Tuesday 18th November, Comedy @ Marble Bar, Kitty Flanagan headlining
Thursday 20th November, The Comedy Store, Jamie Kilstein headlining

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Comedy @ Marble Bar seems to be developing a nice core of regulars after work on Tuesday evenings, which makes for a pleasant buzz to the room, although they tend to be grinners and chucklers rather than belly-laughers. The regulars might also be harder to impress when they’re familiar with the resident acts and impatient for the featured performers!

This week’s support features were Amanda Gray and Dave Bloustien. Amanda is fairly new to stand-up, hitting the ground running in comedy contests over the past year and beginning to build up a strong local following (she’s a finalist in this week’s Quest for the Best Grand Finals staged by Comedy on the Rox). Her dead-pan style and blunt use of four letter words was a startling combination in the marbled pillar zone, but once the room absorbed it they followed her cheerfully enough as she took them on a journey of f*cking disdain.

By the time writer/improvisor/comic-of-all-trades Dave Bloustien took the mic they were starting to loosen up with the occasional guffaw, happy to follow him along weird thought alleys and give him the expected groan in a friendly fashion when he unleashed a truly drastic pun.

Dave’s confidence in the writing behind his punchlines means that a listening crowd is his sort of people because he can bounce off individual reactions to keep the set fresh. Those keen to see a different side to Dave’s skills can catch him as part of the Man/Raven team in the Theatresports(R) Cranston Cup Grand Final on Dec 6th.

Kitty Flanagan’s years in Britain have, amazingly, only made her routine more rapid-fire than ever. Her tiny frame with its mop of curls and huge smile fills the stage and commands attention. By the time she’d set up three punchlines the chuckles were louder and the guffaws more frequent, as her quiet style kept the crowd listening. Her weaving of improvised banter with set chunks was seamless, and I have little more to add because I stopped taking notes to concentrate on laughing. Kitty’s upcoming gigs can be found at her website.

Next week the Marble Bar features Dave Jory headlining supported by James Lieutenant and Bryan Chandler. [more info]

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Arriving late for The Comedy Store show because my companion Ms Mellie is small and her beer was large, thus taking longer for her to finish it at the pub than she expected, we missed most of the first support act Ben Ellwood, coming in for only the last few minutes, but those who’d been on time were chortling mightily. The second support act, Nick Sun, did his usual free-flight routine with some new material that failed to fully grab the crowd this time out, although there were some appreciative hoots.

MickeyD, as MC, was a larrikin maestro, fast-foot-working around the stage while delivering great big dollops of cheeky to approving roars. Ms Mellie, who hadn’t been to see a comedy show for nearly twenty years, approved of him highly, but she wasn’t so enamoured by efforts from others to be “edgy” with bad taste humour in the name of free speech - if it’s not also entertaining she fails to see the point. However, Ms Mellie luuurrrved the featured support act, Dave Jory. His wry observational style punctuated by the lunges for emphasis won her over, and totally cracked up the room. If his cats and my cat ever get a chance to plot together, the human race is doomed.

Headliner Jamie Kilstein was promoted as part of the New York underground scene, which is apparently comedy code for “no, you haven’t seen him on Letterman or Leno” and “yes, he’s all over YouTube” (which is handy for checking him out before going to a show). His material was rather like a distillation of the sharpest left-leaning American political blogs - talking points with a twist - so it was very much my cup of tea. Kilstein has a relaxed, deceptively rambling style as he skewers the Religious Right and Stateside conservatives, and if you know everybody he’s talking about his points are sharp indeed. Ms Mellie, who is rather less interested in the minutiae of the US culture wars, was lost for reference points for huge chunks of Kilstein’s routine, got bored with the religious critique and wanted more Australian-tailored content. Most of the crowd, who obviously were expecting just what they got, were lapping it up. So he’s not for everybody, but if you like him on YouTube he’s definitely worth seeing in person.

Kilstein finishes tonight at the Comedy Store in Moore Park, Sydney and heads back to NYC - his gigs can be followed on his myspace page. Next week the Comedy Store begins its Christmas Special Show (”a gala lineup every night!”) until Dec 20. [more info]

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Image Credits: Marble Bar photos courtesy of Mediak Services and Michael Kery, promotional photo of Jamie Kilstein courtesy of The Comedy Store.

Similar Posts:

• Reviews, week 3-9 November 2008
• Review: Fiona O’Loughlin @ Marble Bar
• Comedy @ BB’s: Mickey D., Dave Williams, Nick Sun & more
• Comedy Store reopening in November
• Sydney & Melbourne: some new rooms!

Related show

• Region: Sydney
• Date: Tuesday, December 16th 2008
• Time: 6:30pm
• City: Comedy Guidein Sydney, NSW
• Venue: Marble Bar
• Address: 488 George Street
• Country: AU
• Admission: $15 + free drink
• Age restrictions: No minors