Nick Helm: One Man Mega Myth

"Women want to sleep with me, children want to be me and men want to see me die." The self-deification of only two men in history: Evel Knievel and Nick Helm. According to Helm, he’s the second-greatest person ever, squashed between Knievel in first and Jesus Christ in third. Remarkably, Helm’s vocal chords have yet to collapse as his trademark stage persona—belligerent and volcanic—erupts on stage and challenges us to just bloody enjoy ourselves.

Helm bounds in, laced up in full Knievel gear, ramps and fire-hoops decorating a stage already trembling from blaring heavy metal. His militant style is hilarious and lasting at first, as jokes succeed mainly because he’s shouting punch lines that are best delivered with restraint. But the shtick starts to take on the sort of purposely tiresome quality that risks antagonising a crowd, going on and on and on… and on. The gag strikes, then fades, then returns and finally ebbs away to awkwardness.

And yet, Helm pours his heart and soul into the routine (plus litres of sweat) with skits and songs on mangy neighbourhood cats, former band members who are reduced to anonymous musicians with buckets on their heads and just generally being amazing. "If you don’t like me, don’t watch me," he blurts – undoubtedly a feeling shared by all comics. “Uproarious” gets wheeled out as a go-to term for anything loud and unruly, but really it couldn’t fit more in a set which is certainly good fun, just unsustainable.