Paul Black – Self Care Era Review

Paul Black’s ongoing rise on Scotland’s comedy ladder took another step on Saturday 29th January at the SEC Armadillo in Glasgow.

3,000 people took their seats for the sold-out ‘Self Care Era’ show, which featured 12 steps of self-care for our difficult, modern age. The steps were all born from Black’s first-hand experiences and hardships faced in his life--of which, he is certain he has seen them all.

Opening the show with ‘No Limit’ by 2 Unlimited started rapturous clapping and stamping along...then laughter and cheers as the curtains opened to reveal Black dancing (a term used lightly) with his back to the audience. As he lapped up the adulation and looked out across the crowd the music died away with Black stating: “turns out there is a limit, I’m knackered!” to start the audience howling from the outset.

Black’s form continued throughout the show, with his 12-step plan for self-care projected onto a screen behind him to provide the backdrop for his “TED talk”. He also enlisted the help of a couch, some cushions and one prop to round off this simple but highly effective show.

The 12-step plan followed a tongue-and-cheek look at 90s-00s life growing up in Glasgow, with a perfect blend of observational social commentary and self-deprecating humour that thrives in Scotland. From Sky TV envy to now becoming ‘Klarna Kardashian’ due to his poor monetary management skills, the relatable laughs rolled in, and Black had his biggest audience to date in the palm of his hand.

Black’s friends and family did not emerge unscathed from his set either, with equally funny (and embarrassing) stories being told about them too--from a Gran whose autobiography would be titled ‘To Live and Die in Mosspark’ to a Mum who lovingly gifted a three-foot bottle of coppers; no one was safe. Tales from his high school ‘Flop Era’ and childhood as well as more current events felt all too familiar: old fashion, hairstyles and questionable music tastes also struck a chord.

You really wouldn’t have thought Paul Black had only played to a few hundred people before. Throughout the show he strutted across the stage with the confidence of a comedian much more battle-worn than himself. Having sold out a run of shows at the start of January to then complete a very accomplished show at The Armadillo--his confidence is warranted with his current success being nothing short of meteoric. His social media prowess has no doubt had a massive factor in this and will shape the future path for comedians to follow (a sign of the TikTok times).

Where shipyard workers had Billy Connelly, and ‘Millennials’ have Kevin Bridges, perhaps Paul Black will be the one to fill the Scottish comedy scene hole for this next, quite different, generation. Only time will tell, however, if he can go from selling out Oran Mor to the Armadillo in the space of a month. Who knows what is next for Glasgow’s TikTok star turned rising comedian – after this run of shows, he has definitely earned the latter title.

4/5 - ★★★★☆ - Relatable, honest, and undeniably funny. Black proves he can perform on the big stage, not just the small screen.