Bill Bailey: Tinselworm

Introduction

Bill Bailey is my favourite comic. 10/10. Next DVD please…

You want more? Even knowing that there will be a slight bias in this review? More fool you. Back in 1997, there was a short-lived sci-fi comedy quiz on Channel 4 called Space Cadets, which was where I first encountered the left-field wit and comic talent of Klingon impersonator Bill Bailey. His description of Dune's spice Melange as some 'sort of… chutney' has been burnt into the surface of my brain. He's been a regular fixture on panel shows ever since, taking over the captain's chair on Never Mind The Buzzcocks after Sean Hughes left, showing up on the brilliant QI, and guest-hosting Have I Got News For You. He's also added an acting string to his bow, featuring as Manny in the sublime Black Books, as well as appearances in Spaced, Wild West, Hot Fuzz, and the recent Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy movie. Note: If you think that Bill Bailey would make the perfect Doctor Qui, then you can head over to the billbailey.co.uk site where an Internet petition is linked to, and we all know how successful those are.

But Bill Bailey's day job is stand up comedy, although with his prodigious musical talent, a stage inhabited by all manner of instrument, aided by giant screens for visual accompaniment, his performances are the comedy equivalent of rock concerts. Over the years, and courtesy of Christmas late night telly, I've enjoyed Cosmic Jam, Bewilderness and Part Troll. Now, finally I get a Bill Bailey DVD to stroke, buff and polish. Tinselworm: Live at Wembley is taken from his current 2008 tour, and offers 90 minutes of lyrical musings on life, the universe and small furry creatures.

Picture

Wembley Arena is big! It's vast, massive, gargantuan. Bill Bailey is small, he's the little white stick figure beneath his face projected onto a massive screen. It's unfeasibly difficult to film in such a venue, and most of Bill's performance is captured in long shot, prone to camera shake, and the odd moment of focus loss. This DVD looks pretty good for all that, with a nice, clean and colourful widescreen presentation that captures all the visual flamboyance of the show.

Sound

Wembley Arena is big, etc, etc… What you need to know is that the performance is captured in its verbal clarity, and no punchlines are missed. If you need them, subtitles are there, and the DD 5.1 is especially appreciated given the musical content of the show. That said, with the Arena's vastness, the speed of sound actually becomes an issue. You can hear cheering and applause, but laughter not so much. It takes time for a joke to impact and the laughter to spread around the space. The jokes are little comedy pebbles dropped into an ocean of humanity, and little laughter ripples swell out where they hit. It must be a great venue to perform in, but it's not the best choice to film a comedy DVD in.

Extras

There's a pretty normal Amaray case housing the disc, with a 'Buy the t-shirt' insert. The animated menus (therimin accompaniment) lead to six doorbells. Play, Chapter Select, and Setup are self-explanatory, while I'll leave you to discover the delights and horrors of the Swiss Guard and deBurgh. There is some 16 minutes of additional live footage, 6 clips offering more of Bill Bailey at other venues and behind the scenes, expounding on the Beatles Tribute Band, Bra removal, Neighbours Scat (thankfully not what I expected), Cheese, Hammered by the Gods, and Alpine instrumentation.

Conclusion

Typical! You wait ages for something and you wind up disappointed. Cosmic Jam was eye-wateringly hilarious. Bewildered gave me a stitch, and Part Troll was in the same league. Tinselworm is just… funny. It made me laugh, but at no point was I thinking that this is the best thing since sliced bread, an opinion that I have long held about Bill Bailey. But last night, watching Tinselworm, I was chuckling. I never chuckle at Bill Bailey. It's always guffaws and belly laughs, and while there were flashes of that level of genius in the show, my ground state through the show was the chortle.


The venue kills it to be honest; Wembley Arena is just too darned big for a stand up comic, at least in terms of a performance to capture on film. I've mentioned some of the problems up above, and say again that you just don't hear the audience laughing. When you watch one of these discs, it's the audience response that cues your own response in the living room, and if the audience is muted by the size of the hall, then it means extra work for the viewer. But one thing missing at Wembley, an integral part of every other Bill Bailey performance that I have watched, is the audience interaction. It's when Bill talks to the audience, responds to hecklers, gets a little banter going, that his delivery is sharpest. You can see that effect in the Additional Live Footage in the extras, some of which are actually funnier than the show. At Wembley, the audience is at too much of a remove from the stage for there to be any interaction.

As for the material, if you are familiar with Bill Bailey, then you won't be too surprised with what you see here. There is the welcome return of a familiar routine or two, Kraftwerk springs to mind, and Bill's routine is something of a variation on a theme. Without that audience interaction and the spontaneity it generates, it all feels a little piecemeal though, as if nothing is growing together or evolving during the show. That stop-start feel to the routine reflects in the audience response, and very few of the laughs sustain. That said, a lot of what is in this show is fresh, and very funny, and if there is one thing I will take from this show with me to my dying days, it's how much better our National Anthem would be if Henry Mancini composed it.


I also noticed that the show seemed to work better the further along it went. The first half was perhaps most disappointing, but the second half picked up in terms of energy and pace. I was still wavering on what mark to give this disc, but then the encore arrived, and with it Dueling Sitars. And my opinion of Bill Bailey as comic genius was once again confirmed. Absolutely Brilliant! And while the start of the show may have been a little faltering, what a note to go out on!

Tinselworm is a warm glow comedy DVD that you'll appreciate, and since Bill Bailey isn't one of those sweary comedians, it's one for more of the family at Christmas. It's not the best of Bill Bailey though, and I recommend you compare and contrast with his previous performances. And it's just a coincidence that there's a four-disc boxset containing Tinselworm, Part Troll, Bewildered, and Cosmic Jam available.