Woof-o-meter :-
0-Die Bastard : 1-Crap : 2-Rubbish(watchable) : 3-OK : 3.5-Nice : 4-Good : 4.5-Very Good : 5-WOW
30.04.10 : Ultimate Board Game Unscripted : Factory Theatre - impro
What a difference a week makes after Improv Explosion, all the players looked super comfortable and at home in their surroundings right from the onset. They were all super sharp and very clever with no dud spots and every idea a winner. Steve did a great job at hosting, but because it was late at night it wasn't as fast paced as the preview show, but that didn't matter as the audience wouldn't have been able to handle that pace at 11:00 o'clock at night. I can't fault any player as all of their ideas were very inventive and everyone did equal amounts. The stand out had to be Amanda Buckley's crazy over the top Barbara Streisand impression that was dutifully murdered, but not after she relived her whole career, to the point that if she wasn't a girl I would say it was a dubious she knew so much about her. The Cluedo game worked brilliantly with the 2 mystery words, The Whitehouse as a location, and the crazy Democracy as the murder weapon. They still haven't found a suitable way to filter out the murderer, other than to just guess one by one, maybe asking if they are are in politics with only the murder admitting it would be a better solution, or some other question based on the 2 suggestions words. The Pictionary game went crazy when the volunteer couldn't draw cloak and dagger but drew what looked like a flying carpet and an anchor, at least the players improvised a storm based on the silly interpretations of the picture, and the Guess Who game selection is always fun. The Taboo game where they had to stumble onto the 5 hidden words based on the prompt word was great. The 3 Boggle games were great with the last one being a clever song about slut radar. The crowd was a bit quiet but that was probably due to it being so late and everyone was down on energy, or maybe they hadn't seen much impro before and didn't know what to expect, as only 3 people admitted to seeing the scrabble show, but it felt like they were impressed by the show and really liked it. I would of given it a better score if I didn't saturate watch so much impro but I'm sure the crowd would have given more. 4
30.04.10 : Robbins, Stilson & Molloy : Enmore Theatre
The show wasn't what I expected. It had the big names, with a lot of years experience, yet it wasn't blistering funny but only nice. Usually the older a comedian the more good material they accumulate, but this show was only a notch better than their TV appearances, that are usually mildly funny. We started with a short set from Glenn Robbins and then quickly went to Jeff Stilson. Even though Glenn's set was nice it was short, but when he came out and did another short set before Mick's set I realised he was somewhat MCing the night. I hadn't heard of Jeff Stilson but they read out his credentials of when he was working in America, and they were pretty impressive with all the talk shows he has done, but his set was like Glenn's in that it was nice rather than great. After another bit from Glenn we had Mick Molloy who was good in places but mainly nice again. From the response from the audience they probably would say it was good, and even I would say it's worth a look, but for me based on what I got it was a bit expensive as I found the show mainly nice rather than truly funny. I would say it was somewhere probably between 3.5 and 4.
30.04.10 3000 blog visits
29.04.10 : Dr Brown Behaves : Hermann's Bar
I was going to have a night off but I got so many messages about Dr Brown's show that I did some research and found a video of him, but it didn't look like my cup of tea. But the messages were so insistent I took the bait and was pleasantly surprised. We started with Eric Hutton and Nick Sun, I find they are a bit hit and miss lately and tonight was a miss, but their sets were short so it wasn't that bad, and when the doctor started it was soon forgotten. It's a shame as Eric was pretty good years ago at the Sandringham. The Doctor started with the false start routine with the light coming on but him not appearing, so they dimmed the light and replayed the intro music and shone the spotlight again, repeatedly, and still no appearance, until he finally stuck his head through a hole in the curtain. This routine reminded me of Reggie Watts's weird start to his show. There were also other parts that reminded me of routines in other shows, but the Doctor did different takes on them. His style of comedy I would classify as "unpredictable comedy", because he would do ordinary things but would change the usual outcome to the shock of the audience. He next set up a breakfast scene and proceeded to have breakfast but with ridiculous results, like opening a box of cereal but flinging it's contents against the wall. And when he picked up the full carton of milk I knew from the Tokyo Shock Boys that unpredictable comedy and liquids don't mix but produce hilarious results. The olive reward to answering the doctors questions went ridiculously awry, but to great laughs, and that reminded me of when my cousin was shocked when a waiter from a Teppanyaki restaurant threw a dish at him shouting "CATCH" and him returning it promptly to the shock of the waiter while shouting "CATCH". The Doctor inflicted great distress to the audience all night but it all backfired on him when he picked David Cunningham from the audience as a volunteer. Some of us knew David's story and could see what was going to happen. So when the Doctor exposed the end of his penis David promptly knelt down and grabbed it, to the Doctor's surprise, so much so that he jumped. David then explained he shouldn't have picked a gay man to volunteer. I haven't laughed for long period lately so when the doctor had me smiling all night it gave me sore cheeks and a uplifting feeling. 4
28.04.10 : Dom Irrera (USA) : Comedy Store
I thought I had seen our host Kent Valentine before, but I didn't know his routine so I might not have, unless he changed it. He did one about him borrowing a pram and him taking this empty pram through the Underground in London, that was quite good. Paul Hancock was trying new stuff and was nice, Umit Bali was good again. But it was unfortunate that Daniel Sloss was on the bill, because I have tickets to his show and now it's spoiled. The second half was all Dom, he was everything you would expect from an oldish American comedian, and even more. Because he's old he has had a long time to work on material, and because he is American he has a lot of clubs to try it out in, making him super good and very quick. He was very funny and had heaps of stuff, and a wise guy style. To the point of insulting audience members beautifully, like a Groucho Marx, that was super funny. This was the first time in Australia and he has only been here a short time but still came up with a couple of jokes about us, like our love of vowels when we name places, like Toowoomba. He started with material about the stupid way guys think they are better than they actually are when discussing girls, like how some guys think they can get the best looking girls anytime. He told a story of when is cousin tried to pickup a gorgeous girl but she knocked him back, and when he told Dom she was a stuck up lesbian bitch Dom ripped into him citing the fact that his gut enters a room 4 second before he does, and then being sarcastic when he said that she would love that big fat hairy gut on top of her. He also did a bit on how things are acceptable for girls but not for guys, like when girls lick out the holes of other girls where urine comes out off as being beautiful, but when guys suck cock it looks disgusting. Because he is Italian he reminds you of those wise cracking mobsters, but only with his jokes beating you into submission. Very very funny. 5
27.04.10 : 60 in 60 : Factory Theatre
This was 60 comedians doing 1 minute each for a total of 60 minutes. They set up 2 microphones, one on either side of the stage so they could do quick change overs with one setting up with the spotlight off while the other in the spotlight doing their routine. The comics that exceeded the 1 minute by too much had the mic cut and the light turned off while they played the interlude music. The people that worked out their routine before were good with a very fast delivery, even though they couldn't wait for the usual laughs to get the full response from the jokes. Some were slow delivery comics so they couldn't get many jokes out. Some were story comics where their jokes took time to setup so again couldn't get many out. Two comics didn't do much, one spruking his show and one with no material but did the guitar setup joke using the whole 1 minute. About 50 of the comics I have seen before. Out of all the 60 about 15 were very good, 15 good, 20 were nice and 10 were bad. Still a good show. 4
27.04.10 Bulmers Best of the Edinburgh Fest (UK) : Factory Theatre
Jason Cook was our host and he was nice(3.5). Second was the young looking Elis James from Wales. He did a lot of audience banter, and when he found another Welsh man from his home town it was nice initially but started getting too long in in the end. When he finally did his actual jokes they weren't that funny, so he was only OK(3). Carey Marx was the best with old style jokes that were pretty funny(4). Overall 3.5
27.04.10 : Hot Tub Time Machine - movie
Comedy, Sci-Fi : When one member of a group of friends ends up in hospital they take him on a trip to their old ski haunt from 20 years previously. They get sucked into a time machine and back to 1986. It looked lame from the outside but the actual first 10 minutes was good and then it lost it's laughs and was kind of lame from then on. 2.5
27.04.10 : When in Rome - movie
Comedy, Romance : A girl with too many failed relationships believes she will never get married, until she flies to Rome for her sisters wedding and steals coins from the Fountain De Amore. One scene in the restaurant was totally dumb and some parts were lame, to the point of some being annoying. It shifted between 1 and 3 so I will average it at 2.
