It was around July 2005 that I first became aware of the name Steve Williams, when this personable Welsh guy was on tour with Danny Bhoy. We caught up with him in deepest darkest Kirkcaldy, and although we hadn’t come to see him, were well impressed with his shortish set and pencilled him in for further investigation, something that has been taken seriously with this night the latest session.
With a couple of mates in tow I arrived at my normal early time prior to doors to find the queue halfway down the street. Promising! Although my favourite seat would have been gone Mr Williams would have a good crowd. This definitely was the case as long before showtime there was not a seat to be had and precious little standing room either.
Steve took to the stage promptly and then proceeded to entertain for the entirety of his set with well crafted, observed and presented material on a variety of subjects. He reacts and interacts well with his audience yet is no means can he be thought of as intimidating. America, Buckfast, mobility scooters, Afghanistan, queuing, football chants and drink-driving were just a selection of the topics this erudite comic expounded on. Yet although it was packed out, often his style came across as if he was chatting to a few mates in a bar.
I couldn’t believe that after what seemed to be about 10 minutes he was announcing an interval. Those ten minutes were in fact 50, and as one of my mates said, he realised how good Steve was the way the time evaporated. I can only concur.
After a break to recharge the glasses, it was on with part two. And it was all as good as the first part, just different topics. Williams is a prolific writer and his skills are snapped up by Russell Howard in his BBC 3 series amongst others. But he obviously retains plenty for himself too. His appearance on Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow also confirmed his standing within the industry, and gives the TV viewers a chance to see what he is about. That is of course a must-see comic, and in my humble opinion one that works best with a live audience.
There are no airs and graces from Williams, just an abundance of funny stuff, and I don’t think anyone could have left the gig failing to be impressed by the man and his comedy.
Due to the volume of work he has on it’s not every week that you can catch him live, so if you get a chance grab it with both hands. Do not miss out because if you do, then you really have.
To check out where he is playing go to www.stevewilliamscomedy.com or to see which other gigs are being staged at The Stand, both in Glasgow and Edinburgh, oh and prepare for Newcastle as well shortly, their website is www.thestand.co.uk  and hopefully I will see you there.

Reviewed by Geoff