MICF reviews - first installment!

Morning all!

I guess that I should start with the Comfest reviews, considering my promise to do so last week. I’ll try to collect a few reviews from friends over the next few weeks, but for now you’ll have to make do with my ramblings.


Comics Lounge - Dave O’Neil, some other guy and Corrine Grant, MCed by Fox Klein.

I kicked off this year’s Comfest with a free ticket to the Comics Lounge, a venue that I must admit I’d avoided for some time, and rightly so; the seating arrangement was fairly odd for a comedy gig. I wouldn’t have such a problem with the whole “sit around a table, eating and drinking while the act is on” bit if it didn’t mean that half of the audience had to swivel their seats around to see, and if the waitresses didn’t keep topping up drinks. There’s nothing quite like sitting in a room of 60-odd round tables, around most of which are seated drunk dickheads who heckle the performers. But I digress.

Dave was first on, and while his material was funny, good natured and mostly fresh, he did tend to slur so us sods up in the back seats couldn’t make out what he said half the time. I’d like to think that this is because, as he said in his set, he has a young child (only a few months old?), and I’d imagine that looking after babies is pretty tiring. So Dave was good, but partly unintelligible.

Next on was a guy, who’s name I didn’t catch and frankly don’t mind either way, who’s set basically consisted of “I’m a wog so I can make racist and ethnic jokes, but that’s ok because I’m a wog” material. Not funny, but had the drunks roaring with laughter. I guess someone has to cater for the racist tendencies in the lower middle class? Perhaps his festival show was better, but I certainly wasn’t inclined to find out.

Lastly, Corrine was the headliner, and so popular that she had a whole table cat-calling her as soon as she walked on stage. I’m not sure she knew what to do about it, and tried ignoring it but their calls were persistent, and eventually she made a quip at them and they calmed down. Her material would have been great, had I not seen it all at the Adam’s Nectar pre-festival gigs (hosted by Adam Hills at the Nectar Lounge, 228 Flinders Lane) last year. Corrine has good delivery and quite a good stage presence, but unfortunately her material is stale. I still enjoy watching her though, but I do wish she was on another panel show, she really shines when she’s got an opinion on things (instead of just being the token woman).

Fox Klein was a really good MC. I’d never seen him before (although I had heard of him through friends), but his delivery felt natural and he was quite witty. I’d be happy to say that he was the funniest person on stage that night.

All in all, a pretty sub-par night to begin the festival on, but hey, it was free.


Dylan Moran, What It Is, Hamer Hall (Arts Centre).

Having purchased these tickets late last year (in the afterglow of seeing and meeting Bill Bailey, surely the loveliest man in the world), I was looking forward to this show immensely. Dylan delivered, and though acerbic and dry, he seemed far more laid back and good natured than I was expecting. From where I sat, he actually looked a lot younger than in his various recorded shows (but then, my eyesight’s not that good), which was a pleasant surprise. We chortled and wheezed and ached with laughter until we wept, and all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - I’d recommend that anyone who hasn’t seen him rectify the situation as soon as humanly possible.

However, unless you’re a masochist, I would strongly urge you not to meet him afterwards. Perhaps I was naïve thinking that he would be interested in meeting his audience. Perhaps I was foolish to expect that he would have a quick chat to people. Perhaps I was just very spoilt by his Black Books colleague Bill Bailey, who was so lovely that he happily posed for photographs and chatted away until the last person made their excuses and left. I think I’ll blame Bill… spoiling his audience like that… bah. At any rate, Dylan did come out and sign autographs, but the adjective “begrudgingly” does spring to mind when I think about it. He wasn’t unpleasant, not in the least, but he seemed rather disinterested. Each to their own, I guess. It was still a brilliant show though, and I would definitely see him again (although I clearly wouldn’t bother trying to meet him again).


David O’Doherty - Let’s Comedy! Hi-Fi Bar and Ballroom.

David is always a treat to watch, and is finally getting the recognition he deserves - every time I passed the Town Hall chalkboard, he seemed to have sold out his show that night. His brand of comedy is a wonderful blend of hesitance, embarrassment, innocence, wit, honesty, and of course whimsy, set to fun little tunes from his Casio (Yamaha?) keyboard. I chose to take a friend of mine, who had never been to a live comedy gig before, to this show because I knew that it would be a lovely introduction to the joys of live comedy. She was not disappointed.

After a hilarious introduction, which seemed to last for 5 minutes of sitting in the darkness listening to David talking from backstage, he sauntered to his chair and took the venue by storm. Well, perhaps not by storm, but definitely by a moderate gale. He played some new songs, got a very assertive heckle from a woman who wanted to hear his song Very Mild Superpowers, and even managed to whip a woman in the front row in the face with his mic lead. Oh yes, that’s just the was he rolls, apparently. (Of course he profusely apologised immediately, such is his kind nature.)

I’d be willing to put money on David’s future in comedy - it’s a sure thing. Just watch, he’s already going places (and I don’t just mean to Auckland).


The Bedroom Philosopher - Songs from the 86 Tram, European Bier Café.

Justin Heazelwood, aka The Bedroom Philosopher, is another comedian who’s definitely coming up in the world of comedy, and like DO‘D I‘d recommend him to everyone. He won the Director’s choice award this year, despite having his run cut short due to being run into by an 86 tram and fracturing his **humurus** (the irony was not lost on him). I managed to catch his show a few nights before his accident, and am happy to report that it was brilliant, packed out and a resounding success if the comments of the audience afterwards were anything to go by.

At the beginning I was sceptical because it seemed to smack of student theatre, but my fears were quickly allayed by his adept storytelling style and musicianship. I left his show feeling less likely to despise the crazies on the tram, because, as he pointed out in his understated manner, they all have their stories, even if said stories are far more musical than mine. I will also never be able to see the word “depot” without thinking of bogan children. Thanks Justin.



Phew! That’s about enough to begin with. More to come shortly!