26.04.10 : Improv Explosion! : Roxbury Hotel - impro
This was the video recording of Improv Explosion's submission for the Del Close Improv Marathon in New York. I think the criteria was that they have to do long form impro for around 40 minutes based on one word, and just to be sure they two shows in case one wasn't good. The first prompt was the word "stack" and one of the players came forth and gave a short story based on it, then the improvising started. Based on how they were going there could be other monologue stories prompted by something they just improvised, but the short stories weren't that common as they are mainly prompts. The first recording was nice, probably enough to get them in the comp, but not a stand out. The problem with long form is there can be long passages of no audience reaction before a laugh appears, and I'm not really sure of the rules for the comp but a reaction like a laugh should be better than no reaction. Some players were trying but not clicking, some were a bit hesitant, in fact only Amanda Buckley was firing on all cylinders with everything she said or did getting a laugh. With her input it made it nice. In the second half Grant Davies re-started the show like it was a totally different night but asked if we could laugh more even if it wasn't great. But it was like they hit a switch and everyone came alive as this one was laughs all the way, which is rare for long form. Everyone was good in this one. I think based on this performance they should finish well in the comp but depending of the flavour of the month over there they may need some hook. If the judges want surrealism or fast action like the troupe Scratch they may have to adapt. They did use some guaranteed tricks like when Steen acted as a director strongly controlling his student, this leaves the other player bewildered and always gets a laugh. Also the pointless mime where Lee had to go up the stairs, then up a spiral staircase, then more stairs and when he gets to the top Steen takes the elevator down. Amanda and Susie had cute stories. Unfortunately Susie didn't do her usual indifferent sassy condescending type character, like, "your an idiot" when talking to another character that always gets a laugh. The first half was 3-3.5 but the second half was 4.5.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYK-sSL31Xw
24.04.10 : Jason Byrne(IRE) - 2010 : Enmore Theatre
I've only see Jason on TV and they always show those physical slap stick clips. I feel that slap stick is a like cheat because there is not much intellectual thinking involved, and in comedy these days not very funny. I have seen so many clips from him like that, that when they start I say "not this again" and hate it, but after 30 seconds I have to laugh at it's absurdity and then it's OK. It's like a hate-love thing. So when tickets came up relative cheaply I said I will endure the start of the slap stick routines, but because I didn't know much about Jason and his comedy I was very surprised at the show. I expected only slap stick routines, but what we got was good honest to goodness great conventional jokes like a real comedian, but in Jason's style. They weren't long wafting stories with one punchline every 10 minutes like Arj Barker, or surreal concepts conjured on the spot like a Ross Nobel, but solid jokes told at a good rate that keeps the funnies rolling. The only slap stick stuff was a short bit at the start with long poles with large hands on the end that he rested on two people's heads when he wanted them to talk. He started with his Australian (Magic-land) section extolling the virtues of the place by comparing it to Britain. I know comedians use this trick to get the audience on side quickly but it is done so nicely you don't feel like your being manipulated but just getting an exaggerated view point of the two places. He started by pointing out how we have so much room, but in England is very squashed together. Also pointing out our large spiders and our lack of problems from the finical crisis. I know he is exaggerating everything but it's so much fun. He covered his childhood with all his defects, the wonky eye and the eye patch that his mother saw fit to draw and eye on so as not too look too odd, but only made things worst. The kiddie photos of him always wearing bandages from injuries. He finished on when he moved to the country after being a city boy all his life, and all the freaky things out there at night. I couldn't actually physically laugh that much because I was so tired, but I know if I was well rested I would of been rolling in the isles. He just had such a good natured fun style that's lovable. 4.5
24.04.10 : Reginald D Hunter(USA) : Enmore Theatre
I wasn't expecting to go to this show, as I had tickets to another, and was just waiting for it when a girl told me it was cancelled but she would bump me to another. Reginald was on the list and he was good last year, not blistering but still good, so I picked him. Last years show was heading for a 4.5 until he got to the end and told that story about how his father had to do bad things to keep his family feed, which put a downer on that one, but overall it was good enough and I reasoned this one should be the same, but hopefully without the bad ending. The show started late and he apologises for the technical difficulties that put things back, and then out of the blue he just says "I hate that typical stereotypical view of black people always being late, Oh and that technical difficulty was because I was late". His show was mainly about correcting this PC correctness epidemic, because the people pushing it only see it from one side so it's tainted from the start. Reginald's show was how to look at things from both sides with rebuttals to all the major news stories. You could say he is the Edward de Bono of comedy, a real lateral thinker, and that's one thing the protractors don't do in an argument, and it feels like it may be because they are not qualified or smart enough. He did a bit on Tiger Woods where the press had a field day at his expense, even though the general public didn't really feel that way, but if you think about it how would most reporters understand or comprehend the situation if they have never been in that situation. He gave a beautiful rebuttal to all the bagging by the press. Imagine if you were in Tiger's shoes, your young and you want sex but no one wants to give it to you, your older and now people want to give you sex, and as much as you want, and also world class sex, what would you do?. You were deprived for years and now your getting what you wanted all along. Then he said the girls were still up in arms over his explanation so he gave the same scenario but with shoes. He explained when you girls were young and you wanted shoes, but no one wanted to give you any, but now people are giving you shoes, you know it's wrong because they are made in sweet shops but you will still take them. It was a beautiful display of comical rebuttals throughout. 4
23.04.10 : Hing & Magee - Illustrious Physicians of Romance : Parade Theatre
I was feeling down, until I called the PHYSICIANS OF ROMANCE, and they fixed me right up. That's actually true, I was feeling low and only bought tickets on a last minute thing. It was one of those days, and when Dave Bloustien's show wasn't really what I was expecting, I was a bit deflated. But the energy and stylings of Hing and Magee perked me right up. Right from the start there was so much energy and action with our highly animated hosts. Comedy can be low energy or high energy. It's like comparing Enya to a young punk girl band, both sing songs but the punks give so much more energy and are more alive and exciting, and that's what these performers deliver. They are like kids with A.D.D., very alive with fast paced motion and things constantly happening making the show so much more than just jokes. I saw this show about a year ago and thought it would be hard to top, but this one was even better, and it felt more like a totally new show but with the same elements.
