Henrik Elmer on detour

Microscopic UK tour

2011-11-18T19:58:00.004Z

Hello again, all my patient readers who probably check my blog several times each day. As I'm sure you've noticed, I like to keep you in a limbo. I love to think about how you sit there in front of your computers, frustrated, screaming out loud; "Oh, when will he write something??? When, when, when???!!!"

You never go out, you've lost your jobs, your friends have forgotten what you look like. All just because you're waiting for me to update my blog.

I love having this kind of power.

But I really wanted to write about something else. I'm going back to the UK again next week. Only for three gigs this time.

And these are the gigs:

Fri 25 Nov - Bedford, Corn Exchange
Sat 26 Nov - London, Downstairs at The King's Head
Sun 27 Nov - London, Downstairs at The King's Head

Maybe I'll see you there. Don't worry about leaving your computer to go to the comedy club... I won't update my blog while I'm onstage.

Another UK tour

2011-04-03T11:16:00.003+01:00

My blogging is getting worse and worse, despite my good intentions.

This time, my UK tour has already started before I'm writing this. It started yesterday, at Downstairs at The King's Head. A very nice start at one of my favourite places. I'll be back there again in the autumn.

These are my other gigs for the upcoming week:

Tue 5 Apr - Manchester, XS Malarkey
Thu 7 Apr - Ashby-De-La-Zouch, Funhouse
Sat 9 Apr - London, EDComedy

I haven't been to Funhouse or Ashby before. The others are all old favourites, so this should be a really nice tour.

London once again

2010-10-18T19:35:00.005+01:00

Gosh, haven't I written here since my last UK visit? I really need to pull myself together.

Anyway, I'm on my way again. Going to London tomorrow.

Anyone who wishes to see me can find my tour list below. If changes occur on short notice, they might not be reflected here. But there will hopefully be no changes.

So, here we go...

Thu 21 Oct Soho Comedy Club
Fri 22 Oct Soho Comedy Club
Sat 23 Oct Soho Comedy Club
Tue 26 Oct Comedy at The Irish Club

After that, I'm going back home to work on the film again. It's really coming together and looking very promising.

Heading home

2010-05-18T13:48:00.004+01:00

Another UK tour has reached its end.

I've really enjoyed the gigging this time, so I hope to be back soon.

And in the meantime, have another look at the trailer for The Meaning of Hugo.

UK gigs

2010-05-10T22:46:00.002+01:00

Oh My, I just realized I haven't written here since December. That's... toooo bad. And I don't even have anything to blame. Nothing at all.

Anyway... I'm going to England tomorrow to do some gigs.

Don't know if anyone reads this, but one time there actually was someone in the audience who had read my blog and came to see me in London. So who knows...

These are my gigs this week:

Wednesday 12 May: London, Juiced at The Lukin
Thursday 13 May: Eton, Funny Farm
Friday 14 May: London, The Comedy Pub
Saturday 15 May: London, The Comedy Pub

Provided that no volcanic ashes gets in the way, of course.

Happy New

2009-12-29T21:41:00.002Z

Just like with my christmas greeting, this greeting is also a bit early. Cause I don't know if I'll be blogging again this year.

I don't really have anything more than that to say now either, so I'll leave it at that.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-22T22:04:00.003Z

Here's a Swedish christmas song which you won't understand if you don't know Swedish. But the video is quite amusing even if you don't get the lyrics.

It's not the usual christmas message about peace and all that. It's actually more of an anti christmas song.

The song is from 1980 and is written and performed by Anders F Rönnblom.

The chorus goes approximately like this:

Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas! (Repeated four times)

It's not the snow that's falling,
it's some other solace.
Picasso's acrobats are dancing over my chest.

It's not the snow that's falling
when I need to be comforted,
when disguised democrats kick their boots in my chest.

Doesn't that make your eyes twinkle?
Merry Christmas!

Another film (and our film)

2009-11-19T01:03:00.003Z

As I've told you already (for example in my last blog post) I'm making a film in Sweden together with some friends.

But here's a trailer for another film, which looks promising. I know some of the comics in this film.

