Adam Rozenbachs in Eurodad - Plenty of laughs in this stand-up show which tells some hilarious tales about Adam's trip to Europe with his old man. My own old man travelled to Europe for the first time in his life at the age of 69 last year and even though I wasn't there, this all felt incredibly familiar. His dad actually steals the show with the closer - it's superb. This show is stand-up done well, a good combo of laughs and narrative but doesn't knock it out of the park like a few other shows I've seen.
Joel Creasey in The Drama Captain - this show is hilarious. Tales of a painful relationship break-up and school days as an overbearing drama captain somehow gel nicely to create this super funny show. Went with two friends to this one straight after Adam Rozenbachs and we all agreed that we preferred this one, definitely more laughs. This show got five stars in the Herald Sun & it is definitely great but maybe more like 4-4.5 for me.
Judith Lucy & Denise Scott in The Spiral - I'm a big Judith Lucy fan and I also love Denise Scott so this was a no brainer for me and I wasn't disappointed. It was an unusual format, a combination of random stand-up bits from each woman, some readings from their respective books and some dancing that words cannot describe. I'd pay $47 to see this again just for the dancing. I had tears streaming down my face. Spectacular!
Monday, 15 April 2013
Thursday, 11 April 2013
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL - various shows PART 3
Lessons with Luis in Famoucity! - Got my first dud of the Festival! I was baffled by this show and hardly laughed at all. To be fair, the woman next to me was cacking herself so something in it for some obviously, but nothing in it for me. It's an unusual style, check it out here if you want to make up your own mind whether it's for you. The person who posted this video to YouTube agrees with me if their caption on it is anything to go by!
David O'Doherty in Sieze the David O'Doherty (Carpe DO'Diem) - New favourite show of the Festival! I've seen David every year for the last 4 or 5 years I think it is now and there's a reason I keep coming back. Love, love, loved this show. Consistently laughed throughout, his style is just an absolute delight to watch. I enjoyed this even more than Wil Anderson which is interesting since the Herald Sun's reviewers gave Wil 5 stars and David 3.5 - a reminder that it's horses for courses with such things. Interestingly, I saw this show with two of the friends I also saw Wil with and they both preferred David's show too. The Herald Sun review of David's show notes the absence of narrative running through it and that's true but you know what, he made me cack myself again and again, more than any show I've seen so far, and that's why I go and see shows at the Festival.
David O'Doherty in Sieze the David O'Doherty (Carpe DO'Diem) - New favourite show of the Festival! I've seen David every year for the last 4 or 5 years I think it is now and there's a reason I keep coming back. Love, love, loved this show. Consistently laughed throughout, his style is just an absolute delight to watch. I enjoyed this even more than Wil Anderson which is interesting since the Herald Sun's reviewers gave Wil 5 stars and David 3.5 - a reminder that it's horses for courses with such things. Interestingly, I saw this show with two of the friends I also saw Wil with and they both preferred David's show too. The Herald Sun review of David's show notes the absence of narrative running through it and that's true but you know what, he made me cack myself again and again, more than any show I've seen so far, and that's why I go and see shows at the Festival.
Saturday, 6 April 2013
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL - various shows PART 2
Josh Thomas in Douchebag - Saw this off the back of Josh's TV show 'Please like me' which I really enjoyed. Thought I'd give his stand-up a go and I enjoyed this show. It jumped to and from a bunch of different topics but I don't mind that style. As long as the comedian is delivering good laughs, I can go with it. I've heard people mock Josh's (made up) accent but I generally find it pretty endearing. The exception to this though is that in a couple of places in the show I literally could not understand what he said! I heard mutterings along the lines from others around me so I wasn't the only one. The Herald Sun only gave it 2.5 stars which I think is a bit harsh, more like 3.5 or so for me.
Greg Fleet in The Boy Who Cried Sober - Greg Fleet has been doing stand-up for so long that I decided this was the time to finally go and see his work for the first time. He is a masterful story teller and has beautiful diction but I have to say, just not enough big laughs in this for me. I enjoyed the experience of listening to the show but didn't laugh as much as I hoped or expected. I wonder what people who've seen a lot of his work would make of it, whether perhaps being sober after so many years of performing under the influence has taken the edge off? The Herald Sun has given the show four stars so maybe it's just that my expectations were too high. It's more like a 2.5 or 3 stars for me.
Wil Anderson in Goodwil - One of the best stand-up shows I've seen. There's a reason this guy gets all the gigs; he's superb. The laughs just kept coming and coming. Go and see this show, especially if you don't get the chance to see much comedy, as there's just no chance you'll be disappointed. Five stars from the Herald Sun and I agree.
Greg Fleet in The Boy Who Cried Sober - Greg Fleet has been doing stand-up for so long that I decided this was the time to finally go and see his work for the first time. He is a masterful story teller and has beautiful diction but I have to say, just not enough big laughs in this for me. I enjoyed the experience of listening to the show but didn't laugh as much as I hoped or expected. I wonder what people who've seen a lot of his work would make of it, whether perhaps being sober after so many years of performing under the influence has taken the edge off? The Herald Sun has given the show four stars so maybe it's just that my expectations were too high. It's more like a 2.5 or 3 stars for me.
Wil Anderson in Goodwil - One of the best stand-up shows I've seen. There's a reason this guy gets all the gigs; he's superb. The laughs just kept coming and coming. Go and see this show, especially if you don't get the chance to see much comedy, as there's just no chance you'll be disappointed. Five stars from the Herald Sun and I agree.
