Mark Nelson and Rhod Gilbert at the Edinburgh Festival

This was my fourth and final visit to this years Edinburgh Festival. On Thursday I had gone through myself to see the legendary singer-songwriter Bert Jansch in concert. He was great. It was just a privilege to see him play live, he is such an amazing guitarist. I hope he plays again next year. It was also good just to see something other than comedy at the Festival. On Saturday myself, Tony and Alan arrived in Edinburgh about 5PM, leaving us enough time to find the Underbelly in Cowgate and have a quick pint before the Mark Nelson gig. We had seen Mark Nelson before not so long ago, so some of his material we had already heard. He's a decent comedian, with good obversational skills and comic delivery. He is much in the same mould as Kevin Bridges but not quite in his class. Still I quite enjoyed the set and I would probably be happy to see him again in the future. Some strong language and a bit crude at times but nothing too bad. Our next destination was the EICC, with a quick chippy dinner along the way. It was me who suggested that we see the likable Welsh comedian Rhod Gibert so I felt the burden of responsibility rest on my shoulders as we took our seats in one of the EICC's main auditoriums. His set was basically one long very amusing rant. He delivered it with great energy and enthusiasm, and at times it almost took on the feeling of a theatrical piece. Maybe he should try his hand at acting because even though it was supposed to be comedy I was strangely moved at times and got emotionally caught up in his dramatic monologues. He was funny as well, in a kind of crazy way. We managed another pint at the Waverly before taking the bus back to Glasgow. It has been another successful Festival experience. Some acts were better than others, but on the whole I've enjoyed it and I look forward to next year. Bert Jansch 10/10 Mark Nelson 6/10 Rhod Gilbert 7/10