The Lowry
Saturday 17th October
3 ½ stars
With The Lowry’s one thousand seven hundred and thirty seats filled, Amstell’s small vulnerability and self-deprecating stand- up style managed to be enormously endearing. The majority of his set focused on his unsuccessful attempts at having what he clinically described as ‘a sexual situation’ while the rest covered a long list of self obsessed insecurities, both of which were surprisingly private topics for someone who overtly declares themselves as ‘shy’. Only the title of Amstell’s tour ‘Do Nothing’ reflected the nihilistic sarcasm of his TV persona on Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Popworld. Amstell is not hilarious, however, his rambling observant anecdotes are entertaining and, at times, his personal philosophy is quite profound. Quite happily I found myself laughing in unexpected places and pauses. The ineptness he vocalised as having in everyday life was not visible in his performance, proving he is as comfortably awkward at stand-up as he is at interviewing ‘McFly’.
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