The show is constructed like a lecture with a logical progression of topics, but is not regimented like a group and sub group standard joke thing, but more like a group of little adventures in a big adventure with each section having a different way to get a laugh, ie, like a kinder surprise, and then a Xmas present, then a kiss, all fun but different to the others. The first topic was that they had to prove their credentials, and they did it with the hilarious power-point statistics and graphs presentation. This section felt shorter, I think because they added new stuff, but is still good. Then they had to explain the differences between romance, relations, love, etc, and this was a spoken word section with funny example explanations. Then the very funny volunteer reading a script, like in a play, that forces them to extol the virtues of the other player(Hing) against their will because they have to read their lines. Notice how each section uses a different tool to get laughs. There was a section where they told of what their ideal woman would look like and projected a picture of her afterwards that was killer funny, but it embarrassed Pat when his ideal woman picture came up. So to embarrass Michael back he pulled out a printout from an old blog that Hing did years ago. So with a paper trail that reached the floor and then some he read some of THE 100 POINTS that Hing's ideal girlfriend had to comply with, that was as funny as it was embarrassing for Hing. They did the hilarious telephone script section where they got a female audience participant, who wanted to get back together with and old lover, to ring them and then feed her lines to say to him to win him back, but when the crowd realised where the words came from the place erupted with laughter. There was a section on how to pick up girls using confidence, and introduced Miles Portence to demonstrate. Miles looked like the he-man hunks from the 80's with a thick moustache, like a Tom Selleck Magnum PI look alike, that oozed confidence and then demonstrated it, and then added a time travelling bit next to compliment it, as a kind of a link, that was brilliant. Each told super funny experiences of their first love. Pats drunken late night admission of "I love you" to a girl, and Michael's losing his virginity. They added a section, that I don't remember being in the first show, where they read points off a website with a list of things to do to show your love, with Pat doing great rebuttals because they were so vague. The final section was about break-ups, which like the first had an unexpected ending, but at least it was better than the first one where they made a girl cry and left the audience feeling shocked and not knowing whether to laugh or cry. The show is like a kill shot to the head, of comedy, it's going to be a shock but your going to get it no matter what, does that make sense. Very tight show that is very busy throughout with no dull bits that is so super fun and funny. You better run, walk, or puree yourself in a blender, dry yourself out, and mail yourself to the venue because you don't want to miss this one.5
23.04.10 : Dave Bloustien - A Complete History of Western Philosophy : Parade Theatre
I was looking forward to this show as Dave's shows were getting progressively better, culminating in the riveting The Social Contract, and was looking forward to the next level, but for me it felt like a drop back down in level. You could hear the comments when you left from other audience members and most said it was nice, but from their tone you could tell there was two different meanings, like, that was cosy and nice, or some, that wasn't good it was only nice. We started with a bit of audience banter and after a while it felt like there was too much and I was getting impatient for the main crux of the show to start, I wanted to hear the new stuff. I was expecting humorous stories about philosophers, like a David Cunningham treatment, but we got a summation of the history of philosophy through the ages, which was still good. We got through the origins of philosophy and then he put in a joke from another show that he did. The crowd liked it and laughed but for me I heard it before. Then he does some more history of philosophy and again punctuates it with another joke that I know. I started thinking, if this show was only about philosophy and not repeat jokes it would be better. So he does more philosophy and half way through this section I noticed how captivated I was and that this was great, but then I also realised you could hear a pin drop, the upside being that this is compelling, or the downside that nobody is laughing and it may be boring. That when I realised the part that I found interesting probably would not be good for a mainstream audience on it's own without the jokes, and that's when I accepted both together. I still was a bit disappointed that there was so much repeats from other shows but that's really only going to be my problem as no one else in the audience would know that. 3.5
22.04.10 : Michael Workman - Ogre : Factory Theatre
I have seen Michael a number of times and I classify him as very mild, so much so that I can't fathom how he won RAW comedy, but because I got free tickets I would endure it and see if he has something better than his short routine that I have seen. The first half was mild humour with his signature jokes getting the biggest laughs, in fact I didn't laugh that much but it was more than the 2 shows I saw earlier. The second half was a totally different kettle of fish and was more a story time rather than a comedy show. He talked about suicide and that only comedy stopped him going further. He also talked about his father who was distant and pushing people away and living alone in WA drinking when he contracted cancer. It was very dark and depressing and very sad but compelling. The show was ordered but I can't say it was well crafted for maximum effect, it was better than the first show of the night. I don't think anyone will like this show but those that stay to the end will be moved. I have a new understanding of Michael and thought it was the most entertaining show of the night, but very sad. 2.5
22.04.10 : Celia Pacquola - Flying Solo : Enmore Theatre
I saw her on TV and she looked exciting, even if overly so, so for $20 I would check her out. From the title the subject matter was about things we do on our own. She covered solo things that she did that embarrassed her, like stealing chicken, and dancing awkwardly in front of class mates. She was highly animated and looked enthusiastic if front of a sold out crowd, her routine was well crafted, there were extras like pictures and videos played on the screen behind her, and her actually playing some keyboards, even though she doesn't play keyboards and only learned them to do a 22 second solo to prove that you can do anything if you try. The stories were nice and she was entertaining enough, but again I just didn't find it that funny. To be fair the audience did laugh, but it was only the girls, I can't say I heard any guys laugh. I think all the stories were relatable to girls so they laughed because they were probably in similar situations and felt empathy. OK but one for the girls. 2.5
22.04.10 : Diane Spencer(UK) - Lost in the Mouth Specific : Enmore Theatre
Unfortunately what I was dreading, the unknown or lesser known comics factor hit today. I only had tickets to Celia Pacquola so I planed to come early to see Diane to fill out the night. Then I also won tickets to another show so it ended up a busy night. We got in and there was only 8 in the audience, which felt ominous, but I still had hope, and then the show started. Unfortunately I didn't find much funny, and had to force the laughs because she could see everyone's faces and didn't want to look like a dick. Her routine didn't seem to be crafted very well, more like random stories bunched together, and even though she is putting a lot of effort into making them sound spectacular, with animated gestures, they still felt like nothing special everyday stories that you tell your friends. The subject matter was also a bit off putting, with poo jokes. Because I'm old school I have it in my head that girls don't poo so I got uncomfortable when she started talking about her massive turd. She is affable, pretty, and excitable enough, but just not that funny, maybe a larger crowd would help. 2
23.04.10 1000 profile views
21.04.10 : Russell Kane (UK) - Human Dressage : Factory Theatre
I'm going to start with the immediate impression I got. Russell talked fast and is relentless, so much so that you get 3 times the material of a normal act. Every subject is analysed to the umpteenth degree to find every possible scenario and laugh available. You will also get a saw neck as your neck vertebrae are ground down from constantly looking from one side of the stage to the other trying to follow his constant pacing. We must of looked like we were watching tennis from the outside. Russell started with a routine on the poor attendance for tonight's show, it actually wasn't that bad with two thirds of the large room filled, and he did heaps just on that. In all honesty it probably wasn't that long but he can cram a lot of words in to a short period. Russell also covered his dad with ideas that were nearly identical to Dave's thinking. He also did a bit on how different people act from different countries, like in the UK people are very repressed and hide everything within, and the USA how they are the opposite and constantly pour everything out, and Australia is sort of in-between. The funniest bit was the sex survey and the time he got caught wanking by his Nan. To tell the truth I didn't laugh much at all, maybe 3 times, it wasn't even chuckle humour but just smile humour. Maybe if I saw these shows in reverse order I would of been fresher for Russell's and able to get more of this fast paced show. To be fair I couldn't hear that well because he held the mic too far away and had a downward inflection at the jibes, so they were quieter. I missed at least 10% of the show but it must of been funny because the audience laughed at these points. Even though I didn't laugh I still liked it. 4
21.04.10 : Dave Thornton - A Different Type of Normal : Factory Theatre
