Summer Season
The summer is finally here then, and no, we're not just saying that after a few days of good weather. For a lot of us, the summer is when the football season finally finishes, and we can all worry about other stuff, like loads of comedy. And due to that weird World Cup last winter, we've now had two consecutive summers without a big football tournament - which is good news for anyone putting on a festival, or getting a show ready for the Edinburgh Fringe, or just putting on anything really.
Trying to work out when to book in a show when the home nations are at a World Cup or Euros must be a nightmare, and a gamble - will it clash with a game everyone wants to see? Imagine trying to do a little preview of your new show in, say, Cardiff, the evening Wales are playing a big knockout game. Tumbleweeds ahoy.
What would you rather do, after all? Go and see a half-finished comedy show in a dark room, or enjoy the full interactive experience of watching sport these days. Even if just seeing a game at home, fans can rant about the ref on social media, or browse for free bets to add extra spice, while messaging pals throughout. Whereas at comedy you have to stop talking altogether for an hour, or more, unless actively spoken to by the comic - which is a lot of people's worst nightmare.
It's very different in a summer where there's no football though, as people are crying out for something to do, to escape the relentless monotony of everyday life: meeting up for a comedy gig can be an oasis of joy in a scary world. In fact, a good comic can often put that scary world into perspective. It's a wonder to behold, how cleverly and concisely they sum up an argument.
Let's be honest, we comedy fans get a lot of our info about current affairs from stand-ups, either on stage or on social media. You can read a dozen well-written and well-reasoned think pieces by proper politicos, then process all that information and try to explain it to the sceptical people you come across; or you could just retell a great joke about it, and rest assured, that gag will stick in the mind much more resonantly than facts and figures. The pen is mightier than the sword? Sometimes the pun is mightier than the pen.
Of course, a lot of the time a comedy gig is just there to achieve its prime objective: make you laugh. And there's something for everyone. You will occasionally hear people say that they don't like stand-up, but that's often in response to the slightly inauthentic TV version, where comics on big, glittery stages wander about and do their best 10 to 20 accessible, mainstream minutes.
There are much weirder and more inventive shows out there, all sorts of brilliant and barmy formats, from panel shows to sketch, improv, live board games and full-on comedy sports. Not in every town, admittedly, but don't write off live comedy just because you didn't like a guy in a suit, once.
Also - and this might be the clincher over the summer, given that it looks like the cost of living crisis will continue for a while, and who knows how much it costs to keep those electric fans running at home - it's worth pointing out that a lot of these comedy venues have good aircon. Be honest, seeing a show is surely a lot more fun than the alternative: spending an hour hanging out in your local supermarket's freezer section.