Photo # 3 A photo that makes you happy

Meeting Tim Minchin after his Conversation With gig at Stratford last month;

The photo I have with him from Sonisphere is probably better, the light/contrast on my camera fucked up a bit so it's not great quality, I look DISGUSTING, horrible hair (thanks, epic amount of rain <_<) but it makes me smile to see his cheeky grin! Also, this gig was a complete last minute luck thing. I decided about two weeks before that I wanted to go but it was all sold out, I put a rather stupid amount of a bid on a pair of tickets from eBay and literally five minutes after someone at angry-feet offered me their spare ticket for £12!

I can't really explain what it all means; I was always the kind of person that listened to the sad songs when they felt like shit, in what was probably a rather self-indulgent and pretentious way, but laughing at silly songs has proved a far more productive, self-empowering way to deal with the crazy shit. And as ever, touring is the best antidepressent there is, I just needed to feel it again, I guess, and I'm glad that I had his shows around when I really needed that energy kick. I was so, so low towards the end of last year, desperate, I almost didn't go to the shows I'd booked up but I did and it was amazing and gave me back my lust for life, and for the live gig touring experiance.

He is also the most talented, orginal and intelligent famous person I have ever felt a connection with. There are lots of reasons why I love him as much as I do. *cough obbsessed cough* But I think that one of the best things about him is that he doesn't do what a lot of comedians do, when they tell a joke or make a statement that may come across as offensive or too close to the edge, they all tend to say 'it's just a joke' and they don't justify it beyond the laughs, but with Tim there's this whole other level of depth. With 'The Pope Song', for example, he's asking you if you are really more offended with him calling the pope a 'motherfucker', with a song that is mostly filled with the word fuck, than you are about him/the catholic church covering up child abuse; And when you put it like that it's hard to argue against, it’s so fiercly intelligent. He's not just being offensive for the sake of it, or to get a big laugh, he's taking the whole idea of offense and playing with it, to make people think about what's more offensive. It's not just a joke; it's a cleverly constructed argument.

Of course it's funny, but he has a unique ability to be as witty as he is heartfelt, to convey genuine human emotion, to take apart falsehoods that exist, whether that be in love or religion or the holding of things sacred.

And the things that really make you laugh also make you cry.