Tommy Tiernan Live! The Lowry Theatre, Salford

After spending a wet Sunday December night in Salford watching the legendary Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan, I feel truly blessed. I was of course, massively aware of his reputation, both in Ireland and beyond, and of course I was also aware of what he can do on stage (I have watched and laughed at his genius when I have seen it on TV for many years now). To me, here was a comedian who humbly moves through the circuits of the globe, achieving great acclaim pretty much wherever he goes, but either not seeking or not achieving the "iconic" status that some comedians now have attained or have otherwise aspired to. Nevertheless, quite obviously I'm sure, it is one thing being aware of, or watching and appreciating the work of a comedian on TV, it is another thing entirely to go to see them live. Perhaps more so than any other stand up comedian I have ever gone to see, Tommy Tiernan was the one I was really hoping did not fall short of his own legend.

He did not. He rapidly coursed into his own legend and smashed right through it. I was aching from moment to moment; from start to finish. A bombardment of utterly and intrinsically unique hilarity ensued and washed over the audience gathered.
It was apparent from the first second that Tommy Tiernan knew exactly what he was doing, and it quickly became apparent as time went on that he possessed a mastery of comedy that few have ever achieved before. This allowed him to do pretty much anything he wanted - from his completely inauspicious entrance (devoid of any announcement or fanfare - he just walked on) to his utterly incredible opening rant about "how shit life is", to his endless but still infectious use of the words f**k and c**t (he may be happy to blurt them out and for him it was genius, but I'm not) to his wonderful back and forth motion of insanely loud and ludicrous rants to his measured, wise and perfectly timed tangents.

What's more, whatever Tommy Tiernan did, however quickly or however slowly he took to get there, he crafted and delivered each word that escaped him in such a way that the audience thanked him for it, even if for a few moments they awkwardly didn't know what was happening before them.
I heard a few people after the show asking each other if they thought he actually knew what he was doing backing himself into a lot of corners and veering wildly to and fro from utterly random topics and tales.
I think he did; I do not believe there was anything random about what Tommy Tiernan does or did. Part of his genius lies in his style - that of seemingly coming across as this mad Irish man ranting at an audience, but within that being able to throw an utterly eclectic mix of comedic gold at each and every one of them. And even if a chunk of what Tiernan did was not planned, and was indeed improvised - that does not at all detract from the incredible skill and flair of his comedy; far from it! Either way - what he did was utterly incredible; there are no two ways about it.

I feel I am not quite doing him justice here (despite 5 stars etc) but I also realise that to try and accurately describe the work of Tommy Tiernan would be both impossible and futile. To me watching his comedy could be a kin to seeing a great master's art or hearing a wonderful piece of music; you cannot fully recount why you love it; you can only express how much you love it - and urge others to try and love it too. So in summary I thank Tommy Tiernan for a wonderful night of comedy, and I indeed urge anyone who might be even remotely inclined to see him in action.