What's Wrong With Me?
YouTube · 2024 · 61 min
A loud, self-deprecating hour about hypochondria from a Liverpool stage.
Adam Rowe has made a career out of being the loud, opinionated bloke at the pub, a persona he has ridden to massive podcast success with Have A Word. For this hour, he directs that blunt attitude inward, trying to figure out exactly why his brain and body seem to be breaking down at age 31. He is a self-admitted hypochondriac, a heavy drinker, and someone whose anxiety is steadily getting worse, making for an hour of self-deprecating stand-up that relies on rhythm and timing rather than easy crowd work.
The special was filmed at the Liverpool Empire Theatre in May 2024 and released for free on YouTube later that year. Rowe spends the hour explaining his terrible physical fitness, his failures with personal trainers, and the struggle of dating a woman who does not drink while he remains dedicated to hangovers. The centerpiece of his relationship material is a highly specific, painfully funny bit about attempting to watch a football match in bed with his girlfriend, complete with a play-by-play breakdown involving former Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano.
Rowe is an experienced club comic who has opened for major acts like Bill Burr and Shane Gillis, and that stage-hardened efficiency shows. He builds tension during personal stories, particularly when talking about his childhood, before releasing it with loud, exasperated rants. The show features a notably high production value for a self-produced YouTube release, matching the scale of his hometown venue.
The set list
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Reflecting on his late mother's alcohol consumption
Argues that drinking two bottles of vodka a day for 22 years is horrific but statistically impressive, comparing her endurance to Michael Schumacher driving and Margaret Thatcher's 'Iron Lady' title
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Dating a non-drinker
Explores how having a teetotal girlfriend forced him to examine his own drinking habits and amplified the misery of dealing with severe, unsympathetic hangovers
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Extreme hypochondria and debilitating hangovers
Describes needing intense empathy when hungover, lamenting the accusation that his condition is 'self-inflicted'
How it plays
- Tone
- Vulnerable, honest, self-deprecating, and punchy
- On stage
- Naturally charismatic, relatable, and self-deprecating, resembling a friendly bloke in the pub
- Pace
- High-energy entrance, quickly settling into an up-to-speed comedic flow featuring impassioned rants
- About
- failed relationships and breakups, alcohol and severe hangovers, hypochondria and health anxiety, family upbringing, football
What the critics said
Praised for faultless storytelling, raw emotional honesty, high production value, and universally relatable material
In the room: Raucous, warm hometown reception at a sold-out theater
Backstory
Filmed in Rowe's hometown of Liverpool at his bucket list venue following a prolonged tour and a series of personal breakups
Details
- Released
- Taped
- The Liverpool Empire
- Runtime
- 61 min
- Where
- YouTube
- Director
- Will Hutchby & Alfie Brown
- Topics
- Before
- I Know What You're Saying (2017)
More from Adam Rowe
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I Know What You're Saying
Gumroad
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