James Sherwood’s Piano Bar at Wilmington Arms

James Sherwood’s Piano Bar at Wilmington Arms

31 March, 2011
by: Hailey Settineri

Comedy meets karaoke: Hailey Settineri checks out an exciting monthly variety night in Farringdon.

James Sherwood’s Piano Bar may sound more like a low-budget cocktail lounge than a burgeoning comedy show, but the monthly night at Wilmington Arms is becoming a favourite for performers and punters alike, and it’s easy to see why: the host is engaging, the audience is receptive, and guest comedians are forced to perform a musical number. What’s not to love?

Musical comedian James Sherwood kicks off the night with some lyrical pedantry, correcting lines from 'Push It' and 'Light My Fire' (“Now it’s sexy and grammatically correct!”) before moving on to numerical errors (“Paul Simon wrote 50 ways to leave your lover, but 45 of them didn’t have a convenient rhyme”).

He also sets a Post-it/phone-in challenge to keep the audience busy during intervals. Armed with pen and Post-it notes, we have to try and think of songs about a particular topical issue. Tonight’s challenge revolves around a Northamptonshire cat attempting a world record for the loudest purr, so there are a lot of ‘purrfect’ puns. Later in the evening Sherwood takes our suggestions and performs a few lines from such hits as 'Feline Groovy', 'Stand By Your Manx', and 'Siam Easy' (“…easy like Sunday morning!”).

Tonight’s first guest is Paul Kerensa, who does a fantastic job despite being a last-minute replacement for Nick Revell, who is ill. Kerensa’s set is a mixed pot, from musings about family life to political satire (“I don’t know much about politics, but I know we have a blue and yellow government, which is a lot like Ikea – a shit cabinet that won’t last five years”).

John Finnemore has the slowest start in tonight’s show and I’m initially worried that his piece will fall flat. The character comedian shows off his acting skills with varied voices and mannerisms, but the jokes are few and far between. Of course, it’s all a ruse and the pay-off is worth the wait.

Finnemore’s introduction to his musical piece is also long-winded. He spends several minutes solemnly assuring us that his song is a sacred religious text about prostrating oneself on the Sabbath. Then Sherwood strikes up a familiar tune on the piano and Finnemore recites in a monotonous chant: “7am, waking up in the morning / Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs…”. We’ve just been Recc-Rolled.

The final act of the night is Oompah Brass, a lederhosen-clad quintet of musicians who perform brass covers of pop songs. They play through a variety of hits, from Madonna to “that bastion of mediocrity, Britney Spears”. Despite each song requiring a phenomenal amount of breath-work from the players, they don’t skimp on the banter. Jackson 5’s 'I Want You Back' is introduced by asking an audience member who their favourite paedophile is (“Sorry, that implies that you’ve got a list.”). The musicians are also not afraid to step into the audience themselves, with the trombone player giving an unfortunate lady a lap dance in the middle of 'Take On Me' (without missing a beat). Their set culminates in a flawless rendition of 'Bohemian Rhapsody', with each member taking turns at guiding the audience sing-along. As novelty Queen covers go, this put the Muppets to shame.

The show concludes with Sherwood performing a song from his recent album, supported by Oompah Brass. I’ve written before about the brainworm that is 'Anyone', but the upbeat rejection song reaches a new level of catchiness when performed with the brass band.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I left the venue singing songs from the night, much to the amusement of everyone at my bus stop, and I don’t think I was the only one. Next time you see a crazy person on public transport, don’t judge; just ask them if they’ve seen any good shows lately.

James Sherwood's Piano Bar is held on the last Tuesday of each month. Click here for details.

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Image credit: Ed Moore

Hailey Settineri