Two Reports From Mick Foley's Ireland Comedy Show

Nick Scott sent this one in:

Just a quick report about Mick Foley's Cork Ireland Stand up event at Cypress Avenue. There were at least 350 in attendance. The opening act was a comedian from Virginia who is currently residing in Cork. His name is Ashley Strand and he did really well. We couldn't have asked for a better warm up. He got the crowd going but not so much that he burned out the crowd. There was a 15 minute intermission and then Mick came on. I ran into Mick during the intermission and asked him, "You're back in the fold again?" He just laughed and said "Yeah". I should point out that the crowd was 99%wrestling fans. I don't want to spoil any jokes or routines but it was mostly wrestling related humor. He came off very well and controlled the crowd effortlessly even when they were getting rowdy. He went way over time so everyone felt like they got their money's worth. During the show he admitted to be "back with WWE".

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Paul O'Brien sent this report in:

Foley is Good.

Mick Foley opened his European Tour in the ancestral Foley home place, County Cork, Ireland last night to a packed house. The love was evident for the former WWE Champion even before he took to the stage. Foley! Foley! Foley! chants could be heard in pockets of the waiting crowd. Various 'Cactus Jack' tee shirts were visible and at least one 'Broski' headband was unleashed.

It was an event that mashed a similar looking, attitude era crowd into a bar venue over a larger bar venue. This was the gathering of all the thirty and forty somethings who never got the chance to see Foley in his prime. Thankfully most were still long haired and tattooed or bald headed and goatee-d. Apparently, Cork is the fashion capital of nineteen ninety seven.

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Mick Foley's comedy tour arriving was a (much tamer) ECW type event that Ireland never had. A minority in the crowd sometimes wanted it more chant happy that Mick was rightly willing to entertain. The line was sometimes blurred, and therefor crossed, between Hardcore Legend and Apprentice Comedian.

Foley rallied between road stories and backstage anecdotes to more traditional comedy 'bits.' From the moment he took the mic he had the whole room in the palm of his hand. Even when he felt himself go down a dead end with an attempt at local humor, he quickly moved back to what he knew and tied together the joke failing with him failing in wrestling rings all over the US.

And that's where the line got blurred sometimes. It's hard to get mad at sections of the crowd for wanting a wrestling atmosphere when a couple of times in the show that's where it looked like Foley himself was most at home.

Spontaneous chants broke out when the 'smart' fans heard a name or event that they considered 'insider.' Sometimes this worked and other times it looked to knock Foley off the crucial timing needed to punctuate his better lines when he moved away from the wrestling material.

And Mick Foley's other material is hysterical and well thought out.

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His 'Mandy' and 'Karate Kid' bits are hilarious and had even the most chanting of chanters too busy laughing to be 'those guys.'

As the show really began to build, Foley seemed to want to open up a little bit more – tell us that he was the type of person who thrived on reaction and relayed the birth of Mick Foley the performer. He brilliantly carried the audience through race and volunteerism, alternative movie scenarios, clever and timely music cues and giraffe attacks.

His charm and self deprecating humor went down easily and took along for the ride an already signed up crowd. He mimicked, danced, mimed(worm tongue has to be seen) and went into promo mode to collect as many laughs as he could collect.

Near the end he talked about leaving it all on the stage. And that's what Mick Foley did in Cypress Avenue, Cork. He ran long, worked hard and made a crowd full of well wishing strangers laugh their asses off.

A few years ago signs in the arenas where Foley used to work made definitive statements about Mick Foley.

Foley probably isn't God. Foley was always better than good. But, one thing Foley definitely is – is funny.

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