This years festival I bought tickets to only acts that I haven't see before, because I'm looking for a new buzz, but after buying the tickets I was wondering if I made a mistake because lots of them are unknowns. So I entered the first show wondering if this is going to be bad, but was pleasantly surprised at how good this relative unknown was. On the outside you feel Dave's routine is simple and lay-ed back, kind of random, but it's only after, that you realise how well it was crafted. He had a clever quip for everything and the comeback quips were the best. Like when he asked how many went to Uni, then said "Yeah I went to the university of TAFE", as a kind of boast. As you would expect the Uni educated people laughed at the lower education he got, but he had the last laugh when he said, "You may laugh but how's that HEX debt going, TAFE is like $5" and it's this clever rebuttals that got everyone laughing. Most overseas comics that come here come up with Australian jokes, so the audience can relate them quickly. It's always funny when we hear some ones else's perspective of us. But because Dave is Australian, but coming from Melbourne, and had specific Sydney jokes that were very funny to us. Dave covered his life at home but mainly his father and how his generation doesn't learn the old trades, so they are useless at practical hands on type stuff, like screwing screws into a wall. He then covered his trade of graphic design and his love of fonts. You would think doing a whole routine about fonts would be boring but it wasn't, and when it started getting technical, and maybe boring, he again came up with a witty comeback to alleviate the situation. Most of the show was good chuckles with about a third of it good hearty laughs. Surprisingly good. 4
20.04.10 : The Plup Project : UNSW
A chock a block tightly packed show was capably preformed but the Pulp Project. There was always action with the exaggerated and highly animated characters, with a high rate of dialogue that was stacked tightly between the scenes and the narrator, so much so there was no time left for dullness. Blouses were torn, lipstick was smudged, and murder most horrid was committed in the first story about a private dick that had to solve the riddle of the ring. The mandatory film noir was first and was a good one. The next story was one set in a private girls school where they sneak out at night to a haunted house. The second story was probably the weakest but because it was performed so well it was still nice. A story of secret agents on a mission called the crossed knives was next. It was a clever and sexy story that was very good. The best story was was next and it was about mad scientists using a man as a guinea pig and altering his physiology into an animal. It was so well done you could feel the sinisterness, but the unexpected animal that he was turned into was a shock and quite funny, but the cast kept such straight faces and threw themselves into it it was both a drama and a comedy. The Spanish matador love story had every thing, love, infidelity, murder and the craziest dance off ever. Again very well performed, very funny and very good. We finished on the unnerving Mars mission. What were the Cubes?, what was their purpose?, were they dangerous?, and what was their haunting song. An eerie unsettling one with the sound dept doing a good job setting the mood. This one was also good. I don't get to see much shows that have that much extras like lighting, props, and sound, because you don't need much with stand-up, all these elements added so much to a good show that was well performed. There isn't always laughs but it was still entertaining. 4
20.40.10 : Kick Ass - movie
Action, Comedy : A young comic book reading kid wonders why there are no normal people trying to act like superheroes, after he gets robbed for the umpteenth time, so he tries to become one. I wasn't that keen because it looked like a cutesy kids type light comedy, like The Spy Next Door, but because all the young people were saying it was good I took a chance. As Red Mist said to Kick Ass, "It so wasn't what I was expecting", it was more like Tarantino meets Play School. I expect Bruce Wills to take close range head shots with blood spatters everywhere but not nice kids. I'm going to be unpopular with the majority, but I couldn't get past the brutal blood fest from children. Less head shots please. 2
18.04.10 : Smack the Newbies : Roxbury Hotel - impro
This week it was Smack the Panda verses the graduating class newbies. The newbies faired better than the Pandas with a few laughs. I unfortunately drifted off, and to kill time I ran in the back of my mind what they should be saying, like a back-seat driver, and coming up with different scenarios. The problem is that I think it looks easy, like a Mr Know-it-all, but from my attempt at being a musician that failed, a song writer that failed, and soon to be failed comedy writer, a blog that will be posted soon to display this, it's no surprise that what I came up with is probably rubbish too. 2
18.04.10 : Boat the Musical : Roxbury Hotel - impro
With the cast cut down to less than half the usual number of players and a extra substitute player added the Blank team hit the stage with the suggestion word, Boat. The cast mainly constituted of the players that don't really stand out compared to the others. It's not that they are bad players, in fact they are good, but they are happy not to steal the stage but to do strong support. The first scene was with a guy and his son but he had an accent so when he said boat he meant vote, one with a mermaid, and a guy with pirate problems, ie, one eye, etc, and somehow they threw in Degrassi. Sorry to be so vague I should of written this on the night as I have forgotten most of it. Peter Lead's crab was good and Dave Bloustien was good, in fact all were nice and there were no boring bits. Everyone did a good job again and were entertaining. 3.5
16.04.10 : The Book of Eli - movie
Action, Adventure, Drama : A man travels West on a quest in post apocalyptic earth. This is basically Mad Max 2 but looking for a book, except it's a lot more sadistic with indiscriminate violence. It seemed a stupid pretext for a story, that had a stupid conclusion, in a stupid film. I found it rubbish and yawned in places, and I wasn't the only one, and the extended ending was annoying. At best it's watchable but average. 2
15.04.10 : Porcelain : Oxford Art Factory - music
I went past the Roxbury because Blank was advertised to be on tonight, but it looked like nothing was happening so I went to Oxford Street to see Porcelain. This time I went to the right stage and got there early. They have videos playing on the wall so it kills time, except the first was a weird art one about copulation with people trying to ram telegraph poles through sliding door while naked people ran around everywhere. The second was The Far Side movie which was good. Finally at about 10:00 Porcelain came on so I got close to the front to get the full impact. The first thing that hits you is that voice. Lo Roberts is only a small girl but has such a strong and powerful voice that it kind of sets you back. The rest of the band sounds very tight and professional and sometimes you don't notice it because Lo's voice grabs the attention. It was short set at 35 minutes but it was mainly just the best songs so it was non stop action. Super good show with a big sound which justifies their winning of that band comp. 4.5
14.04.10 : Hermann's Heroes: Glorious Return of Stand Up Comedy : Hermann's Bar
I had a George Costanza moment on Monday, "Jerry!, she asked me up for coffee, and I said, No it keeps me awake.", when I was offered $50 Paulie Shore tickets for Wednesday, I said "No I have Hermann's Heroes on that day". Don't get me wrong they can be nice but it is a bit hit and miss for me as my saturation viewing of stand up makes me jaded and critical of it. Tonight the Heroes hit a big bullseye and with a huge crowd, probably enticed by the great Story Club shows, so the room was full and that always makes it funnier, and I doubt Paulie Shore would've been as funny anyway. Our show was capably controlled by the Hingster(Michael Hing) with the faithful sidekick Ben Jenkins on sound trying to keep Michael from molesting the audience. Michael had a list of 8 jokes and the audience had to pick the number they wanted next but unfortunately I think it got abandoned halfway through when one wasn't funny, but being a pro he acknowledged it wasn't great so it still got the laughs. I can't really give you a blow by blow description of the night, as I have to do this by memory and it's crap, so I can't really remember the names or faces as most are strangers to me and I can't just look it up on the internet so I will just cover some. Everyone was given 5 minutes before Ben The Executioner killed the lights and blacked them out. Pat Magee was first cab off the rank and you could tell he has done this before as he was very smooth and comfortable with an excellent routine. In fact all the comics were great except one that was a bit shaky but at least he finished on a high. There was a lot of joke writing the night before so there was a lot of notes but it didn't effect anything and even made Jeremy Yao's set funnier, even though it ate up some time at the start. I was surprised that Jeremy did stand up because I know him from those great Uni impro teams, and now I find out he is good at stand up too. There was a first timer in the first half that was so new that he didn't know how to use the microphone, and also had to read from his notes in places, but it didn't matter because he wrote good jokes and delivered them well. I think it was Jack Wright, the guy that does gigs at The Friend in Hand, that felt like a pro with a very fluid and calculating set that again was very funny. Phil Roser also stood out, Miles Portek was good, and also whoever did the Mythbusters joke and used science in his routine. If I could remember everyone and their routine I would mention them but there was just too much entertainment to remember it all. Pat and Michael did a small bit from their upcoming show, as a sample, and it will be a show to watch because it killed when they did it last year. Top notch show 4.5
13.04.10 : Alonzo Bodden : Comedy Store
Cameron Knight again hosted and is always on fire, very good audience ad-libbing. John Cruickshank was OK, George Nassu(don't know the actual spelling), used the simple ethnic humour to good effect and got good applause. Rhys Nicholson added some new material and reworked some of his usual stuff so it sounded fresh again and was a big crowd pleaser. Dave Eastgate did his usual rock and roll pretend show but when Cameron and Rhys came out and provided the cheap effects Dave was pretending that was going to happen it sent everyone into head spins from laughing. Dave called for the pole dancers and Rhys ran over and did the pole and Cameron grabbed a girl from the front row and made her dance against Rhys, then Dave called for the midgets and Rhys had to quickly run over and take his shoes off and kneel in them, super funny.
