Arnold Brown is the elder statesman of British alternative comedy.

He played at the opening night of the London Comedy Store and is a contemporary of Rik Mayall, Ade Edmondson and Peter Richardson.

So expectations were high as a sell-out audience took to their seats. Unfortunately, Brown mostly failed to satisfy his crowd.

To his credit, he steered clear of the hack comic's staple diet of topics.

He talked about life issues and philosophical points in a lucid and listenable way.

His observations and absurdisms were well crafted and well delivered. His many years' experience shone through in his timing and sheer comfort on stage.

But he simply did not deliver enough laughs, which have to be the measure of any comedian.

He came across more raconteur than stand-up comedian. He was always interesting and likeable but you could feel the crowd's frustration at the lack of laughs.

It was a strange night with a large chunk of the audience not returning for the second half.

He was having the show filmed for a future video and I am not sure if this threw him off his stride but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say it did.

After all, you don't become a legend with shows like this.

Komedia, Gardner Street, Brighton, Saturday