The reviews in this section are presented in chronological order of when I saw them. These reviews are all judged out of five stars. They are judged against the vague concepts of quality of jokes, audience rapport, originality of humour and many other intangible and undescribable criteria. Check out my comfest timetable to see what I've seen/am going to see. Feel free to come along if you're in Melbourne. If you have any comments, email me.
The gala was a bit shit. There's no other way to say it really. It seems to get worse every year, in fact. I've seen about four of them and I've been to two, and they just get worse and worse. I think they try to do too much with this particular show. There are too many comics and they only get about four minutes each. This makes it very difficult to get into any sort of rhythm and the night is, consequently, alot less funny. Comics are forced to recycle old material and shoehorn whatever they have into this ridiculous time frame. That is not to say that people don't laugh and enjoy themselves, but I've seen most of the comics who were in the Gala and their performance at the Gala did not do their comedic talents any justice. At $95 for an A-reserve seat, even though the gig goes for 3 hours and features 30 comics, it has now comprehensively priced itself out of the "value for money" happy zone. I was very dissapointed and I give it two stars, but only because of the handful of comics who managed to make good of their four minutes - Jeff Green and Arj Barker among many others.
Sean Lock is a fella from the UK who I had never heard of. The general rule is that, if they can be bothered making the trip down the Australia, then they're probably pretty good. Sean was no exception. A very relaxed, conversational style, he was the stereotype of what a standup comic should be. Although he took a little while to warm up, and warm to the audience, he soon got into his rhythm and demonstrated his high level of competance at this medium. A little bit of audience interaction would have improved things a little, but this was, on the whole, a very solid performance combining traditional observational analysis with some fairly random thoughts and a bit of self-analysis á la Daniel Kitson style. I give it 3 and a half stars.
Daniel Kitson is one of my favourite comics. The stuttering Edinburgh man won a Perrier award at the Edinburgh festival in 2002 and its easy to see why. His brand of self-analytical humour coupled with an intelligent, perceptive and offbeat commentary on the human condition has made him a favourite the the MICF as well. Last year, he used the ticket-selling currency that only a Perrier award can give you to try a little experiement. His gig is basically a storytelling session. He describes himself as "potty mouthed" and "clever with words", but to describe his show as a clever, potty mouthed story telling session would be to do it a spectacular injustice. Perhaps a little out of place at a festival predominantly made up of stand up comedy shows, this poigniant hard-hitting and very humorous take on everyday life, in particular the concept of lonliness, is a masterpiece. The only criticism is that it lacks a little bit of structure and it is a little funny to see someone who is a master of stand up comedy doing... well, not stand up. I give it 4 and a half stars.
Chris Addison is an accomplished comic and for this show, his style takes on that of a slightly nutty lecturer. The premise is that he wants to build a civilisation from scratch, and he does this by analysing and deconstructing many of the more amusing idiosyncrasies of modern civilisation. Highly energetic, poigniant and always over time, Addison has edeared himself to Australian audiences by showing a deep understanding of our culture. Not only does he do this with as good an aussie accent you will get from a foreigner, but he drops the occasional line (e.g. a reference to Zammel's jewlers) which shows that he has probed a bit further below the surface of the Australian psyche and into territory which we would rather not admit to. A very solid performance with a good, albeit rushed, conclusion. 4 stars
Jackson's Way won a Perrier award, which is usually an indication that it should be pretty good. To be fair, it isn't bad. It is a rather insightful parody of those nauseating american self-help/motivational speakers. This one, ironically, gets everyone to say "achieved" and clench their fists in the air at the act of an audience member throwing in a towel. Despite the send-up being quite clever, it is not a brand of humour which I am particularly fond of. Audience participation is right up there with the best of them, throughout the act, and Chris maintains character throughout. I give it three and a half stars.
Paul McDermott, Cameron Bruce and Mick Moriaty are GUD. Gud, its like God but with "u" in the middle... get it? Yeah, neither did I until tonight. Very experienced performers with the art of bulding audience rapport second-nature to them, their show is once again packed with original songs and jokes. This year's show is not quite up to the stardard of previous years, them relying heavily on the "ohh... that's wrong!" style of joke (those who know me will know what I mean) as opposed to genuinely clever gags. Nonetheless, the show is very entertaining and it did turn out one of my favourite jokes of the festival - "Do you think that the lead singer of Placebo is really in the band, or that his doctor just tells him he is?". Think about it. I give it three stars.