(And once again, you can read about our film and watch our trailer here)

End of tour

2009-10-31T22:54:00.002Z

Well, this has truly been a tour of both hits and misses.

I might tell you more details later... or not. ;o)

On Monday I'm going back to Sweden. So thanks for this time, England. :o)

Check out the film site once again, or just watch the trailer:

A day off in Manchester

2009-10-28T11:21:00.002Z

Today is a no comedy day. I'll probably just be walking around in Manchester. Or maybe sitting in the hostel where I'm staying.

I'm reading a book about fundamentalism in christianity, judaism and islam. That's at least as interesting as Manchester.

I would like to do something on the subject of fundamentalism. Not only the religious kind, but also (and not least) nationalism, which I think is another kind of fundamentalism. And I think all fundamentalism is potentially dangerous, and some fundamentalists may trigger each other.

Therefore I'm worried about the (supposed) growth of political parties like Sverigedemokraterna in Sweden and the BNP in Britain, for example. I see them as fundamentalists.

I really want to say something about these things, but I don't know if I can do it in the form of stand-up comedy. I don't know if I can find anything funny in it. Maybe I can comment on it in some other way. We'll see. (Well... I've already commented on it now, haven't I?)

Anyway, I had a very nice gig at XS Malarkey yesterday. Tried a new thing I've written which isn't meant for stand-up, but I tried it on the audience and I think it's gonna work.

Tomorrow I have a secret gig. I'll only tell you what it was if it goes well. ;o)

A small setback

2009-10-26T12:46:00.003Z

My gigging has been so great lately... so yesterday was a bit of a setback.

Not a complete mystery though. It was a small audience, which in itself doesn't have to be a problem. I've had lovely gigs with small audiences.

But I've been thinking about yesterday's gig, and there's one thing I don't understand...

Imagine this;

You want to have an evening of fun, so you decide to go to a comedy club. You go to the club, you pay some money to go in... There's not many people...

...and then you all decide to sit in the back of the room, in darkness, as far away from the stage as possible.

That's a bit like starting a relationship on the condition that you're not going to touch each other or even sit close together, and sharing a bed is totally out of the question.

Well well... At least I had a great gig in the same room the night before.

Tonight I'm just having dinner with some friends where I'm staying. Tomorrow it's Manchester and XS Malarkey, which is another favourite. That should be nice. Haven't been to that club for many years.

Oh what a wonderful gig

2009-10-25T13:16:00.003Z

Yesterday. Downstairs at The King's Head. Crouch End, London.

This is one of my favourite clubs, and it's the first club I performed in in England, almost ten years ago now.

I've always enjoyed performing there, and yesterday certainly wasn't an exception.

And tonight I'll be there again. :o)

Some news

2009-10-06T14:41:00.003+01:00

Hello again, English blog. Sorry once again for writing so rarely.

My first news is, I'm coming to The UK again. (And everybody cheers)

It'll just be for about a week, and here are my gigs:

Sat 24 Oct Downstairs at The King's Head, London
Sun 25 Oct Downstairs at The King's Head, London
Tue 27 Oct XS Malarkey, Manchester
Fri 30 Oct Frog & Bucket, Manchester
Sat 31 Oct Frog & Bucket, Manchester

But that's not all, to be honest. I've also got a secret gig, which I won't tell you about since it's secret. If it goes well, I'll tell you later.

And now another bit of news. Not new for those who read my Swedish blog, but new to my English blog.

Last year and this year, I've been busy making a film together with my friend Björn Engström and a bunch of other people. It's still not finished, but we've come a long way.

And we now have a website where we present the project, and where you can watch a trailer for the film.

The English part of that website (and the trailer with subtitles) can be seen here.

Funny!!!!!!

2009-05-02T16:07:00.002+01:00

This is probably the most hilarious thing I've ever seen.

Just a quick note...

2009-04-09T21:17:00.003+01:00

I'm spending my time in Sweden right now. I'm making a film, together with some friends.

Next gig in the UK isn't planned until October. I'd like to spend some more time in the UK next year, but right now the film is most important.

Here's a bit of old "news" that I forgot to tell you about last November. I was in Slovenia together with Noel James and Steve Barry.

