You've Still Got It

Now I have to be honest and say that in formulating a title for this review I went back and forth on whether You've Still Got It was really appropriate as it could be construed as saying that the person in question may not have still had 'IT' due to extenuating circumstances (in this case heath issues) which seems mightily unfair as the aforementioned issues don't necessarily preclude that the sufferer doesn't still have the skills that they had in their prime.

With that said the title does still work on another level (my intended one) and so I hope that nobody who reads this will be offended by my choice.

Preamble aside lets get down to the point of this review which is to cover the latest live show from a man who many have listed as the greatest stand up comedian of all time Mr Billy Connolly CBE. Believe it or not but Billy will be 74 years old when he celebrates his birthday on the 24th of this month and he has been doing the comedy thing since the early 70's. Now I'm not going to talk about his early life as a welder or how he came to be a comedian as I feel confident that pretty much everybody will not only have heard of Billy Connolly but will have also seen one of his shows either in person or on TV and if you have then you will know his story as he has never been shy about talking about his past as part of his routine.

Time now for a confession as I admit that I have never been a huge Connolly fan. Now thats not to say I've disliked any of his work (hell he sang the theme song for Supergran which makes him OK with me) and I have always laughed along when watching one of his dvds or television appearances that he became well known for during the 80's and 90's when he did the chatshow circuit. What I mean is that I've never felt the need to go and actively search Billy out. Be it one of his travel shows or the countless times he appeared on Comic Relief I never felt the need to tune in specifically to see Billy though I would inevitably find myself thoroughly entertained if I did watch (normally being coerced into doing so by my wife who is a big Billy fan).

With that said however I was really looking forward to attending Billys High Horse stand up show at the Genting Arena in Birmingham after my wife heard about the show and so we got tickets for her birthday. I will admit however that there was a slight morbid curiosity as to how the show would go due to Billy suffering from Parkinsons, a disease that was discovered at the same time as his Prostate Cancer was diagnosed. I'm hoping that this confession does not paint me in a bad light but I always like to be as truthful as possible when writing my reviews.

So to the show its self. From the getgo it was clear that this was not the same Billy physically as I had seen before as he slowly walked onto stage and took his place front and centre next to his stool on which sat his glass of water. It was here that he would stay for the next two hours as there would be no walking about the stage as he spoke due in part to his condition and part of course to his age, that said however I hope that I look as good at 74 as Billy does as Parkinsons aside he looked great and certainly not his age.

So he began talking (taking a shot at Donald Trump and Nigel Farage to open proceedings) and it produced laughter tinged with a little sadness as his left hand visibly shook beyond his control. Not that Billy would want anyone to look at him as the comedian with a disease of course as it is his words that define him and not the affliction, a point that was hammered home when after a few minutes of his performance he addressed the elephant in the room and talked about his condition treating it with all the respect that he had shown the potential President of the US earlier in the show.

From there the shaking became almost invisible to me as I was caught up in the tales he wove and realised that it didn't matter as Billy is still as sharp and as witty as he has ever been even if he did seem to lose himself once or twice (again this mattered not as he just continued his journey along a different path which always invariably ended up back where he had left off). It is this that is the mans true skill as he makes even the most mundane of stories hilariously funny and has you in stitches from the first word to the very last. As for his 'change of scenery' moments, they were as brilliant as they were bizarre.

So in conclusion I have to say that I had an amazing night and am glad that I am able to say that I have seen the Big Yin live as this is the way he has to be seen to be truly appreciated for how great a storyteller and comedian he actually is. Therefore my score for the show has to be a 10 out of 10 as it was as close to flawless as one can get with not a dud joke in sight.

Thank you Billy Connolly, you truly are one of a kind.