Rod is always a good laugh. Those who are into politics, will probably appreciate his show more than others, but there is something here for everyone. A veteran of Australian comedy and one of the founders of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Rod knows what he's on about when it comes to comedy. A relaxed conversational style and an effortless ability to get a laugh out of anything makes this a very worthwhile show to see. My only criticism is that, partly owing to the current state of affairs in Australian politics, his show is somewhat less structured than previous shows and lacks a bit of the sting that he used to have. Still very funny, still very "Rod", three and a half stars.
"watching me is a bit like watching a kid with attention deficit disorder" just about sums up Ross Noble's show. His posters, and stage set up are as polished as can be, but the structure of his show is anything but. For two hours, the audience is treated to a delightful show of tangent after tangent after tangent. The routine basically consists of about three or four jokes, which could be said in about five minutes. However, in the course of telling these jokes, Ross gets distracted by the details, the audience and the random wanderings of his own mind. How he manages to get through day to day life is a mystery, and I'm told that the quality of his shows varies substatially because it is very dependant on audience response and interaction. Four stars
Jeff has a very relxed style of comedy which is witty, intelligent and occasionally (like all good comics) a little dirty. Jokes are told in a slightly deadpanned, matter-of-fact sort of way and many of them depend on a certain audience reaction. The venue was a poor choice as the acoustics gave the impression that very few people were laughing when, in fact, the opposite was the case. Unfortunately, this detracted from what was otherwise a well strung together show with many hilarious insights into the content of his two books (the A-Z of Living Together and the A-Z of Being Single, hence "A-Z"). Perhaps in a better venue, he would have done better as he is clearly one of the more capable comedians at the festival. Three and a half stars.
These two old school-mates have been at it for some time now and its surprising that they're not more well-known. This year, they combine forces to put together a show which makes fun of secret societies. Let's face it, there's alot to be made fun of with secret societies, so this is pretty much fool-proof. What's great however, is that rather than simply talking about secret societies and making fun of them, they go the next step and involve the audience in creating one. (I believe our one was "The Toast of the Pash" who deny that they are conducting experiments on Bobby Kennedy, all before the world comes to an end on the 5th of December 2008 or something... oh, and I'm grand master). Dotted within their show were small priceless items, like the "gong of the awkward silence" and the good-cop bad-cop dynamic that the duo had throughout. I give this 4 and a half stars.
A very clever comic. Justin, like Charlie Pickering, used to work on triple J. During their regular DJ hours, I didn't think that either were particularly funny. In this show, Justin is very funny. Unfortunately, owing to LL and AM's show finishing a bit late, I came into this show quite late. However, for the 45 minutes that I was there for, I spent most of the time laughing. Many of the jokes are very clever and I daresay a few of them went straight over the audience's head. Justin has a fast-paced, motormouth, high-energy style which works well for many of his jokes when he uses the change of pace for comedic effect. The show revolves around him looking for his father (a la star wars) and is dotted with little asides and tangents along the way. Overall, a solid performance but could benefit from slowing down, if only to allow those in the audience who are slow on the pick up to catch up. Four stars.
Akmal is a funny man. Performing in "the Cloakroom" in the Melbourne town hall, he missed the obvious gag "what's the matter, toilets were full?" used to devastating effect by Sarah Kendall the year before. In any case, a show which comes together well. He uses his ethnicity and background to great effect while interacting with audience members and improvising gags on the spot. He also plays an african drum during his show and his warm personality scores points with the audience and allows him to make fun of just about anybody. All this was, for me, marred by the fact that he recycled alot of his material from the previous year and from "Stand Up For Your Rights" which really deflated the night for me. If you've never seen Akmal before, you should. Don't get me wrong, he is very funny. However, if you've seen him before, perhaps wait until he has written some new material. Two and a half stars.
