Friday 20th November saw the return of Cairndale Comedy (as the comics billed it). I got to go along and sample the evening entirely and personally I am so glad I did.
The Park House within the Cairndale Hotel in Dumfries was the setting and as far as the majority of comedy clubs go it’s one of the nicest I have attended. A stunning two course meal served with military precision to a packed room of over a hundred guests went so smoothly with the entire meal completed within an hour yet there was no feeling of being rushed. 
Nine o’clock brought the compère for the evening rushing to the stage in the form of Jojo Sutherland, with 15 years of experience performing worldwide she brought her own down to earth brand of comedy and controlled the room with a roving eye and forked tongue. I often wonder why people want to sit so close to the stage at comedy gigs making themselves easy targets for professional put downs and utter embarrassment.
Jojo entertained the crowd flawlessly for fifteen minutes before introducing the opening act of the night Keir McAllister with his unique brand of everyman observational humour, he provided a strong set of joke upon joke weaved into its story telling mode.
The evening brought two relatively new performers to the comedy scene firstly Chrissy Ross with his slighter darker outlook on life and gravel throated Scottish accent and of course beer over his head (you have to be there). Then we had Stuart McPherson who delivered a very introspective view of his comedy mind, he reminded me of a young Stuart Lee with the soft tones and provoking punch lines.
Throughout the evening one group within the hall had imbibed rather heavily which led to the unfortunate loss of control over their personal volume switch, after being asked repeatedly by JoJo to dial it down a bit they carried on regardless and suffered heavily at the hands of the evenings headliner John Scott. Clearly a seasoned comic with a no nonsense attitude to destroying any hecklers or noise makers. He had the audience in the palm of his hands and cheering for slaying any off putting noise. His set was smooth polished and hilarious, I felt I could’ve been at any of the big stand up clubs in the country.
Congratulations must go to the Cairndale Hotel for their foresight in returning the Comedy Club to the town, with the next show scheduled for Friday the 26th of February 2016 you are for a great night out from beginning to end.
To Book Tickets for future events at the Cairndale click this link http://www.cairndalehotel.co.uk/entertainment
Written by Ali Donowho for DGWGO Entertainment News.
