Nick Helm's Two Night Stand in The Grand

Nick Helm’s Two Night Stand in the Grand is an epic comedy rock show worthy of its massive venue. The atmosphere, in what must have been a sold out show, was utterly vibrant. ‘Strap in’ warns the opening titles; Helm’s clever use of multimedia throughout the show really adds something to this heavy metal, high budget show complete with live band and fireworks. When Helm finally walked onto stage, in an unbelievably cool glitter suit, the crowd went absolutely wild.

In his off-white pants and a vest, Helm achieves the angry, sweaty diva thing with style.

This show is exactly what you’d expect from Nick Helm, but stepped up to a whole new level. Singing in a slightly haggard voice, he grinds about the stage with “ballsy” self-confidence. “Put your fucking fists in the fucking air” he screams at the crowd and we obey, the whole grand in uproar, in unison. What an atmosphere! With his party popper belt exploding all over the place, he integrates live music and comedy songs with a few consciously terrible gags. Milking the jokes for as long as possible until they become newly hilarious, Helm has a great presence that cannot be ignored.

Crude and silly, his comic timing is pretty much perfection. Dragging a few poor souls on stage, his audience interaction is extreme and aggressive, but what else would you expect? His various costume changes include a cape with ‘HELM’ emblazoned on the back, which swishes theatrically as he swaggers around stage. His confidence knows no bounds; one song even involved the repeating line “Nick Helm is so fucking amazing”. Although his persona is at times pretty unsavory, it’s hard not to be won over by this incredibly watchable comedian.

In his off-white pants and a vest, Helm achieves the angry, sweaty diva thing with style. The show certainly didn’t always go as planned, but sometimes these moments offered the most honest comedy; his little temper tantrums had the audience in fits. “This was meant to be my special night!” he roars, and we’re not sure whether he’s joking or not. Not all of his songs are that funny, but he puts his heart and soul into everything he does and in moments of physical comedy, Nick Helm certainly rules the stage.

There is something very appealing in the way Nick Helm really doesn’t care about what people think of him. This show is certainly not for the faint hearted, especially due to the many loud bangs, glitter bombs, bubbles, fireworks and all manner of elaborate crowd pleasers. You soon get used to the smell of burning, and sometimes wonder, is it the residue of fireworks or is Helm just on fire? This isn’t a perfect show, and sometimes his jokes don’t quite hit the mark, but the standing ovation from the audience suggests that Helm’s certainly got a spark in him that just won’t quit. 

Reviews by Troy Holmes

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Performances

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The Blurb

Mega monolith Nick Helm is far too busy for a full run this year, but there’s no off switch to this bitch, so armed with nothing but the best rock anthems on the planet, he’s generously agreed to return for two nights only, delivering the sonic dick-kicking that Edinburgh's been aching for. After these gigs the Fringe might as well just go home. All killer. No filler. Don’t f*ck this up. ***** (List). ‘Pretty f*cking amazing...’ **** (Time Out). ‘It ain’t pretty, but it is hilarious’ **** (Chortle.co.uk).

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