Emma McAlpine travels to Greenwich Comedy Festival to indulge in some music video geekery, courtesy of Adam Buxton's BUG.
Adam Buxton’s BUG shows have been running on a bi-monthly basis at the BFI Southbank since April 2007 and I can’t quite believe that I’ve only just managed to attend one, in September 2010. Tickets usually sell out as soon as they go on sale, about six weeks in advance, which means if you’re not a BFI member or religiously checking their website, you might struggle to make it down to one. Still, for this particular BUG show, I’ve travelled all the way out to the Greenwich Comedy Festival, taking three trains and a replacement bus service, so screw you BFI nerds, who’s keener now?!
BUG is essentially a showcase for some of the most visually creative music videos on the web; introduced and discussed by comedian and music fanatic Adam Buxton. He sits to the side of the stage, taking us through the inner workings of his MacBook Pro projected onto a big screen, which is fairly comedy in itself as he clicks through files entitled ‘Alternative Names for Cushelle Toilet Tisssue’ ('Poogon', 'Bumsnuggles' and 'Battiweft' were all contenders) and 'Fookin’ Prawns' (one for the District 9 fans).
For me, the highlights of the show come when he reads out the demented comments left under each video by the YouTube community. From the homophobic to the pretentious, Buxton tells us he sometimes spends hours sifting through them to find the funniest, and can’t resist showing us one he came across saying: “I hope Adam Buxton is reading this aloud,” proof indeed of BUG’s increasing popularity.
As a special comedy edition of the show, a lot of the videos have an amusing angle, from French band Hold Your Horses dressing up as famous paintings to Peter Serafinowicz’s ‘Scary Cancer Jesus’ viral hit for Hot Chip. There is the visually titillating, like OK Go’s ‘End Love’, which uses time-lapse photography to shoot the band for 18 hours straight, and Tobias Stretch’s beautifully freaky puppets created for Radiohead’s ‘Weird Fishes’.
BUG is a lovingly constructed show, with just the right balance of fanboy enthusiasm and silliness. Buxton acts as a sort of music video maven, combing the web and sharing the best of his discoveries with the audience. Chances are, you’ll have seen one or two before but not like this. Not projected onto a big screen, heard with a proper sound system and distilled with comedy and insight. It certainly beats a Facebook link.
If you can't get tickets before the show, sources on Twitter tell me that the BFI release house seats 30 minutes before the gigs so you can usually get in on the day if you just show up. Failing that, follow @AuntieNubbins for up-to-date news on BUG tickets and Adam and Joe. I for one, intend to indulge my inner music nerd a lot more from now on.
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