Review: Dan Nightingale, Daniel Sloss and Danny McLoughlin – The Hub, Teesside University

Dan Nightingale

I had some very mixed feelings prior to attending the first Happy Campus Comedy Club of the new academic year as: a) we’re talking about a uni gig packed with hundreds of hard to control,  rowdy students on freshers week; and b) this is another night ran by the heavyweights of Cleveland comedy Ten Feet Tall, featuring three genuinely top quality acts from the UK circuit. As it turns out the crowd couldn’t have been nicer. The packed Student’s Union bar was for the most part quiet, barring one girl standing next to me, but there’s always going to be one in the pack that thinks the rules don’t apply to them.

It can be difficult running a night that you’d suspect is full of comedy illiterate punters, and I’ve seen the actions and antics that have went on during other events at this venue – but the crowd on this occasion surprised me and were extremely up for it. On the bill tonight we had the three Dan’s. Well a Dan, a Danny and a Daniel, but that’s close enough.I settled down at the back of the room next to the bar to witness the gig from the back, for what can only have been sadomasochistic purposes as I was expecting a very lively audience.

Danny McLoughlin was our compere for the evening, kicking the night off with Middlesbrough-centric material designed to give the gig a more inclusive feel, which is ideal to start off with due to the room being so vast. I counted at least 8 TV screens playing a live feed from the stage for those with a poor view. McLoughlin split the room with his mention of the recent credit crunch and its effects on nearby towns but won it straight back with a standard routine on sports students and their odd attire.

First up was Daniel Sloss, a 20 year old comic who’s recently shot to fame starring in TV shows such as Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and 8 Out of 10 Cats. Sloss has great confidence for an act as young as he is; his Scottish wit and sarcasm suits him well in his routines, proving why he’s had so much telly exposure of late. He’s a personable and chatty comic.  Sloss reminds me somewhat of Ed Byrne in his delivery and his a particular routine on the well known poo girl story from last year’s Leeds Festival make you realise you’ll not be able to catch Sloss opening a uni gig for a fiver a pop very much longer.

Headline act for the evening was Dan Nightingale, an act that, to my surprise and appreciation, has had a full turnover of material since I last saw him in June at Cramlington’s Punch-Drunk Comedy. On this night his set was a lot more student friendly and overall I’d say much funnier than previous – Nightingale brought his A game and had the crowd roaring with laughter with outstanding material on students, drinking, petrol prices and the BNP.

I was expecting this night to be a total nightmare, but in the end I think I’ve underestimated how mainstream comedy has become nowadays or how well behaved students can be if you lay on some decent entertainment, literally!

Happy Campus Comedy Club is run fortnightly on alternate Tuesday’s at Teesside University’s Student’s Union Hub venue. Information for the club and all other Teesside SU events will be posted here nearer the date.