We had a very nice gig in Ljubljana, and another gig in Maribor. The Maribor gig was difficult, and I wasn't happy with how I did there. But Noel was excellent.

I took some pictures in Slovenia, but they're still inside one of these single use cameras, which I haven't used up yet. (I bought it for Miami 2008, so I should really finish it soon and get the pictures developed)

But I do already have a picture which was taken on the train from Ljubljana to Maribor. It was taken by a "hard rock guy" who was on his way to Maribor with his hard rock friends. They were gonna listen to a Norwegian (!) hard rock band which was gonna play in Maribor. I've forgotten the bands name though.

He took this picture of me, Steve Barry and Noel James:

After the Maribor gig I bought this interesting piece of food:

Erm... Is it chicken, or is it "chicken"?

I might be back with more about Slovenia (and Miami) once I've developed the pictures in my single use camera.

Back in the snow

2009-01-21T00:57:00.002Z

Winter greeted me as I returned to Sweden. But it probably won't be for long. Global warming will soon show us it's ugly face again. (Yes, we see it in Sweden too)

This UK tour has been so fun. All the gigs have been great. Not quite as great as Chester, but on the other hand I've felt much more stable now than I did on my October and November tours.

One particularly nice detail was last Saturday, when I played at Comedy at The Sohoho in London. A couple (I presume) in the audience had travelled from Winchester just to see me. This lady had seen me in Winchester last October, and she thought I was so funny so she took this man with her to London last Saturday.

She had seen my gig list here in my blog, so now I know I'm not blogging in vain.

Now I won't be back in the UK until July. The winter and spring is dedicated to finishing a film project in Sweden.

Next autumn I'll probably go over to the UK to stay a bit longer. The huge live comedy scene there is very inspiring.

In the heart of Manchester

2009-01-10T15:16:00.002Z

Not much to report, really.

Had a great gig at Frog and Bucket yesterday, and hoping to have another one tonight.

I think that's all.

No imagination, sorry.

A desk in a volcano, that's all I can imagine. And that doesn't make sense, so I could have saved you the time you spent reading that.

Sorry.

January UK Tour

2009-01-06T23:19:00.003Z

Yes, it's time for another tour.

This gig list might be updated if anything changes, but it also might not. Just so you know.

Friday 9 Jan: Manchester, Frog & Bucket
Saturday 10 Jan: Manchester, Frog & Bucket
Monday 12 Jan: Stratford East, Theatre Royal
Friday 16 Jan: Dorking, Dorking Halls
Saturday 17 Jan: London, SoHoHo

My best gig ever?

2008-11-25T23:37:00.003Z

That might have been last Saturday, in Chester.

There are two other candidates: Beverley in January and Helsingborg (in Sweden) in August.

So my three best gigs have all been this year. That's encouraging.

Before this year, my best gig was probably as long back as 2002, in a small Belgian town called Harelbeke.

Of course I've had lots of great gigs between 2002 and 2008. Sometimes I've performed to over 1000 people, and it's a tremendous kick to have so many people laughing at the same time. But that doesn't mean that I as a comedian have performed better than I usually do.

What my best gigs have had in common is a wonderful feeling of presence. It's something more than the audience laughing at my jokes. The boundaries between me and the audience ceases to exist.

In all these gigs there have been a rather significant portion of improvisation, and it was a couple of improvised bits that made the gig last Saturday probably my best.

It's such a thrill when things just happen "here and now", and I'm just as surprised as the audience.

When the interplay between me and the audience take us somewhere completely different from where I had planned.

And that flying moment when exactly the right comment pops into my head, and I don't know where it came from. All I know is that when I say this, half a second from now, the room will explode with laughter.

And when it's over, it's over. All that's left is the memories in the heads of me and the audience. Unless it's been recorded, of course. In a way, I'd like to record all my gigs.

And that comment which was so perfect will probably never come to use again. Those circumstances wouldn't be repeated even if I could perform every night for a thousand years.

But maybe it's possible to learn how to find that state of consciousness which opened the mind for those impulses.

Last Saturday I probably said the funniest thing I've ever said.

