bevy of acts this month too, with the O2 Academy presenting George Ezra (4th Apr), The Vaccines (7th Apr), Trivium (17th Apr), The Streets (19th Apr), Coasts (21st Apr) and Akala (24th Apr). Whilst the O2 Institute leads out with Walk the Moon (7th Apr), Little Comets (14th Apr), Aquilo (16th Apr), Of Mice and Men (25th Apr) and Sharon Needles: Battle Axe Tour (26th Apr).

A special mention also has to go to the Hummingbird-Menagerie-Indie-salad days-nostalgia trip coming to the O2 Academy with Love From Stourbridge – featuring The Wonder Stuff and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin (14th Apr). Someone pass me my German army shirt, skateboard and a can of Red Stripe, we’re going early 90’s feral…

And if you’re committed to your anti-corporate support of live music, never fear as mac welcomes Juice Aleem & Surge Orchestra (21st Apr) whilst Mama Roux’s serves two sides of the musical rainbow with The Herbaliser (19th Apr) and Mallory Knox (24th Apr)… probably not a good idea to get those dates mixed up in your diary.

Elsewhere in the city, comedy offers a relatively strong respite from those kids and their music – with The Glee Club presenting Tony Law (13th Apr), Alun Cochrane (15th Apr) and Craig Campbell (22nd Apr).

Or if you just want to stand and stare, you could waste a happy hour or two at Lewes Herriot: The Glass Arcana exhibition at Artefact in Stirchley (13th – 14th Apr). Or watching the flyers unfold with an exhibition from the seminal 90’s ambient electro club Oscillate, at Centrala (16th – 28th Apr) – bearing in mind there is an end of exhibition party with HIA and POLE (28th Apr) so you might want to do more than actually just stand and stare. Or not. Depends how you dance to Sun Electric, I suppose. Necking enough amphetamines to kill a small horse always worked for me, but vegetarian options are available.

But to end on the most glamorous of high notes (pun absolutely intended) Paul Alexsandr and Dragpunk present Candyland at The Nightingale (6th Apr) – a choc full celebration of ‘local and national UK drag of all genders, sexualities and abilities that you’ll adore.’ Then at the other end of the April rainbow, Opulence are launching Mother’s Meeting at Bar Jester (28th Apr) – a band spanking new ‘performance night dedicated to showing off a variety of drag and queer talent across Birmingham and the U.K.’, with special guest Charity Kase joined by a pageant of the Opulence crew on stage and Elliot Barnicle on the decks.

Birmingham can be proud for many reasons, but the cross over embrace of its drag community is one to really get those flags waving. We love covering it, and it seems the punters of Birmingham love supporting it. So, Vive la/le drag community of our fair/fairer city, alongside all who sail on these most wonderful of waters. Save some energy though, Birmingham Pride is a mere calendar page turn away.

And wait, I’ve just thought of one. A Jewish carpenter and a 6ft rabbit walk into Cadbury World…

For more on any of the events listed here, click on the highlighted hyperlinks. Ed King is Editor-in-Chief of Review Publishing, which issues both the Birmingham Review and Birmingham Preview. To follow Ed King on Twitter, click here.