| | Reg D. Hunter Komedia, Brighton - 4 to 6 March 2005 | <*dv_1*>I caught Reg Hunter at Komedia in Brighton. I was nicely basting in five pints of Kronenbourg and my girlfriend had polished of the best part of a bottle of white; by this point in the night the last act needed to be something pretty special. So the MC announces Reg, the music kicks in and Reg appears from the left of the stage as opposed to actually ON the stage. A lot of people probably thought this was his mistake I think he meant to do that. Because the second I saw him make his way slowly through the crowd I knew he was going to be something special.
<*dv_0*> Tall, laconic and infinitely cool, its easy to see why Hunter has been called the Samuel L. Jackson of comedy. But hes way more than that, and his set was a contender for the best stand up Ive ever seen. He starts the set, after sparking a cigarette, by talking about groups; how everyone over here (Hunter himself is from the US) is classified by what group theyre in, what football team they support, what part of town they live in. He gets a lot of laughs when he riffs on English people and their reactions to pikies, but where some comics might seize the moment and go full throttle Hunter doesnt do this. He stays laid back and chilled, refusing to get too excited or carried away. The most striking thing is his presence; Hunters joke tally is a lot lower than other stand-ups. Despite this youre unable to tear your eyes and ears away from him, hes the most commanding comedian since Bill Hicks. Its a sign of his obvious talents that the other acts (as well as MC Stephen Grant) came form backstage to watch Hunters performance. The set over-ran by a good twenty minutes but absolutely no one seemed to care, he literally grabs you by the brain and demands you listen to what hes got to say.
<*dv_2*> Like the best comedy, you cant remember half the things you heard. (I remember exactly ONE gag, and me saying it would probably sound racist not to mention nowhere near as funny as Hunter.) All I can remember is that he had me in absolute stitches the whole time while the people around me had tears streaming down their faces. Check out your local comedy club and go see Reg D. Hunter, everyone needs to experience this.
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