free press

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so i got a three and a half star review from the winnipeg free press on wednesday
before my first show
my first five years here in Winnipeg i got five star reviews from the free press
sometimes before my first show
its the same reviewer, kevin prokosh
and its not a bad review but it is three and a half stars
which might just finish me off
...

and its the main press for this fringe
and the most important for the tour
because of where it is
at the start of the prairies
...
he came to a great show in Montreal
the same one the montreal hour loved
but there is no
like zero
point complaining about reviews
...

last year he suggested my show was a
cynical cash grab
a rather harsh analysis
and his review, despite being four stars
effectively said, DON'T GO!

...
so three and a half stars this year leaves me somewhere bad
but not as bad as that
but just how bad is unclear

and i will have to try to avoid seeing the rest of the festival as a
damage limitation exercise

...

and wondering if the whole show was a
mistake
from its very conception
and the whole summer will be a limited disaster

...

the free press reviewer sees many shows in Montreal
at the start of the tour
when their shows are very new
and as companies understandably do not want the
most important review of the whole tour
to be from an early and possibly shaky performance
they simply don't do the Montreal Fringe anymore

which makes life slightly more difficult for the Montreal Fringe

...
so many more are choosing to start in Ottawa
where he hasn't been for a few years

...
and as for me
well its tough
the show feels good
and a lot of people like me in this town
so i have to battle
to do killer shows which get good word of mouth
and flyer a lot but not too much
while not getting
a] depressed and
b] shattered
...

all in all
,
not great

...
...