Tuesday's late-night Fringe by the Sea event, compered by Chris Forbes, star of BBC Scotland show Scot Squad, showcased three quintessential performances of stereotypical comedy sets, offering the best taste of a classic club night experience. Phil Ellis had the Fringe by the Sea crowd roaring (Image: Lewis Houghton)Beginning with a battle against the smog machine and a few shrieks from the crowd instead of answers to his crowd work, Phil delivered one of the best off-the-cuff the starts you could hope for. His material focused on the trials of moving back home with ageing parents in a self-deprecating yet energetic style that sent cackles rippling through the crowd. Headliner Russell Howard lived up to the high bar set by last year's headliner Alan Davies. Veteran performer Russell Howard lived up to high expectations (Image: Lewis Houghton)His show was a litany of popular culture references interspersed with tales of his experience of becoming a dad.