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Beat the Frog World Series 2004 - review - Carys Kaiser - BBCi Review.

Ever wanted to split yourself in two and be in two places at once? During the Manchester comedy festival there is that much choice, you need to do just that.

The atmosphere was electric with nearly 300 people gathered to see and vote for their favourite amateur act. The standard was very very high, after four weeks worth of heats, with a lot of croaking it and beating the frog, took forty starters down to the eight who got to perform for seven minutes each.

The mad dash meant I only got to see the last two acts, the headliner and the winners crowned.

The audience were fantastic and contributed to what will be a memorable night for all acts, even if they did not win - this really was about the taking part.

Whilst everyone waited for the votes to be counted, headliner Jason John Whitehead, a Canadian comic whose transatlantic observations really helped to add to the World Series title, entertained the masses. His was a side splitting set, so much so that the audience didn't want him to leave. It seemed Whitehead agreed, as he did not want to leave the stage when his time was up! It was a fantastic performance that helped everyone forget the tense atmosphere of the vote tallying.

Compare for the night was Dan Nightingale also helped, but then he is a comic talent so hot, he is nearly on fire.

Then came the moment of truth and, in true competition style, the winners were announced in reverse order... In joint third place, Andy Smith and The White Chris Rock took the applause with massive grins. In second place, Dave Longley came close but no cigar. But the winner was Peter Von Natzmer, and judging by the cheers that accompanied his crowning, the German comic was a popular choice even for those who hadn't cast their vote his way.

Original Review Here

"Beat The Frog @The Frog and Bucket

THE Frog and Bucket has always sustained an amateur night – but only just. Monday nights, whether monikered Red Hot Raw or just plain Raw, were always a bit of a lottery as to whether they would get an audience. After all, drinks promotions or not, it’s pretty tricky persuading punters to come and watch a line up of comics where they all have the potential to die on their arses.

A revamp was in order and it came on 16 June in the form of Beat the Frog. Now, there’s a well-known comedy club not so far away, that has a novice night that sounds not dissimilar to Beat the Frog – but all similarities are entirely coincidental. Honest. The Frog have made the concept of the no good acts being vetoed by the audience all their own. They’ve even got a stuffed velour frog’s head on the stage.

The deal goes something like this – In the first half two established acts get the audience warmed up, then in the second the crowd gets nasty. Three of them are supplied with large green cards with ‘nasty,’ ‘normal’ and ‘nice’ printed on them and issued according to what their mates have volunteered them for. Here, three green cards don’t mean you can stay in the country, quite the opposite, you get croaked from the stage. If you last the full five minutes without all three cards being brandished aloft – you win through to the end where a simple clap-o-meter vote will decide who is the overall winner and will return the following week to do a proper spot.

Dan Nightingale is the new resident compere; a good choice as he is green to the circuit himself yet accomplished enough to carry the show. He opened up to a full room (it’s amazing how much a bit of cruelty attracts people) and immediately connected with the groom in the front row with tales of PGL horse poo. Steve Shanyaski was first established comic up with a mixed surreal set that the audience didn’t seem to know what to make of. Geordie musical double act Matt and Farron went down better with their tramp rap and an alternative love song.

The audience only had the interval to take lessons in ruthlessness so the first couple of acts Jonathan Mayor and Dave Ingram survived only scathed by a couple of cards. But Phil Roman was to test them. His monologue on urine testing was provocation enough and he was, thusly, croaked.

Richard Ousey just made it to the end of his set and Ian Fox was unfairly dismissed so he stopped on for a while to argue. Danny Deegan kept them entertained sufficiently to survive but the crowd didn’t like Mark and Ben’s innovative style, which involved throwing, melted chocolate bars at a t-shirt. David Blair didn’t last long but the winner was the last act Mr Pineapple, who bore an uncanny resemblance to someone on the circuit who usually goes by the name of Seymour. Mr Pineapple aka Dave, (apparently) due to an accident couldn’t remember his punch lines and catchphrase to the audience’s collective delight. Bloody funny stuff and a deserving winner. Who knows what he’ll do next week.

17/06/2003 "

Marissa Burgess - Manchester Online - 17-6-03

"Osama's Frog March.

After the weekends royal fiasco, it wasn't going to be long before we saw comedy terrorists popping up everywhere. And last night the Frog and Bucket was the first place in Manchester to see it's own Aaron Barshak cause havoc.

"Just as we're kicking off the second half, a guy shows up dressed like Osama Bin Laden and steals the show," says owner Dave Perkin. "He marched on to the stage, took the microphone from the compere's hand and ranted on until he was wrestled from the stage and detained by a fake copper."

Apparently the real Barschak has played in Manchester, but Dave tells me that it's not for want of trying. "He has contacted the Frog before about doing an open mic spot, but we turned him down," adds Dave. "I'd heard that he was a bit of a nutcase and would just grab the mic off comics, when he didn't have a booking. Also, even our open mic comics have to be funny!"

The Diary, The MEN, 24th June 2003.

Try your hand at Beat the Frog. Book a spot at Beat the Frog by calling Dan Nightingale on 0161 236 9805