Fin Taylor: Real Talk @ The King's Arms, Salford, 25 Jul

There are few things worse than traffic jams for a travelling comedian. Add on to that it being your birthday – and when you get to the venue, the room you’re in is not much bigger than the vehicle you just spent six hours gridlocked inside. The newly 24-year-old Fin Taylor does not let this phase him, however, and eases into his material after some back and forth with a limited but willing audience.

Taylor is undoubtedly a talent, and one that will be headlining across the country to great report very soon – his gags are smart yet accessible, his delivery affable and laddish without resorting to oafishness. The problem that a lot of his anecdotes have is that the lead-up gags are much stronger than the eventual pay off. It's something Taylor is clearly frustrated by, but his remarks about his material are funnier than the jokes that precede them. 

As the show continues his energy levels, and hair, begin to wilt. After a solid set piece about his mindset while reading, he goes on to tell us about his problems with the girl he’s living with (his mum), finishing on a prop bit about shower etiquette that falls considerably flatter than he had hoped. It may be the bikram-like conditions in the room, but it is material that might have gone over better with a younger crowd. Taylor has toured with Russell Howard, so has perhaps been spoiled by the Mock the Week man’s easily pleased crowds.

One to definitely watch out for, and hopefully in a better ventilated room, Fin Taylor is on the cusp of something big – he might just have to do a little more work for it.