It had been a couple of weeks since I’d had my last comedy fix so a visit to The Stand was long overdue and as 'the boss' was working nightshift I encouraged two of my mates to resample the excellent fare on offer, both on the comedy bill and on chef Matthew’s food menu.

Compere for the night was Perth based funnyman Joe Heenan and boy did he know how to warm up the packed room!! He has a knack of tuning into the vibe of the crowd and with a mixture of interaction, funny material and comical facial expressions had everyone rolling around the aisles with laughter.

Opening act was new to me Niall Browne. Niall was born and raised in Northern Ireland, but getting fed up with the weather and under current of sectarianism decided to relocate to Edinburgh!!!!  He has some really good material if slightly depreciative in style, and his stage presence is immense. Already an up and coming part of the comedy circuit I can be certain this guy has a very bright future indeed if this is an example of his normal act.

After the first interval, the shorter second slot was given to a young lady called Jay Lafferty. You may recall we saw Jay on our visit to Red Raw last year when we thought she had a lot of potential. I am delighted to say I am even more convinced she is a class act following this gig. A very attractive lady with a bubbly personality, Ms Lafferty had all the audience laughing with her from the off. She has some wicked material, and for me probability the gag of the year to date with her ‘female-friendly’ explanation of football’s off-side law. I really look forward to seeing her again, hopefully with a longer set.

Dan Evans was the second act of part two. This was my first experience of this artist, and I can state I hope it won’t be the last. From his entrance until his finish he just oozed confidence and had bags of material all delivered with his own inimitable style. Given that he had to follow such a talented entertaining trio as Joe, Niall and Jay I thought he might have a hard job, but if it was difficult he made it look easy as he just added to a already excellent gig.

The headline act, following the second interval, was London based American born Dave Fulton. It has been nearly six years since I last saw him during Fringe 2002 with his show entitles Random Rants, but his style and talent certainly has not diminished in those years. I enjoyed his show back then but in this gig he rocked. Okay he had a few comedy gifts in his front rows, not least some American interns, some of whom were stereotypical Yanks abroad unlike Mr Fulton. He is an American who not only understands irony but has become an expert in this art. He is vocal on many things also, anti Bushism to the fore, Iraq, Moslem friends, motor bikes, the price of fuel and politics all come under the Fulton microscope.  The man is a born raconteur and his set evaporates before either he or the audience were aware of it, and most like me I’m sure could have handled at least another hour!!

I sincerely hope Dave will be attending this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival so I can see a full hour, and if he is gigging anywhere near you try to get a ticket…… you’ll not regret it.

For further details of some of the excellent acts on offer at both The Stand Edinburgh and also Glasgow check out their web site at www.thestand.co.uk , we’ll be back very soon I can assure you.