Tuesday 18th November, Comedy @ Marble Bar, Kitty Flanagan headlining
Thursday 20th November, The Comedy Store, Jamie Kilstein headlining
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: MC Dave Smiedt seemed to be working harder with them than usual this week.
Amanda Gray
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.
Dave Bloustien
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 an 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 listen to individual reactions and bounce off them 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.
Kitty Flanagan
Next week the Marble Bar features Dave Jory headlining supported by James Lieutenant and Bryan Chandler. [more info]
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.
Jamie Kilstein
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]
* Kate McLennan is appearing in The Debutante Diaries at the Q Theatre in Penrith Nov 20-22 (4 shows) - a hit at the 2007 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. [more info]
* George Smilovici started a monthly room at the Mosman RS Club last month called The Comedy Womb - it’s on again this Saturday 22nd featuring George and his guest Garry Who. [more info]
* Nick Sun is buzzing with ideas and taking them for a run - a not-just-for-comedians “open no rules peformance anarchy night” called PHUKLUB will run on several nights in December at the Roxbury Hotel in Glebe - Mondays 1st and 8th December, and then a Christmas Spectacular on 21 December. Nick’s also planning an experimental stand-up night on Wednesdays in December with full details yet to be announced.
* John Cleese is doing an Australian tour of his business leadership seminar in mid-December (unaffordable unless your corporation coughs up), so will possibly also pop up on a few telly shows etc. Keep your eyes peeled in Perth, Melbourne, Canberra & Sydney. [more info]
This post has been updated to add new performance photos
Shows:
Peter Green Book Launch, Comedy on the Edge @ Hotel William Tues 11th
Jackie Loeb, Mic in Hand @ Friend in Hand Hotel, Thurs 13th
Theatresports Cranston Cup Semi Final #2 @ Belvoir, Sun 16th
Comedy on the Edge, upstairs at the Hotel William, is a big (big) comfortable space, filled with rows of sofas and a small stage. The audience for the book launch of Are Youse The Comoydians? were mellow and appreciative, anticipating a more laid-back night than your usual stand-up show, and so it proved. Fast-talking Jonas Holt and veteran Peter Meisel were delightful supports in the first half of the show, and then (proving room manager Mark Williamson’s maxim of “you just never know who may be dropping by the EDGE”) in the second half came the welcome surprise of “toughest woman in comedy” Julia Wilson doing a spot before Greeny came on to discuss his book with fellow cyclist-comedian Dominick O’Kieran (who also MC’ed the evening).
Peter Green
The Last Legs tour was obviously different: two comedians cycled across Australia and wherever they stopped for the night they put on a comedy show. Their own mishaps and the varied reactions and characters they met along the way make for a string of highly entertaining anecdotes. Chase down Peter Green and buy his book to see for yourself!
This week on Comedy on the Edge: “The Bad Boys of Comedy are back!! Featuring the Man, the myth the Legend Jeremy ‘Keasty’ Keast, Justin ‘D’ Lodge, all the way from Melbourne the Nelson Twins and your main attraction Barry ‘Hardcore’ Hamilton.”
A Mic In Hand: this room has built a strong reputation in the nearly six years it’s been open, offering crowd favourites as headliners and featured acts while providing a rising comics showcase as well. They always pull a good crowd, not least because top comedians often drop in unannounced to do a spot.
On Thursday, veteran Rob McHugh was MC, mixing well-refined material with the topical to good effect. The rising comics showcase offered the varied styles of Thomas Russell, Duncan McConachie, Hugh Cameron, Mikey Mileos and John Cruickshank to a generally strong crowd reception. Some material was slightly uneven but all had great moments. Dave Jory (triple j) dropped by to do a surprise spot, most uncharacteristically not wearing a suit, telling us he was too depressed to bother due to his Movember hairiness and the domestic tyranny of his cat, amongst other things.
Jackie Loeb at A Mic in Hand in 2007 (Liz Christie)
The featured acts were both musical comedians, but their styles are quite different. Supporting act Shane Matheson flashes an engaging cheesy grin to present as an amiably energetic lunatic with a keyboard and a ukelele, offering songs that are sometimes only one phrase long, and covering a plethora of topics. Transitions are abrupt and the laughs roll on top of one another. He was very well received. Headliner Jackie Loeb’s set, befitting her 14 years or so in comedy, was more structured and polished (especially in her use of audience banter), her absurdities and physical comedy sparkling amongst the trademark song parodies, most especially delighting the crowd by doing their requested Bassey song to end the show. [previous review]
This week at Mic in Hand: Peter Eigner headlining with David Smiedt as MC, plus rising comics open mic.