I watched The Last Comic standing the year Alonzo Bodden won and he was super impressive, even though the actual TV show was crap because it was so stretched out you heard the same routines over and over, so I was expecting a good show and that's what we got. I specifically waited for the second week so Alonzo could work up some Australian jokes from his first week here and it worked a treat because he had heaps, and because they are relatable they were extra funny. He covered a lot of relative current topics like Tiger Woods, Barack Obama, etc, and also a bit about his life about being a mid 40's comic and his parents still giving him a hard time even though he has steady work. The first half of his set came thick and fast and it had you in stitches throughout. The funny thing was he didn't use any jokes from the TV show and could have easily filled the set with it but he chose to finish with audience participation ad-libbing which was good also as he's very good at it. Ended up a very good night. 4.5
13.04.10 : Date Night - movie
Comedy, Crime, Romance : A boring married couple try to spice things up and go to a fancy restaurant in the city. When they can't get a table they take someone else's reservation but are mistaken by crooks for the original party and are chased by them. The preview has been playing ad-nauseum and that is practicably the whole story to the movie. Only the last 25 minute solution is new. Most of the movies I have seen lately had heaps more story than the preview showed, this one didn't, so if you have seen it it will be very predictable. 2
12.04.10 : Comedy - IHOC : Town Hall Hotel Newtown
It's always difficult at a free pub gig with the talking and hecklers but at least we had Mick Meredith headlining so at least his part is going to be good. There was also some others that were good like Billy Freeman and Asha so it was still OK. 3.5
08.04.10 : The Last Song - movie
Drama, Music, Romance : A rebellious girl and her brother are sent to stay with their father, who had abandoned them years earlier, when she meets a boy. That's only half the story as there are shock revelations throughout. I would say this movie is bi-polar it goes from edgy, to dark, to angst, to sappy, to really dark, to fluffy, to sad, to sweet, then very sad etc. With Remember Me it stayed in the dark area but this one is all over the place so it's a bit of a roller coaster for the viewer. Good, but sad at the end drops it down some what. 3.5
07.04.10 : Project 52 - Story Club - And you know what? I'm the jerk : Hermann's Bar
The big red book is capably opened by our charming host Ben Jenkins to start another night of frivolity and mirth on the subject of when we acted like jerks. Ben has that style of endearing charm that will charm your socks off, so as we sit there sock-less Ben takes us on what seems to be a simple journey but is so embellished by the thought process that you don't realise this simple story got complicated. Our story is of heroes and villains, high drama and humour, is that possible, our hero is passed by a supposedly fleeing cad with two backpacks and a female's voice shouting STOP to no avail. So our white knight in Jason Borne style gives chase and it's after a protracted chase that he comes to the conclusion that this is not in his best interests. Upon returning he finds out he wasn't even a bag snatcher and felt like a jerk for chasing a total stranger.
Mark Sutton tells of his first girlfriend and how he purposely didn't get her a Valentines Day gift due to his draconian insistence that it's just a superfluous gimmick and it's not to be scummed to. This cock-sureness and single mindedness of young people is why the phrase "I'm not young enough to know everything" was coined by the older population. This one sided perspective is sometimes useful, but only on rare accusations, and this wasn't one of them. It's this one sided thinking that got Mark into trouble when he surmised that Valentines day is just a commercial gimmick and should be totally dismissed. Even though it sounds logical he was too young to account for the other factors and it was only after the fact that he realised he was a jerk when she bought him an expensive gift. It was a good story and you could see what was coming but the end shocked you due to the severity of the discrepancy of the gifts.
Vijay Khurana from Triple J recounted a debate he moderated when he was on the radio and how he was a jerk for not stepping in but let it run it's course because it was good radio. I'm not to sure about the term "Good Radio" as it's only good for the radio station as their ratings go up due to upsetting people, maybe it should be broken down into it's constituents like "Fight Radio" as more of a depiction of what really happens. But as usual one side gets hammered whether they are right or wrong because their opponent can debate(argue) better, so it's not entirely fair, and not moderated properly just makes it worst, but what can you do as there isn't a better system.
Tim Spencer told of meeting with his friend Fabian, when Tim started wondering how rebellious Fabien's mother was when she was young. He conjured up scenarios similar to the experiences her son was getting into, but with his mother, like snorting cocaine out of guys bum cracks, etc. Fabian quickly took offence and left Tim to mind his friends manky, bald, evil, one eyed cat, Scrotum, what else would you call an ugly cat, that had a propensity for urinating on his video console. Until one day when the cat went too far and was returned to his maker.
The large crowd, of which half were first timers, were stunned by the high quality of the entertainment, but not as much as the regulars who were blown away, and then came the all girl second half. The girls just took it to another level and stole the show.
Alex Lee's story is of blatant murder and a rebel who dared to take on the authorities and free the supposed innocent, but all in the bird population of her neighbourhood, which was amazing. She made these innocuous creatures come alive by giving them names, personalities, and backgrounds, similar to cartoons which make animals come alive. The evil myna bird Croydon fought for the rights of ferals but realising he wasn't what he though he was, an evil myna, but a jerk instead. Even though it was fictitious, Alex Lee coloured the story so well she made the characters come alive and the high drama and humour had everyone captivated. When we were told it was fictitious I sensed it could go either way but I think everyone was gobsmacked at how good it was, and the crowd really showed their appreciation by giving her a huge cheer.
Zoe Norton Lodge told a story of her hate crime against her saccharine sweet, baby faced assassin, younger sister, who bursts into tears for no apparent reason when she was in her presence so thereby receiving the blame for it, citing that her appearance of being pretty is why she always got favouritism. As part of being repentant for the crime she committed against her, she made her come up on stage during the story as a direct apology. Or maybe she made her come up to try and prove her point that she was lovable, just on appearance, to the audience, so as to justify the heinous crime she was about to perpetuate. By her appearance I would have to agree with the latter because she looked like a young and pretty Sarah Blasko with a cutesy round little face. I don't know if it was much of a direct apology because her poor sister was so embarrassed she had to cup her hands in front of her face to try and hide from the embarrassing parts. Even though this was supposed to be just story telling Zoe added so much tone to her voice and varied the volume at critical points that it felt more like a acting piece rather than just reading. You could feel the malice and sinister motives just by voice alone and this wasn't wasted on the crowd who gave her the biggest cheer of the night. The show was heading for a 5 until the girls blew it out of the water. 5+
07.04.10 : The Spy Next Door - movie
Action, Comedy, Family : A CIA spy, Bob Ho(Chan), has to look after his girlfriends 3 kids that hate him. One of the children downloads a file that has the Russian spies chasing them which Bob has to cope with. The trailer looked lame, the story sounded lame, the critics said it was lame, but it wasn't. It was fun, cute and nice even though it was squeaky clean for a young audience. 3.5
PS, you also have to overcome the craziest casting I have ever seen.