I said; "Dentist, get behind the wall!"

But I'm sure you had to be there to appreciate that.

November UK tour

2008-10-23T14:57:00.005+01:00

Yes, it's time again soon.

After some gigging, filming and paper work in Sweden I'll be back in the UK for more.

This gig list will be updated if anything changes, unless it's on short notice:

Sat 15 Nov: London (Crouch End), Downstairs at The King's Head
Sun 16 Nov: London (Crouch End), Downstairs at The King's Head
Mon 17 Nov: Hemel Hempstead, The Old Town Hall
Tue 18 Nov: Colnbrook, The Ostrich
Wed 19 Nov: London (West Hampstead), Mirth Control
Thu 20 Nov: Manchester, Buzz Club

Perhaps I'll see you there.

Back in Sweden

2008-10-20T22:22:00.003+01:00

And another UK tour (mostly in London) is over.

I'm sorry I didn't write any English blog entries while in the UK. My computer time has been limited, and I always had things I wanted to write in Swedish and then there was no time left for my English blog. (Which probably doesn't have many readers)

I'll be back in the UK already in November. On the 14th, to be precise. Doing London and Manchester and perhaps somewhere else too.

My November gigs will be posted here soon.

October UK tour

2008-08-18T13:12:00.006+01:00

THIS BLOG POST WILL BE UPDATED IF ANYTHING CHANGES !!!

More gigs can come up, but gigs can also be cancelled. (If they're cancelled on short notice, it may not be reflected here)

My October tour in the UK will start with my West End debut!!! (Not counting some West End comedy clubs, of course... that's different)

On Oct 5, 6, 7 and 8 I'll be a part of the show Smorgasbord at Leicester Square Theatre, together with four other Scandinavians. The others are Mette Lisby, Snorri Kristjansson, , Daniel Simonsen and Ismo Leikola.

A flyer for this event can be downloaded here.

And here follows the dates for my entire October in the UK tour:

Oct 5: Smorgasbord, Leicester Square Theatre
Oct 6: Smorgasbord, Leicester Square Theatre
Oct 7: Smorgasbord, Leicester Square Theatre
Oct 8: Smorgasbord, Leicester Square Theatre
Oct 10: Drayton Court (Ealing) and Funny Side (Covent Garden)
Oct 11: Funny Side (Covent Garden)
Oct 14: London Bridge Falling Down With Laughter, London
Oct 16: The Coalition, Brighton
Oct 17: Barnstormers (Winchester)
Oct 18: Banana Cabaret (Balham)

So there are still a few small gaps. I'm up for anything. Gigs, parties, orgies, suspicious excursions...

Planning new UK tours

2008-06-25T15:21:00.003+01:00

Sorry for writing so rarely in my English blog.

I'm pretty busy making a film in Sweden this summer. It's based on the same script as my Edinburgh show in 2006 also was based on. Then it was a script for a TV pilot, but now it's a full feature film. In Swedish though.

I'll be coming back to the UK this autumn, for about two weeks in October and one week in November. I'll announce the details later.

Next year I'm planning to go over to the UK more frequently. I had such a great time when I was over in February. (Especially in Beverley)

And maybe, maybe I'll do another Edinburgh show next year.

There must be a way of doing Edinburgh and having a good time, with so much fun people around.

Maybe I can find the way to do that next year.

Summer time

2008-03-28T14:11:00.002Z

I'll reset my clock now, so I won't forget to do it on Sunday.

Support Tibet

2008-03-27T16:49:00.005Z

I just signed a petition urging China to respect human rights in Tibet.

It took me a few seconds. I could probably do a lot more, but for now I'll just pass the link on to anyone who reads this.

You can sign the petition here.

And here's some Tibetan inspiration:

(I hope it's not Chinese propaganda)

A place in the sun

2008-02-12T17:17:00.000Z

South Beach in Miami, eight days ago.
Warmer than Sweden. Photo by Hils Barker

Thoughts on Miami

2008-02-07T14:20:00.000Z

Well, not so much the city... More the strange audition thing I went through there... Or didn't go through, to be precise.

