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Review: Mick Foley At Reading Concert Hall

Posted: May 10th 2013 By: CMBurnham

Last month, when I spoke to Mick Foley about his touring show Tales From Wrestling Past, he was keen to point out that it was not a comedy show in the traditional sense.

And after experiencing his act at Reading Concert Hall last night, I better understand why he seeks to make this distinction.

Whilst it is a very funny show, Foley's humour is warm and gentle rather than riotous - and this is in no way a bad thing. Mick does not set out with the solitary aim of making the audience laugh - he sets out to do exactly what the title of the show suggests and tells tales from wrestling past.

It just so happens that these tales are intriguing, engaging, and range from highly amusing to downright hilarious.

There are no sparkling insights, either about his in-ring career or the wrestling business in general, that a hardened grap fan wouldn't already have picked up from Mick's vast bibliography so anyone looking for "inside dirt" won't find anything that a session of googling or a trip to Amazon wouldn't disclose.

But despite this, hardcore wrestling fans will find themselves smiling and nodding fondly as Mick recounts episodes from his history that were good on paper but better to hear from the man himself.

Casual fans will find themselves inspired to hit YouTube and see what all the fuss is about and non-fans will likely shake their heads in wondrous disbelief that a man could talk so fondly, passionately and articulately on such subjects as being thrown off the top of cage structures and having his ear ripped off.

At the core of it all is Foley's unmistakable charm as a story-teller. The 90 minutes flew by and absolutely nobody would have complained if he'd just carried on going. Perhaps the greatest example of how engaging he is as a speaker is what happened when he brought up the term "hell in a cell", a phrase that usually elicits a notable reaction from wrestling fans.

Very few people stirred. So few, in fact, that Mick himself commented that it usually gets a bigger pop. The truth of the matter is that everyone was so engrossed in his story, we didn't want to interrupt him mid-flow!

Credit must also be given to Foley's guest performers, Mat Ricardo, Kerry Gilbert and Chris Brooker, all of whom played their parts well. Brooker, in particular, was tremendous with his topical, wrestling-related warm up act that rapidly endeared him to an initially sceptical audience.

Overall, this was a most enjoyable event and one that is recommended to all. Whilst long-term wrestling fans will no doubt get the most out of the show, non-fans will still find these tales from wrestling past, delivered endearingly by Foley, to be an excellent evening's entertainment.