06.04.10 : She's out of my League - movie
Comedy, Romance : An average guy feels out of his league when he meets a beautiful girl that likes him, and even his friends think the same. Even though it's totally unrealistic in the real world we are always rooting for the underdog in the movie world. It was funny and nice. 4
06.04.10 : Clash of the Titans - movie
Action, Adventure, Fantasy : The gods Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades kill their parents with the aid of a piece of Hades that is transformed in to the Cracken, so that they can rule the world. Zeus is given the land, Poseidon the seas, and Hades the underworld. Zeus creates man so that their prayers give the gods strength, but now man is questioning the worth of the gods. Hades feels betrayed but joins with the other gods to try to rule mankind, and mankind is trying to stop Hades with the help of a demigod Perseus who goes on a quest. Big fantasy adventure CGI film that delivers all that it promises. 4
02.04.10 : Scared Scriptless 2010 - The Bunny Special : Roxbury Hotel - impro
They split the players in to 2 teams for the night and with the good players, Lisa Ricketts and Grant Davies, and the nice hosting of Richard BF the show was OK. 3
31.03.10 : The Vodka O Laugh Garage Comedy Tribute Night : Laugh Garage
It was a weird one as there was a lot of promise with Billy Connolly, Bill Cosby, Ricky Gervais, Jim Carrey and a big audience turn up but things just didn't seem to click, laugh wise. We opened with a Blues Brothers song from Alistair Bates and Damian Smith but unfortunately one of them lost his place at the start, due to not rehearsing, so they got lost when they tried to sync with the backing track. Next was Gary Bradbury doing George Carlin. I don't know how accurate Gary was, as I don't know George Carlin's stuff, but he must of done his homework and learned the routine well because it was a very controlled continuous delivered with some chuckles at the end. Desh did Bill Cosby but didn't tell us he wasn't going to imitate Bill so he was into the routine before I noticed he started. It was OK with a chuckle at the end but not terribly funny. I think Bill's material has dated with time and isn't that funny these days and maybe Bills football routine wasn't a good choice, so it ended up a story rather than humour. Next was Paul Warnes doing Ricky Gervais. I very rarely find Ricky Gervais's comedy or TV stuff funny, I do like his movies, so when Paul pulled out a bible and started reading quite a bit of it with some quips in places you could feel it was Ricky's subliminal humour which barely gets a laugh. In fact the funniest part was when Paul added one of religious his jokes. Tony Bailey was brilliant as Roy "Chubby" Brown, even though not many people knew of Roy Roy's material was so good that not even bad delivery could muck it up and with Tony doing a great delivery it was even funnier. Danny Grozditch was OK doing Jim Carrey as he could do all the slapstick and rubbery face stuff but it felt disjointed, like small physical bits from different routines rather than one continuous scene. Hats off to Damian Smith who really threw himself into the show with going to the effort of dressing up in costumes for his different characters. Damian did a very good impression of a fictitious 18th century comic and added ridiculous things like when he picked up the mic and said "what's this", because microphones hadn't been invented in his supposed time. Lastly was Darren Sanders doing Billy Connolly who was good even though this one also felt disjointed but at least he was getting laughs until someone got offended with all his jokes being about turds or "wee jobies" which is how Billy portrays them. I think the problem for the night was that most of the comic routines picked were off comics that don't have that good material but use delivery to embellish it enough to make it funny but unfortunately the comics doing the routines weren't actors so they couldn't give good deliveries making the routines lose their major humour hook. 3
30.03.10 : JJ Whitehead(CAN) : Comedy Store
Cameron Knight hosted and killed it again and got a huge cheer at the end. Bruce Griffiths was next and was super good with his odd "think about it" jokes and got good applause. The new comer Scott Abbott was ok-ish. Nick Capper is getting better and better and did a very relaxed tight set like a pro and got the applause to prove it. But it was Oliver Phommavanh that brought the house down with mainly new stuff. Our second half was JJ Whitehead, who I though started a bit slow, but it didn't get much better throughout. Near the end he told some stories but some made me feel angry rather than anything. The one where he was stripped searched for bringing a hamburger into the US on a stop over to fly somewhere else wasn't fun. To get hammered that hard for making a mistake because of some tiny odd-ball law that isn't widely known was more upsetting than the punchline could rescue. We finished on a funny story about how he broke his flatmate's vibrator, so he left on a high. The crowd liked him but on the whole I found JJ's jokes were more chuckly and his routine seemed sparse. 3
30.03.10 : The Hurt Locker - movie
Drama, Thriller, War : A new commander of a bomb disposal squad is thought by his subordinates as being unstable and reckless, to the extent that they fear being killed by his actions. This is the hero action film that I wanted to see, unlike the Green Zone which was too political. Even though Sergeant William James(Jeremy Renner) is just a normal person he does such dangerous things and shows no fear he seems more than a normal man, like a hero. In actual fact he is just a action junkie which is brought out by a quote at the start that "war can be like a drug". There are some technical points that seem stupid but only the purists will notice. Very good with heaps of action but with some disturbing bits. 4
30.03.10 : How to Train your Dragon - movie
Animation, Action, Adventure : An island village of Vikings are harassed by dragons stealing their livestock which incites such a hatred of them that they are brought up from birth to kill dragons. One day a physically inept but clever boy befriends one and learns the truth. The trailer makes it look like the story is simple but they add heaps of faucets which makes the movie feel like it's packed with lots of stuff, there just isn't time for boring bits so you are constantly entertained. Most animation is dumbed down for a young audience, which is boring for adults, which is why I don't like many animated movies but this one isn't and has to be one of the best I have seen. Charming and delightful. 4.5
Why is Sidney anonymous ?
Sidney is a couple dollars short of a Asperger's clinic, ie, not a people person. This is one case where "it's not you it's me" being true, sorry if it annoys. If Sidney wasn't anonymous this wouldn't exist and the reason why is in the Why blog.
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26.03.10 : Ultimate Board Game Unscripted : Hermann's Bar - impro
A very good show with a lot of action. So the story goes that they were going to be sued for using Scrabble in their show name so they had to rework the show and boy is it an improvement. What Scrabble didn't realise they were getting free advertising because Scrabble was superfluous to the show, they could of just thrown darts at a newspaper. With Scrabble Unscripted they would pick words off the board game while people played it and do mainly long from impro, but in this one they used short form impro games which has the added difficulty of not only coming up with a story but also working around a task. Scrabble Unscripted was only good because of the high calibre players, I found the format wasn't that great, where's this one has great players and an better format so it's more exciting. Steve Lynch hosted and he keep the show rolling along and tight so you were always entertained. There is a lot more audience participation which makes you feel more involved, like part of the show, which is something missing with Scrabble Unscripted and also long form where they only ask for one word at the start. The players were sharp and milked everything for laughs and the added tasks just made it funnier. The UNO game was funny, Twister and Barrel of Monkeys were weird funny. Pictionary, Monopoly, Boggle, were more conventional but still good and the methodology of selecting the prompts were just a bonus, in fact all the selection processes were funny. High energy fast paced entertainment with extras. 4.5
23.03.10 : The Bounty Hunter - movie
Action, Comedy, Romance : A reporter is chasing a serious story and jumps bail for a minor offence. She is tracked down by a bounty hunter who is unfortunately her ex-husband. Mild comedy without many laughs but it keeps rolling along even though I was somewhat fatiguing near the end. 2.5
23.03.10 : The Rebound - movie
Comedy, Romance : A mother finds out her husband is cheating on her. After getting a divorce she moves to New York City with her 2 kids and lands a good job but needs a babysitter. She finds a young 25 year old boy and they promptly fall in love. Mild comedy that has some laughs and also some lame parts but overall it was nice. 3
21.03.10 : Spank the Musical : Roxbury Hotel - impro
They really ripped it up tonight with the scenes getting ruder and ruder. The first scene was between a father and son, who was never spanked, but without discipline he became a pretend derro bum. Another was when an evil wife sent her husband to the sperm(spank the monkey) bank, because of his supposed infertility, to give a sample so she could get pregnant. Amanda Buckley played the evil wife and just to make her more evil she made her South African. In the end we found out she was so evil that she was secretly using her hand rather then let her husband touch her, which explained why she wasn't getting pregnant. The third scene was a BDSM scene with the Master spanking the victim but trying to reverse his ways. It all came to a head when the sperm bank secretary(Brydie Lee-Kennedy) joined up with the submissive(Cale Bain) from the BDSM scene to try to make a cult. They were going to manufacture a cult by using a sperm filled super-soaker to impregnate people to make an even larger army, so while the secretary distracted the poor evil wife the submissive sneaked up behind her and tried to empty is super-soaker on her loins. Poor Amanda was shocked to find out what was going on behind her and must of felt violated because she sat on a chair for the rest of the show as it was the only way she felt safe. At the end all had found a partner and all lived happily ever after except the poor Master(Jon Williams) who was left out but accepted it. Entertainment throughout and very funny. 4.5
21.03.10 : Panda Smackdown V's U-Syd : Roxbury Hotel - impro