Theatresports Cranston Cup Semi Final #2 was a rip-snorting show last night, ring-mastered by the outstanding Ewan Campbell and Jane Simmons (pictures coming!).
Host Ewan Campbell & Timekeeper Jane Simmons (Source: sgr.com.au)
It started off as a fairly typical show, with the requisite chuckles and occasional guffaw, but by the end of the night the players were on fire, taking enormous risks with the challenges they set themselves and each other with absolutely hilarious results, enhanced by musical accompanist Jason Rushton. Winners on the night were student team Arabian Disko Knights from Blue Mountains Grammar School, a triumph richly deserved and truly memorable: for certainly the first time that either I or Impro Australia’s Geoff Bartlett can recall, the Schools contest winners have made it all the way through the heats to secure a place in the Grand Final: congratulations!
Arabian Disko Knights in action on Sunday (Source: sgr.com.au)
Teams now through to the Grand Final (at Enmore Theatre): Man/Raven. Dave Bloustein, Marko Mustac and Steve Walsh. North Sho’ Pimps. J Rex (Jon Williams), Lynch Pin (Steve Lynch) and Tao of Yao (Jeremy Yao). Super Love Ultimate Team (defending Cranston Cup Champions). Lee Naimo, Jordan Raskopoulos, Steen Raskopoulos and Simon Greiner Arabian Disko Knights (2008 Schools Contest Champions): Jimmy Tredinnick, Nadia Odlum, Ben Hunter, Lauren Moscovis
Teams in next week’s Repechage Playoff (at Belvoir Street): Osama Bin Laden Blues Exposion. Rebecca DeUnamuno, Cameron Knight and Dave Williams Obese People Can Be Healthy:Study. Grant Davies, Scott Hall-Watson, Matt Foster Pyjama Party. Lisa Ricketts, Amanda Buckley and Susie Youssef Unicorns Are Racists, Too. Alice Fraser, Tess McLellan, Mitchell Alistair and Carlo Ritchie
Manchoir: who knew there were this many blokey comedians in Sydney who can sing (acapella, too)? The video below was recorded at this year’s Celebrity Theatresports(R) at the Enmore Theatre. Manchoir are doing a few shows over the next two months (details below video).
Toorak’s Laughing Lion comedy room has moved to Friday nights, so no comedy at the Toorak Lion this Tuesday, but a bumper line-up on Friday 21st to make up for it: headlining Bev Killick supported by Xavier Michelides, Cathal O’Loughlin, Tom Middlebrook & Guests (find updates on the Laughing Lion Facebook group)
Comedy at BB’s (Bar Bondi) is now a weekly room, this week featuring Lehmo supported by MC Jim Rochford, Danny McGinlay and The Nelson Twins. If you guessed that you can find updates on Facebook, you’d be right.
Registrations are still open for performers for the 2009 St Kilda Laughs festival (Jan 30-Feb 7), also for the Comedy Convention taking place that first weekend, offering performance tips from top comedians plus a special workshop from Brad Oakes and more to be announced. Read more details at The Groggy Squirrel.
If you know of any more comedy rooms which have made some changes, or acts that rarely perform who are doing end-of-year/Xmas gigs in the next month or so, please leave details and a link in the comments section.
Tags: Bev Killick, Comedy@BBs, Grand Final, Laughing Lion, Lehmo, Manchoir, Quest For The Best
Ah, the US election threw my writing schedule totally out of whack! Apologies for the delays.
Acts reviewed: Axis of Awesome, Sugar Sammy, Harley Breen, Jacques Barrett, Diverse Theatresports(R) Players
Venues: Marble Bar, Comedy Store, Belvoir Street Theatre Read the rest of this entry »
Veteran Australian comedian Calvin de Grey died on Sunday after a struggle with cancer.
Performing stand-up for over 25 years, de Grey won the Mo award as Australia’s Best Male Comedy Performer in 2004 and was part of a comedy dynasty, following his father Slim and watching his son Asher take up the mic in his turn.
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