My Comedy Festival 210

Hello ScoFans!

Another Melbourne International Comedy Festival has come and gone, and because I am having technical difficulties with the other thing I wanted to do tonight, I will do a recap of the shows I saw and my experience.


GOOD FRIDAY

Good Friday I saw two shows, first of which was Peter Helliar.


He's dressed like that because his show was called "The Dreamboat Tour". His show had nothing to do with boats, and very little to do with dreams (but it did have something to do with dreams)

I was really looking forward to seeing Pete's show. I always thought he was the star of Rove (International readers will have to excuse me there) and have wanted to see him live for years, but this was the first year in a few years where he's done a full season (usually he'll do one or two nights)

Whenever you look forward to something though, you generally walk away disappointed, and that was how I felt immediately after the show. Looking back on it now though, most of the material was pretty good.. maybe it was just the uncomfortable seating that left me feeling a little cranky.


After grabbing a bite to eat between shows, next we saw Arj Barker.

I saw Arj at my first comedy festival in 2004.. or 2005.. I can't remember. Anyway, he was one of the first comedians I saw at the Comedy Festival and I've seen him five times now. I would have rather not seen him again this year, but we went with someone who isn't really the "Try new things" sort, rather the "Stick with what you know" sort (and when it comes to comedy, he doesn't know much.. because he won't try new things).. and while his show was great, it was pretty similar to all of his other stuff.

I would have rather seen something new and different, but for anyone who hadn't seen him before I'm sure they would have loved it (and would want to see him another three times but NOT a fourth time)

EASTER SATURDAY

Easter Saturday I saw Good Evening: The Sketches of Peter Cook and Dudley More performed by Shaun Micallef and Stephen Curry.

Shawn Micallef has, for a long time, been one of my favourite comedians. He's not really the stand up comedian sort though, more sketches and skit comedy. So when this opportunity came up to see him, I grabbed it with both hands.

And this time, I wasn't disappointed. Both of the guys played their parts very well and put on a very funny, entertaining show.

And that was it, Easter weekend and my comedy festival experience was over.

Or was it?

No, it wasn't.

One of the girls I work with offered me two tickets to see Ross Noble this Friday night just gone because she knew someone who wouldn't be needing them. Try as I might, I couldn't find anyone to go with me, so I went alone (comedy shows.. one more thing I now don't need people for. The list of "Things I don't need people for" grows ever longer)

This show contained the highlight of the festival for me.

Ross was using two Aero bars as air traffic controller stick things (you know.. those orange things) and pretending to be "The Far Air Traffic Controller" and then said at the end of it "Of course, he wouldn't be doing that at the moment"
*Silence from the crowd*
"You people haven't seen the news yet have you? They've grounded planes at airports around the world"
*Weak laughter*
"No I'm serious. They're volcanoes and smoke right across Northern Europe"
*We all start pissing ourselves with laughter- You had me there for a second there Ross, but I think you'll find that scenario is quite unlikely*
"No really, I'm not talking bollocks. It's in Iceland"
*Almost crying with laughter - volcanoes in ICEland? Good one Ross!*

Turns out, he wasn't talking bollocks at that point. He got just as much laughter as he did then for a lot of material he did, when all he was doing is updating us on International news events.

It was all a timing thing really...

If he also was right about the children with rickets forcing people to impale themselves on spikes, I'll be very surprised.