Gigs of Variable Quality
What might be the explanations that people offer to support their argument that the ideal opportunity to see stand-up in Scotland's capital is during the Fringe? One argument is the number of performances that are happening.
Instead of the standard selection of comedy performances, there are thousands throughout the Festival.
However my belief is that quantity doesn't necessarily imply great material. Over the years I have attended scores of stand up comedy performances at the Fringe, and well over half of those were terrible. I have walked out of a lot of shows after listening for over thirty minutes without ever feeling the temptation to smile, let alone roar with laughter. Just because a comedy gig is in the Festival does not necessarily mean it is going to be entertaining.
I go to many comedy performances at all times of the year, and in my opinion there are way less genuinely dreadful shows on at other times of the year.
A lot of folk believe that the best time to watch stand up comedy in Scotland's capital is during the Fringe every year.
I'm in the minority who doesn't agree with that statement. Enjoy the Festival whenever you've got the opportunity, but don't limit yourself to that. Often the support acts somewhere else will be more entertaining.
A principal reason that folk offer for attending the Festival is that you can see the big-name comedians, and get to watch the next big things in standup before anyone else. My own experience differs. The best known comics' shows frequently sell out in advance of the stage where you've even found out they are happening, therefore you are less able to watch them doing their act in relation to the rest of the year.
And the argument that you'll have the opportunity to see the rising stars being released upon the world: in truth, I suppose it's conceivable, but you are more likely to witness a comedian who offers 5 minutes of averagely funny material, and 40 mins of filler.
None the less, they had a fantastic review since the journalist merely had long enough to stay for the start of the show.
Sometimes you're able to get hold of low-priced comedy tickets in the Edinburgh Festival due to the fact that there are lots of two-for-the-price-of-one deals on. All this really involves is that if you use a two-for-the-price-of-one deal, it costs you the identical amount to attend a show as it would normally, due to the fact that during the Festival all of the entry fees multiply by two. I'll go for open-mic evening at my neighbourhood stand-up place any day.