ON a bone-chillingly cold November night, York comedy fans were looking for some big warm laughs to help keep the icy snap at bay.

The dark, dank Basement Bar, however, hardly proved the most welcoming of venues.

Early birds huddled in corners refusing to remove big coats and scarves. Strain hard and you could almost see your breath in the wintry air. The only heat came from tiny table candles - host Dan Atkinson certainly had his work cut out warming the audience for the headliners.

Ice-cool Geoff Whiting provided us with an amiable opening, peppering the crowd with a series of question and answer gags.

His material was as safe as proverbial houses, and he provided some gentle laughs on issues like smoking, driving and pets.

Cats are cleverer than dogs because you never see them with homeless people, stated the sharp-suited stand-up, whose reception may have been hotter had he taken a few more risks and relied less on the audience.

Cold shivers subsided when headliner Pierre Hollins hit the stage.

The balding comic was clearly feeling the chill as he performed most of his act in a skunk-like wig that would make Elton John blush.

Armed with an electric guitar and distortion box that enabled him to live those Led Zep dreams, Hollins was plagued by bouts of distortion.

But most of the feedback he got from a defrosted crowd was music to his ears, his cheeky persona cutting the ice and leaving a satisfied glow in even the coldest of comedy hearts.

Updated: 10:12 Tuesday, November 23, 2004