I wasn't too enamoured by the last show but the U-Syds should make it interesting. There is 2 rounds with each team having 20 minutes and a final all in of 5 minutes. The Uni mob was first with their Hospital theme. I don't think anyone truly knows what happens with them but what we saw was more short scenes than minutes allowed and Tom being physically thrown on stage. Even though it looked disjointed at least half of the scenes stuck and were at least funny. The Panda's slot were longer maybe 5 minute scenes so it was more coherent but overall unmemorable, I can't even remember any of it. The best part was all in 5 minute Chess game and video game (I think Mortal Combat) parts. 2.5
20.03.010 : Dave Callan : Laugh Garage
Our host Daniel Townes was in great form and gave laughs aplenty all night and got a huge cheer at the end from the packed crowd. First up Damian Smith was OK but when he went into his suicide section it left the crowd unsure as to if it was true or not, so they didn't know to laugh or not. Jacques Barrett blitzed it and I reckon got the biggest cheer of the night. Paul Warnes was good again. Next was the Nelson Twins who always surprises. Their hairy appearance surprises, and can be quite off-putting to an audience, and the bigger surprise at the great routine that gets the audience back in a couple of seconds. They also got good applause. Lastly was the person everyone was waiting for, Dave Callan. I have been curious as to what Dave's full routine was like as I have heard a lot of hype about how good he is, even though the few times I have seen him on TV I can't say I was impressed, so tonight all will be revealed. By the end my impression of Dave was that he is very good but not brilliant. Out of all the acts tonight I think he was the fourth best and it didn't help when he used up time for a wedding proposal that made his set feel short. Even the crowd gave equal volume of applause to Jacques and Daniel. It was still a good night but it was the supports that made it special. 4.5
19.03.10 : Sydney Comedy Festival Preview Night : Factory Theatre
Cameron Knight was our host for this extravaganza and it fits him perfectly as he rocked the place with the big laughs that gave him a huge cheer at the end. He did the same thing at the Axis Fundraiser. Tommy Dean was very good and had some new stuff about kids and twins, he has twins, and also a very funny part about how things that happen on the planet balance out with a good story followed by a bad story, very funny. Tom Gleeson absolutely killed with his new material, I nearly passed out from laughing. He did a bit where he found the youngest person in the audience and proceeded to tell him what it was like to take a photo in the old days, like how you had to take a roll of film to a chemist and wait weeks for them to get developed and because you can't review them when you take them 80% are rubbish anyway. The ones that remember the old days loved it and laughed really hard. Then he did a routine where his wife wanted to go off the pill so that she could get pregnant but she didn't want a kid right away but in a couple of months. Tom doesn't like to use condoms so he had to use the pull out method at the critical moment and showed how hard it was to time it right, this brought the house down. Rhys Nicholson did his usual routine that always gets the laughs even if people are somewhat shocked by it. I kind of felt sorry for The Cloud Girls because they didn't get many laughs, in fact it sounded like I was the only one lightly laughing at all, but it kind of reinforces that only certain demographics get them, like a Uni crowd. We finished off the first half with Steve Hughes doing his regular routine that tore the place up and got huge cheers. Because he was only doing a short slot he didn't fully go into his ranting, that can be over the top, so it ends up the perfect balance and gets the big laughs. I was a bit disappointed with my fitness, I have so many injuries that I can't train anymore, I got light headed from laughing, and in the first half I was seeing spots constantly. Michael Workman and Umit Bali did their usual routine and were OK. Peter Burner used to be way out in front of the pack with his super sonic routines but now is only level with the best acts, so it still makes him very funny, and the crowd cheered for him tonight. A lot of it was new but he still had a similar theme to his old stuff about having a go at when people do stupid things because they are to lazy to think. The impro crew did a small game where there is an interviewer asking questions to an expert while a deaf interpreter signs the words that worked a treat and got good applause. Cameron next introduced Princess Cabaret and gave a side note that they are also doing a kids show but that this sample isn't the kids show. They came on stage and it was like the audience quickly made up in their minds from the appearance that this wouldn't be for them, which is understandable as we all have this built in assessment from appearances to quickly decide friend or foe, it was like they thought that they were getting the kids show because of the costumes being of childhood princesses. Even I had trepidation when I saw them for the first time at Bondi. The name, Cabaret, and Princess it's very deceiving. They did there first number that has a few risqué parts and people laughed but it was like they were wondering if they should've been laughing because they had a preconceived impression about what princess are allowed to say. But is was their second song that won everyone over when they sang the song A Brand New Girl, about girl love. It was so out of order for what they were seeing that it blew everyone's mind and they got a huge cheer. Lastly was Dead Cat Bounce and this time I could hear better but for me they were about the same as a couple of days before. If I new they were going to be on tonight I wouldn't have seen them on Wednesday but gone to Project 52. At least the crowd liked them. Overall a killer night. 5
18.03.10 : Cop Out - movie
Action, Comedy, Crime : A hard veteran cop has to recover a stolen piece of memorabilia to pay for his daughters wedding with the help of his not very observant partner. A comedy thats not super brilliant funny but it does have it's moments that are quite funny. I thought it was OK. 3
17.03.10 : Dead Cat Bounce : Comedy Store
I really couldn't get into much this night. It started mild and continued most of the way through. Subby Valentine was the MC and was OK-ish, first up Michael Workman made me laugh 3 times, Julia Clark (UK) was next, and the first half finished with Sol Bernstein, the supposedly oldest working Jewish comedian, who was good. The second half was all Dead Cat Bounce the 4 piece comedy band. To me it felt like they were more band than comedy as most of their songs were wordy and subtle rather than high impact comedy. The funniest for me was the narcoleptic song. I liked the midget song as it's quirky but unfortunately their computer died so we missed out on some of it. The kick song was only made funny when they used a person out of the audience who actually knew a magic trick and performed it to the surprise of the Dead Cats. Driving song, Good Touch - Bad Touch song and Tickle My Nuts song were just OK but nothing special. I kind of gave up trying to concentrate on the words, but to be fair the sound wasn't that great so it was hard for me to hear, so I started looking at the audience to see if they were enjoying it, and most weren't smiling during the songs, but they did give good applause right at the end. I would of given it a 2 for the night but because Sol was good and it sounded like the audience liked Dead Cat Bounce so I'll bump the score. 3
16.03.10 : Francesca Martinez(UK) : Laugh Garage
The man in control today, or so he thought, was Peter Meisel bringing the acts on and off and doing a good job even though his miss reading of comics names and Darren doing the best to put him off from the sound booth he still got the job done with hilarious results. In fact some of his jokes got the loudest laughs of the night, unfortunately some were meet with total silence also, but he knew what to do and acknowledged them as duds and got laughs by admitting they were lame. Tonight was new comers night so there was a lot of newbies and unfortunately none really stood out except the second last guy who had some good stuff but not enough material and Dom Romero who is very animated, but I did find something strange about when he accentuates where he thinks the punchline should be rather than letting the audience decide where they should laugh. At least both looked very comfortable on the stage and mildly amusing. Our main act was Paul Warnes who is always good except that this reporter has seen him too many times lately. The big bonus of the night was Francesca Martinez who was delightful. I really didn't know who she was only that she was on Extras, so I though it was worth a look as I liked the second series. And to be honest I don't actually remember her on it, maybe she was on the first series, and I didn't even know she was disabled. As you would expect being disabled is a large part of her life so a lot of material came from that area. Like the amusing parts of situations she get into, and the bad parts where normal people show their insensitivity, and by the sound of some there were a lot of bad times with teasing at school, but she is so bubbly and uplifting that is never becomes a downer. She does get back at the "normals" with some clever examples of switching the roles around with an audience participant that is very amusing. Even though she attacked the "normals" somewhat, which she has every right to do based on the mocking she got from them, her upbeat attitude and smiley style simply charmed the audience. 4
16.03.10 : Remember Me - movie
Drama, Romance : A young man loses himself after a tragedy and wanders aimlessly without a goal. Basically a lot of the characters in the film faced tragedy but dealt with it in different ways, some fell apart, some covered it up, and some just got on with life. There is a big shock at the start with a woman needlessly murdered while her daughter looks on, but because the characters haven't been developed yet and there is no explanation you don't really know what is happening, and then the scene just changes to another story where you again haven't been given the background so you have to work this one out also. The whole movie is like that and just goes from scene to scene so you have to use the dialogue and your memory of the previous scenes as the story unfolds to work things out. Make sure you pay close attention to get the maximum benefit of the story. If you remember the face of the policeman at the start it's not that hard to follow, unfortunately I have trouble with faces so it took me some time to work out. Very emotional in places with a heart sinking conclusion, good but sad. 3.5
14.03.10 : Green Zone - movie
Action, Drama, Thriller : A head strong squad leader has been assigned to find WMD's but finds something is wrong when all the sites he is told to check have obviously never had WMD's. I was expecting a shoot-em-up no brainer hero type action movie, like a Bourne type film, but it was a political conspiracy drama type movie. I found it boring and predictable. 2
11.03.10 : Split Headline - Jeff Green(UK) and Mike G(USA) : Randwick Rugby Club
JJ Mullard was the MC and he is an old school comic that has some cracker stuff.