I'm actually a bit worried how they will portray me. They won't show much of me, of course, but that only makes it even more sensitive what part of me they'll choose to show.

I'm not so worried about the audition itself. The producers I auditioned in front of didn't seem to like it much, but what I did usually goes down very well so I'm not afraid of letting the world see it.

What worries me is a couple of things I said and did in an interview. They were running around with a camera the whole time, and in one interview I got a question to which I gave a rather stupid answer.

I was also asked to do something which I found a bit odd. But I was told that everybody was asked to do this and then they would edit it together. So I did it, even though it seemed a bit pointless to me.

And it seems I was the only one who did that thing. Everybody else I talked to about this, had refused to do it.

I'm sorry if this makes you curious, cause I'm not gonna tell you now what it was I did. Or what the stupid answer was which I gave to a question.

I'll wait and see what they'll show of me in the program, and if it's something I don't like, I'll comment on it then.

I just wanted to say already now that I might not look very good in the program, depending on what pieces they'll use.

Back in Årsta

2008-02-05T20:58:00.000Z

I'm tired. Didn't sleep anything on the plane from Miami. Slept for ten minutes in London this morning, and then for five minutes on the train from the airport in Stockholm this afternoon.

Apart from that I haven't slept for 35 hours.

So that's what I'll do now.

Holiday in Miami

2008-02-02T20:32:00.001Z

Yes, it's a holiday.

No TV show for me. I didn't pass the audition.

This is one of the strangest things I've ever done. They've flown about 60 comics from "all over the world" (mostly England) to Miami just to do this audition.

I don't know exactly why I didn't pass. I got the feeling the judges couldn't visualize an audience laughing at my jokes, which is a bit frustrating since I've had so wonderfully great gigs this week.

But maybe I wasn't their taste... And also, they're looking for personalities for a reality show... Let's not forget that.

So now it's two days of holiday in Miami, and then back to Stockholm. (After having spent six hours at Heathrow with jetlag... That me not look forward to)

I love Beverley

2008-01-31T10:38:00.000Z

I probably had my best gig ever yesterday. I'm so happy. Thank you, Beverley. And thank you, Agraman.

Beverley is also a very pretty town. I saw some of it yesterday night and I will have a better look today before my train leaves.

The whole night was great. There were two open spots who did really well (I'll find out their names and insert them here, otherwise it's a bit pointless to mention them), and then there was Steve Nallon who used to do voices for Spitting Image. He was very, very good.

Today it's back to London, and tomorrow morning I fly to Miami... If I don't sleep in, that is.

On a high in Manchester

2008-01-30T12:20:00.000Z

Had a wonderful gig yesterday at Space Cadets in TV21. Thank you, all who were there. (And who happens to read this, which probably means... one...? two...? or no one...?)

But it doesn't matter if you read this, we had a great time yesterday and that's all that counts.

I did a new joke yesterday which immediately qualifies for my two minute set in front of the jury on Saturday. In Miami. (Have I mentioned this before?)

Two hours left...

2008-01-29T11:51:00.000Z

...in Leamington Spa, where I had a great show last night, at The Reckless Moment in a bar called Robin's Well.

A really, really great show. It was also a show which helped me decide exactly what I'll do in front of the jury on Saturday. So, a double Thank You to Leamington Spa.

Today, the journey goes on to Manchester.

Silence

2008-01-28T19:37:00.000Z

Why?

Because I'm in a library.

It's the Leamington Spa library.

Everybody is very silent in here, except for me. I'm shouting and making lots of other noises, but only in my head.

If yu're talking to yourself, and what you're saying doesn't make sense, should you be worried? Does it matter that it doesn't make sense?

After the gig yesterday, Rob Riley fell and hurt his ribs. He may have broken one or two ribs. It was a pretty nasty fall.

I feel sorry for him.

Moved gig

2008-01-27T15:54:00.000Z

Very important message for all my fans in this area.

Tonight's gig will not be in The Railway in Greenfield. Instead it will be in The Groton in Lees.

Going north

2008-01-25T19:16:00.000Z

That's tomorrow... Going to Huddersfield.

Then it's Saddleworth (Greenfield), Leamington Spa, Manchester and Beverley.

