I have only been to a few stand up comedy nights. Correction, actually I think it was only one. My friend Crennell and I tried to get out of the Saturday night date in the Town Hall, Wycombe with our friend Ryan (who had booked the tickets) but afterwards were glad we went as it was side splittingly funny. The comedians were Chris Barrie and Norman Lovett. They were both taking part in this a very successful tour across the country in 2000. It had taken me nearly a decade to find myself at a comedy gig and just like ten years ago, it was not me who booked the tickets. I have seen a few episodes of Mock The Week but could not put the face to the name when my friend mentioned Russell Howard. I then watched a handful of his Good News shows on BBC3 (although most were viewed via the faboulous iPlayer.) He is a very talented comedian and his performance on Jonanthan Ross recently proves how greatly he is admired. I was looking forward to the show, particularly as this would also be my first visit to Wembley Arena. After a quick meal in St. Chrisptoher’s Place (a hidden gem just off Oxford Street) we headed to the Arena. Taking our seats at 19:47, in time for the warm up act. I cannot recall who he was but it wasn’t that funny, I found a lot of his material repetitative. There was then a break for thirty minutes before Howard took to the stage. He was very good but I can understand why his fanbase consists mainly of teenage girls, but I am sure he does not mind at all. There was a mixture of material from his Good News show and an extension to the joke given on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross. Apparently the actual joke had been a bit too risque for prime time television. It was very good and the end there was a member of the audience whom challenged Russell to a arm wrestle, it was the best of three. Russell won the final bout thanks to the help of above mentioned support act (who was supposed to just be offiating). It was perhaps not the night to be out in London. Arsenal were making a trip to Anfield and there was the grand final of The X Factor. As we left the audiotorium around 10pm, I overheard some girl behind me shout in disapproval that Joe McElderry had won. I agreed, I would have prefered Olly to be victorious as he had more star quality, stage presence and a wider vocal range. I found Joe’s voice very good but rather one dimensional. However, success in the contest does not mean he will top the charts next weekend! It was not until we got to Paddington station, ordered some food and waited for another friend that I was finally given the score. I initially thought it was bad news, but then was told that Arshavin had scored the winner in the second half to turn it around. Read a full review over on ArseBlogger. A great way to end the weekend, although I then had the drive back to Wycombe from the train station but never mind, I had Avatar to look forward to next weekend! Before then, there are several shifts at my local supermarket to endure!