Monday, 1 April 2013
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL - various shows
So I've packed in a few MICF shows this weekend because all the shows are cheaper for the Easter preview weekend. For what it's worth, my opinions on comedy shows are basically about how much they made me laugh - a pretty fair measure in my view. Here's what I've seen so far...
Melinda Buttle in 'How Embarrassment' - Saw this one because I listen to Mel's podcast 'The Minutes' (with The Grates singer Patience Hodgson) and really like her humour. I enjoyed the show but there wasn't as many laughs as I'd hoped and she was a bit unprepared, using an audience member to help her along by prompting from a list as to what story was up next. A Herald Sun reviewer has given the show 4.5 stars which surprises me. I don't really do 'stars' but if I had to for this show, I'd have put it at more like 3.5. Funny but not side-splitting, tell-all-your-friends funny for me.
Dave O'Neil in '33 things I should have said no to' - Dave O'Neil is a bit of a stalwart but I've never seen him do a stand-up show, only enjoyed his work on TV and radio. It was really his appearance on 'The Agony of Life' that made me go and see this one, he's just so funny on that show. He didn't quite live up to the expectation I had based on that but I guess that's an unfair comparison when his moments on 'The Agony of Life' are edited down so we just get the real zingers. Enjoyed this but would put it at about the same level as Mel Buttle in that I wouldn't encourage you to race out and buy tickets if you're only going to see one or two shows.
Rhys Nicholson in 'Dawn of a new error' - This show is very, very funny though not for the faint hearted. He covers ground that will make the conservative among you squirm so don't see it if you know you'll be offended when things vere into murky territory. Like, graphic sexual territory. Amongst other things. He tells a story about his mother that is as hilarious as it is alarming and it certainly explains a few things about the man before us. So many laughs, I loved this show. The Herald Sun gave it four stars, for what it's worth.
Matt Okine in 'Broken Diamond House' - Hilarious. Loved this show, my favourite so far. Beautifully crafted narrative and the laughs just kept coming. The narrative came to a bit of a crescendo and that was when I realised just how deeply he'd lured me in - I HAD to know what happened at the end of the story. His popularity is catching on and his shows are selling out so book yourself some tickets soon. Highly recommend!
Luke McGregor in 'My soulmate is out of my league' - This is a fascinating experience of stand-up comedy. This guy, who I saw because I love his appearances on one of my favourite podcasts, 'The Little Dum Dum Club', is probably the most unusual comedian I've ever seen perform. He seems so nervous and uncomfortable (indeed, he refers to his OCD and anxieties throughout the show) and yet somehow it just works. It's hilarious. It's hard to explain, but it's hilarious. He's performing in a tiny room at the Portland Hotel which was so hot I thought I was going to faint but other than that, a pleasure to watch. (And for the record, I reckon this guy is going places. You mark my words.)
Melinda Buttle in 'How Embarrassment' - Saw this one because I listen to Mel's podcast 'The Minutes' (with The Grates singer Patience Hodgson) and really like her humour. I enjoyed the show but there wasn't as many laughs as I'd hoped and she was a bit unprepared, using an audience member to help her along by prompting from a list as to what story was up next. A Herald Sun reviewer has given the show 4.5 stars which surprises me. I don't really do 'stars' but if I had to for this show, I'd have put it at more like 3.5. Funny but not side-splitting, tell-all-your-friends funny for me.
Dave O'Neil in '33 things I should have said no to' - Dave O'Neil is a bit of a stalwart but I've never seen him do a stand-up show, only enjoyed his work on TV and radio. It was really his appearance on 'The Agony of Life' that made me go and see this one, he's just so funny on that show. He didn't quite live up to the expectation I had based on that but I guess that's an unfair comparison when his moments on 'The Agony of Life' are edited down so we just get the real zingers. Enjoyed this but would put it at about the same level as Mel Buttle in that I wouldn't encourage you to race out and buy tickets if you're only going to see one or two shows.
Rhys Nicholson in 'Dawn of a new error' - This show is very, very funny though not for the faint hearted. He covers ground that will make the conservative among you squirm so don't see it if you know you'll be offended when things vere into murky territory. Like, graphic sexual territory. Amongst other things. He tells a story about his mother that is as hilarious as it is alarming and it certainly explains a few things about the man before us. So many laughs, I loved this show. The Herald Sun gave it four stars, for what it's worth.
Matt Okine in 'Broken Diamond House' - Hilarious. Loved this show, my favourite so far. Beautifully crafted narrative and the laughs just kept coming. The narrative came to a bit of a crescendo and that was when I realised just how deeply he'd lured me in - I HAD to know what happened at the end of the story. His popularity is catching on and his shows are selling out so book yourself some tickets soon. Highly recommend!
Luke McGregor in 'My soulmate is out of my league' - This is a fascinating experience of stand-up comedy. This guy, who I saw because I love his appearances on one of my favourite podcasts, 'The Little Dum Dum Club', is probably the most unusual comedian I've ever seen perform. He seems so nervous and uncomfortable (indeed, he refers to his OCD and anxieties throughout the show) and yet somehow it just works. It's hilarious. It's hard to explain, but it's hilarious. He's performing in a tiny room at the Portland Hotel which was so hot I thought I was going to faint but other than that, a pleasure to watch. (And for the record, I reckon this guy is going places. You mark my words.)
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