Then back to London, and then... Miami.

Yes, I'm crossing the Atlantic to audition for the TV show Last Comic Standing. This is something I've only known about for a week, and I'm pretty excited about it.

It's scary to stand in front of a jury, though. Especially in the US, where they have the death penalty.

Image from Horsham

2008-01-22T10:59:00.000Z

In the foyer of the cinema Capitol, shortly after a nice gig. Thanks, Macca (Rach).

Thank you, Horsham

2008-01-21T11:53:00.000Z

So, the tour has begun.

On my way from the railway station in Horsham, I walked past a cinema.

A while later, I started wondering when I would reach the comedy club. I had been told that it wouldn't be far to walk from the station. I asked someone, and it turned out that the club was in the cinema.

The show went alright. although I hesitated on a couple of words since it was my first English gig for some time.

Now I'm waiting for some people in the audience to email me a picture they took of me after the show. I wonder if they will. And I have to see if I can cancel a train ticket, and then get another one, and also cancel a couple of Bed & Breakfast's and get another one, since a couple of gigs have been cancelled later in the week.

I think that's all for now. A rather mundane blog entry.

Soon on tour

2008-01-19T01:11:00.000Z

I don't know if anyone is reading my English blog, but now since I'm going on a UK tour again, I'll try to keep it updated.

But now it's time to sleep, so my brain can install all the new applications it has downloaded during the day.

Isn't that how it works?

Tour planning

2008-01-15T11:26:00.000Z

I'm right in the middle of planning my UK tour which begins on Saturday.

I need to find places to stay in Holmfirth, Glossop, Saddleworth, Leamington Spa and Beverley. And I need to arrange my journeys from London and between these places and Manchester (where I think I have a place to stay) and then back to London.

When that's done, I can relax.

And a Happy New Year

2008-01-03T20:13:00.000Z

Three days too late, but still...

Merry Christmas everybody

2007-12-22T22:32:00.001Z

Everybody; Merry Christmas

January 2008 UK Tour (and February)

2007-11-13T16:00:00.000Z

Next year begins (almost) with my first visit to England since March.

These are the gigs I'm doing. Originally, this list was longer. I have edited this blog post after I first posted it, since some gigs were cancelled for different reasons. I edited it just so no one would turn up at a gig hoping to see me and be disappointed. (Since I am such a hot name)
;o)

Sunday 20 Jan - Barnstormers, Horsham
Wednesday 23 Jan - Funny Side of Covent Garden, London
Saturday 26 Jan - Huddersfield, somewhere
Sunday 27 Jan - Off The Rail, Saddleworth
Monday 28 Jan - Reckless Moment, Leamington Spa
Tuesday 29 Jan - Space Cadets, Manchester
Wednesday 30 Jan - Buzz Comedy, Beverley

More gigs may come in, but gigs can also be cancelled. So check back in a while to see if I come to a club near you, or to make sure that the gig you've planned to see is still on the list.

Cologne, Germany

2007-11-08T15:23:00.000Z

Last week I did a couple of gigs in Germany, at Hollywood's Comedy Nights in Cologne and Bonn.

These pictures are from Cologne, where the gig took place in Alter Wartesaal (Old Waiting Room), located right under the railway station and next to the mighty cathedral.

Notice the beautiful ceiling.

James Allan, Cat Chaplynn, Dieter Nuhr and Steve Dix backstage.

Here's a chance to practice your German.

The audience has arrived.

Johnny Hollywood starts up the show.

I'm focusing...

...while Casey James takes to the stage...

...followed by James Allan...

...Steve Dix...

...and me.

Hils Barker concentrates...

...before she moves a mike stand
at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

Then she talks a bit...

...and sings.

Earl Okin performs his famous
I'm singing in front of a ladder.

The night is "zu Ende".

There are some more pictures from Cologne in my Swedish blog, here.

Welcome

2007-11-03T09:04:00.000Z

I'm a Swedish comedian. This is my English blog. I also have a Swedish blog.

I sometimes work outside Sweden, which is why I thought having an English blog too could be a nice idea.

My next visit to The UK will be in January 2008.

I think that's all for now.