Review: Phill Jupitus: Stand Down – The Stand, Edinburgh

Phill Jupitus

Returning to stand up for the first time in ten years, Phill Jupitus, having lost an incredible six stone since January, cut a leaner figure as he arrived to rapturous applause. And despite his lack of stage time in the last decade, his TV and radio work means he remains a hugely popular figure and The Stand was packed with eager punters.

Older, wiser but very much angrier, Stand Down displays much of the ‘punk poet’ attitude that defined his very early career, not to mention a healthy dose of profanities that may take many familiar with his work for the Beeb by surprise.

Despite this cantankerous outlook, Jupitus is clearly thrilled to be back performing stand up; and whilst tearing chunks out of topics as far reaching as Coldplay, he frequently stopped to simply enjoy the laughs with the audience.

Following a strong start talking about his daughter’s first boyfriend, he moved into riskier territory with jokes about masturbation and sexy accents, the latter failing to keep up with the laughs at the top of the show. That’s not to say accents and vocal mimickery aren’t a forte of Jupitus’, though, as he tore the house down moments later whilst describing how Eddie Izzard cajoled him back into live comedy.

Life as a middle-aged man – and how that perspective differs from those in Jupitus’ life – forms the thematic bulk of Stand Down, and it seems to work a treat with the crowd. After dissecting the audience into age groups he ungraciously tore strips off each generation and their views with some well-worked call backs from earlier material. And Stand Down drew to a close with one last snarling swipe at Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’ with hilarious distain.

Self-deprecating, fiery and, crucially, hilarious, Jupitus’ return to stand up is a winning one.

Date of live review: Monday 8th August 2011.