Patrick Monahan – Hug Me I Feel Good

The Wine Bar area of the Gilded Balloon is brimming over with goodwill towards Patrick Monahan from the outset. Threading through the show is the notion of good deeds. Questioning members of the audience on what their last acts of merit were, he carves out enough space in the auditorium to let the crowd carry much of the material for him. They are eager to do so, and Monahan plays individuals off each other with joyous abandon. Woeful misunderstandings of his Geordie accent and the fact that an overwhelming proportion of the assembled crowd appear to be from Swindon gel together to create a vibrant bond in the room.

Monahan's personality is what really shines throughout the gig, his natural effervescence carrying the more uneven material. Menacing behaviour in McDonald's is the focal point for the most elegantly worked out routine in the show, as Monahan effortlessly recreates the subtleties and rhythms of a fast-food outlet kick-off. This is followed by a form of dancefloor mayhem, as the performer rounds up his key audience members up for a spot of move-busting on stage. It is a fitting, vigorous finale, although I leave wishing that a talent of Monahan's calibre would occasionally veer away from directly observational concerns.