Review of Peter Kay: Live At The Bolton Albert Halls

Introduction

After the phenomenal success of Peter Kay: Live At The Top Of The Tower and Phoenix Nights, fans were waiting for Peter to tour again. This tour started up in 2002, and I was lucky enough to catch one of the shows on the tour. Needless to say, it was utterly hilarious and a year later we finally get a DVD release, recorded in Bolton.

Peter Kay has been on the stand up comedy circuit for many years now and is one of a rare breed of comedians who don`t have to resort to excessive swearing and jokes about genitalia just to get a laugh. Instead he recounts genuinely funny stories mixed in with a few good old fashioned gags.

Video

Well this is just a stand up comedy show, but as has become the norm now, it was filmed at a ratio of 1.85:1, and is presented on this DVD in 1.85:1 anamorphic. The transfer is fine, and that`s about all there is to say.

Visually this is not exciting as it`s just Peter on stage, with some chairs, a microphone and some balloons tied to tins of paint (the same set "design" was used throughout the tour).

Audio

A simple DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, although it does seem to be mono replayed across both channels. This is perhaps a bit cheap, but it is only a stand up show after all. Everything is clean and crisp, and that`s all there is to it.

Features

Oh dear. After the effort that went into Peter Kay: Live At The Top Of The Tower (bonus footage, out-takes and an interview), here we get nothing. Extras have been promised ever since this disc was first spotted on DVD retail sites (a year ago!) but it seems that they have vanished. Rumours circulate about why this is, but it`s a real shame whatever the reason.

Conclusion

Another fantastic performance from Peter Kay, and one that left me crying with laughter. I probably cried less than when I saw it live, and the show recorded here definitely lacked that little edge that it had when I saw it, but it`s still very funny. A shame that the rather amusing introduction to the show (before Peter came on stage) was dropped though.

Peter has decided not to change a winning formula, keeping his material littered with recall of products and events from years gone by (Ferguson Videostar, the prizes on Bullseye). This isn`t cutting edge satire, just genuinely funny stuff.

The DVD is good, with good picture and ok sound, but it is let down by the lack of extras. As long as you can pick this up cheaply then I`d still recommend it, but don`t pay more than about £14 or thereabouts.

All in all, highly recommended - a must for fans and anyone who enjoys stand up comedy.