Super fast-paced Wil Anderson is very popular in Melbourne. The Adam and Wil breakfast show has been off the air for some months now, yet it seems that nobody has forgotten who Wil Anderson is. High-energy comedy at its best is what Wil is. A good connection with the audience to the point of interaction, where there was very little. Excellent material which was strung together in a tight and cleverly written routine. I can't help but feel that sometimes he was talking at the audience and not to them. The quality of the jokes however earned him a high rating in my books and his recommendation of Justin Hamilton's show at the end of his made me realise that *HE* was the mysterious man in the back row who laughed an awful lot more than anyone else. Four stars.
The rather poor venue and bad acoustics did not help the cause of Michael Chamberlin, who struggled. An intelligent comic with a good working knowledge of what constitutes good comedy but had a little trouble putting it all together on that night that I was there. The jokes were written and he had clearly done all his homework, but bringing it all together was not an easy task. Many gags seemed a bit rushed and underdeveloped. Overall, this show could have been much funnier, but Chamberlin needs to relax, slow down and let his material work for him, rather than fight the uphill struggle which he was clearly not winning. A show with great potential. Two and a half stars.
Well established American comic Arj Barker brings us another show which is about a cult, namely his own. A commanding presence on stage and an effortless ability to be laughably funny even when his jokes don't quite cut the mustard, Arj has no trouble getting a good laugh out of everyone. Taking very little time to warm up, he immediately had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. Interestingly, his routine is dotted with small references which only the observant might pick up (I probably missed a few!). His sense for rapport, comedic timing and pace are second to none... well, very very few. A very funny show from a very funny man. I give it 4 and a half stars.
Daniel Kitson is a master of comedy. Playing to a packed room in one of only six stand up shows, the audience was littered with many of the stars of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, an indication of his reputation. The show began at 11:15 and went on until one in the morning. Having approached the show with no preparation whatsoever, he quickly warmed up and gained momentum. His control of every aspect of stagecraft which makes a stand up comedian great is truly mind-boggling. His pace, pauses, and pseudo-improvised structure twist and turn your mind in many ways, the end result of all being laughter. It is sometimes said that, in the hands of a good comedian, ANYTHING would be funny. There is no more an apt example of this than Kitson, who really does just talk about anything and to anyone, the audience, the tech crew, even fellow comedians aren't entirely outside of Kitson's crosshairs. Everyone should see this show. Five stars.
Normally an excellent comic, Gerards show unfortunately didn't quite hit the right notes with the audience. A seasoned performer and writer of the Melbourne comedy scene, he knows how to put a good show together. In it he tells the story of an a cappella group which he was a part of in his earlier days. Tight story telling, good joke, some music and a bit of audience interaction and nothing can go wrong right? Not quite. The venue, the vics bar, was not a good one to say the least. Two comedy festivals ago, it dampened the "Flight of the Conchords" from brilliant to simply very good. A brilliant show and a strong performance, pity about the audience and venue, three and a half stars.
Terri is a very capable stand up and you are left in no doubt about that after seeing her show. Basically a storytelling session, the material was well written, witty and, of course, quite funny. There was little audience interaction, but Terri didn't give the impression that she was talking "at" the audience at all. A strong overall performance, although the subject matter (weddings and hens nights) mightn't be completely accessible to everyone. Three and a half stars.
This was quite a different sort of act. An educational journey as much as a comedic one, Damian Callinan stands out as the funniest history teacher I have ever known. Eureka Stocktake takes us through the journey of the diggers during the time of the Eureka stockade and is done with plenty of gags. Interestingly, the night I went, the venue was packed out by a school group from a country town, which made things interesting. Difficult subject material made very funny while keeping coherent and retaining credibility. Four stars.
When you see that a show is written by Greg Fleet and features Fleety, Corinne Grant, Adam Hills and Gatesy from Tripod, you naturally assume that, no matter what it is, it is going to be brilliant. It was brilliant, but not in a way which I believe fits very well into a comedy festival. This show would perhaps be better suited to being a part of the Fringe Festival. However, that said, it was quite funny, although not overwhelmingly so. It was very well written, and it probed quite deeply into the subjects of relationships, loyalty and friendship. It was not very light-hearted however, and those expecting cheap laughs, be warned. This is deep stuff. Three and a half stars.
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