Hailing from Pannal in North Yorkshire, Maisie Adam is an award-winning comic, TV writer and co-host of the podcast ‘That’s a First!’ alongside comedian Tom Lucy. Here she tells us about her favourite performance space in the UK, moshing with her mum and the importance of small venues for emerging artists.
‘The Leeds stalwart of independent venues is the Brudenell Social Club. It’s an institution, and has been a bit of a trailblazer in terms of making the arts accessible for everybody. You don’t stumble across it as a tourist, so it still feels like the city’s best kept secret.
‘It looks like something out of [the British sitcom] Phoenix Nights: proper flat roof, beer benches outside. You wouldn’t look at it and go: “That’s where the Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand first played back in the day.” When you see live music there, your ears are ringing, because you’re basically standing right next to the amp for the whole night.
‘I used to go with my mum all the time. Once, we went to see a local band, and thought we were standing far back enough to not be in the mosh pit. My mum was drinking red wine from a little plastic glass. Inevitably, when the chorus hit, we were lurched forward and I saw her get lunged into this pit of young, sweaty men, ending up with red wine all over her face. She looked like Christian Bale in American Psycho. I asked if she was alright and she went straight back in again. If I was going to see my mum get chucked into a mosh pit anywhere, I’d like it to be at The Brudenell.
‘Yard Act are playing some gigs there next month, alongside some comedians, like Nish Kumar and Rose Matafeo. It’s gonna be fantastic. The best venues to perform in are the ones where you can smell burgers and beer, because it feels so intimate and like you’re all in this weird little comedy cave together. As a comedian, you revel in the days when you’re performing in those dingy, small, sweaty rooms that give you that kickstart. And I think that’s just it: The Bru facilitates a feeling that can really get lost in bigger venues.’
Maisie Adam is playing Roundhouse Comedy Festival, London, August 5-23.
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