John Bishop @ King George's Hall, Blackburn

2:53pm Wednesday 23rd April 2008

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IT is always interesting to catch a comedian on the way up.

Often the shows you get to are for those performers who have put in the hours, who have served their apprenticeship and who then put on a slick, polished but often emotionless performance.

By his own admission John Bishop is very much at the start of his comedy career - but he's gaining plenty of attention.

His act is a curious mix of the confessional and almost old-fashioned stand-up - he even managed to get in a mother-in-law joke, albeit a very good one.

The show's title is Stick Your Job and in it John explains how a successful sales director became a full-time comedian.

A late arrival at King George's Hall appeared to leave him slightly flustered - again a sign of his relative lack of time in the job, and the act tended to wander a little during the first half.

However he got into his stride and for the second half - the Stick Your Job section of the performance he was relaxed and drew the audience into his life with a funny and at times moving performance.

His genuine Scouse charm had the audience with him from the start and there were plenty of laughs along the way, which is surely what a comedy show is all about.

I'd never seen John Bishop before but after this show I'd certainly seek him out again.

As time goes on the evidence is he'll only get better and it'll be fun to watch him go on to a bigger stage.