Jeff Green blitzed it again and put me in laughing head spins. I can see why this was a double headliner show because the American Mike G that lives in Perth was super funny also. 4.5
10.03.10 : Project 52 - Story Club : Hermann's Bar
The theme for the night was "Where I went wrong", and as the title suggests it's mistakes people have made, but not normal mistakes but incredibly embarrassing mistakes. Our host was the engaging Ben Jenkins who charmed the large audience straight off the bat by telling the first story, this gave the crowd an idea of how badly things can go wrong. He told a story of young love and his first date, or so he thought. He asked a girl he liked out on a date but because he was embarrassed and he didn't want to be rejected he wasn't that clear in transmitting his intentions so it got misconstrued by the her. We've all done it and it is a little embarrassing but what happen later makes this pale into insignificance. So the next day she turns up but with another boy in tow believing this was just friends getting together rather than a date. So with his heart broken they go to see the movie Looking for Alibrandi, but emotions get the better of Ben and he starts crying, just typing this is making me laugh, but when caught out crying he gives the most embarrassing reason I have ever heard, the collective audience had to say WTF, don't say that you will embarrass yourself. The story is worded so well and delivered so masterly that you can feel the emotions and are captivated just listening to it. You get taken in so much that you hang on every word and ooh, ah and sigh throughout. The crowd loved it and laughed throughout. Next was Mark Sutton telling a story of a gambler that went wrong, but not a random gambler but one that stacked the odds in his favour by fixing the outcome so he would know the result before the end. It was a good little story and his over the top explanation depicting the characters nature was very funny. Next was Simon Kraegen doing a delightful story about Wagga Wagga, and how it tried to be the capital of Australia but went wrong. The story had facts peppered throughout about Wagga Wagga, and you know they probably aren't true, but the story sucks you in so much you suspend your disbelief for it's duration. Or maybe they are so far fetched that they could actually be true. We finished off the first half with a WWII story from Zoe Norton Lodge about her grandfathers antics during the war. Being an old war buff, which was the nerd thing to do back in my day, I had an instant connection with this story. He was posted on a cargo ship delivering potatoes to England when it gets torpedoed by the German battleship SMS Scharnhorst and sinks. Clinging onto a potato box for 2 days he gets washed up on an exotic island where he partakes in the earthly delights FOR ONE YEAR, before hitching a ride on a ship back home. Unfortunately his house was blown up in the blitz, but luckily his family was alive just relocated elsewhere. There was so many details that I have left out that I'm not conveying how good the story actually was, but I was totally immersed throughout. In the end her grandfather was portrayed as a bit of a cad, who knows what he did on that island FOR ONE YEAR behind his fiancé's back, and the anguish he caused his family when they thought he died, and all the grieving they suffered. After the break Ben pulled out the magic and did some audience participation asking which countries people were from. He stopped on a South African girl and promptly displayed his knowledge of SA by reciting lines from the few rare movies made in SA complete with the accent, very funny. Then we came to Michael Hing in full attack mode, it's like he talks fast to keep up the intensity, which isn't a problem as it gives the impression that there is a lot of action happening. I will only give a brief run down as to what happened as I think he will be doing this story in his another show Hing & Magee - Illustrious Physicians of Romance, latter this year. He told of how he lost his virginity and all the fumbling involved. All I can say is, he didn't really know what he was doing, it was dark, and then the condom broke and it finished on a unexpected but hilarious ending. Every mistake he made, and there are plenty, had a little side story explanation about what he was thinking that just pushed the story higher into the laugh-o-sphere. It was so funny he brought the house down and got a huge cheer. Lastly was David Cunningham. He actually knew the girl Hing was talking about and named her, to the embarrassment of Hing, which got a great laugh. But I think he harped on too long about it and made it feel a bit awkward at the end. His first story was one of his historical stories about Alexander the Great and a battle against an opposing army. He ran through all the possible manoeuvres and always came up with the same result. He then followed it up with an actual life story about how he tried to get into a menage a trois. Very funny night and there was a large audience to appreciate it. 5
09.03.10 : Jeff Green(UK) : Laugh Garage
The first half was supposed to be new comers but we only had one, all the rest were accomplished comics. Darren Sanders was the MC and was taking it slow for what seemed an unresponsive audience. Paul Warnes did a nice set before our new comer Dave Pollard, I say new comer but actually he has been around ages. I saw him probably 15 years ago and he still has that quirky routine that you have to listen to very carefully to get the punchlines. Desh did some new stuff that was quite good, his normal routine is very good but I have heard it too many times so it was good to get a change. Lastly was Tony Bailey. Tony heckled Darren because he wasn't telling jokes fast enough so Darren said he better be good or he will heckling him back. I have to hand it to Tony who put it on the line and tried to get the audience to react with a flurry of jokes. It worked very well and the audience liked it. Even though the audience is quiet they still appreciate an effort.
Jeff got the quiet audience laughing straight away with high energy, high speed delivery. He had a lot to say about children and marriage, even to the stage of semi ranting but not so over the top that it gets boring, and this makes it very funny. Even if you aren't married or don't have kids you can still relate and will find it funny, but it does make you wonder what Jeff's domestic situation is like. At least all the single people felt better for not being in contractual relationships, from the picture Jeff paints. It was a lot better at this venue than the first time I saw him, I had no trouble concentrating throughout and was so entertained that the second half flew past. He had so much material that they had to cut him as he was going so far over time. We had an OK crowd for a weekday but the end of the week crowds will be even better. Very Good. 4.5
09.03.10 : The Men Who Stare at Goats - movie
Comedy, War : A small time newspaper reporter tries to prove his worth and travels to the middle east for that big story but finds the mysterious Lyn Cassady from a secret physic army. It's one of those comedies where everyone delivers such ludicrous stories but with such a straight face that it ends up ridiculously funny. There is an actual basis for this story as the soviets tried it and formed a physic army, but they were about as successful as the army depicted in this movie. By halfway the stories are flying around so thick and fast and getting stranger that you start getting used to it. Good. 3.5
09.03.10 : Shutter Island - movie
Mystery, Thriller : A young Federal Marshal is called to investigate the disappearance of a mental patient from isolated Shutter Island, where an institution has been built to house the most dangerous patients in the country. His constant flashbacks about the war and his wife throw up interesting turns and everybody on the island seems to have a hidden agenda. The trailer made the story look simple and boring so I wasn't that keen on this 2½ epic but it had enough twists and turns with some startling revelations that it was entertaining throughout. Because it was set in 1954 it had a film noir feel, and yes there was a lot of smoking. All the locations and sets were set up to convey a creepy feel, just like those video games that make you feel on edge when you go into dungeons. Quite good. 3.5
6.03.10 - Got free tickets for the Comedy Store but because there was so much traffic and no parking from the Special Event I got there so late I turned around and went home.
05.03.10 : Scriptless Dangerous! - LIMITED EXTENDED : Roxbury Hotel - impro
I thought the dangerous format was strong enough to stand on it's own without the pro players, I was wrong. Out of the 16 scenes 2 were good and 3 were OK, with such a low percentage it wasn't that entertaining. That's what you get from the beginners. A so so night. 2
04.03.10 : Porcelain : Oxford Art Factory - music
Due to not realising there were 2 stages I missed the start of Porcelain because I was watching these crazy bands in the other room. Luckily I went for a walk around their start time and spotted them. Lo Roberts was in her usual form fronting with powerful vocals and doing all the things a strong front person would do. The sound wasn't great as you couldn't hear much violin but you could always hear Lo even though you couldn't see much because there wasn't much lighting. They finished on the only song I knew the catchy, F__k the Radio. They will be doing a residency in April so I might go again. Still good but I'm bias. 4
03.03.10 : Hermann's Heroes Stand Up Amazing Night of Butts : Hermann's Bar
It was a nice night, not brilliant, but still nice. Michael Hing was trying hard to get reactions from the somewhat subdued crowd and with a bit of help from Ben on sound succeeded somewhat. The funniest for me were Ben Jenkins with a good routine, James Colley who was good even if his routine felt a bit short, and Paul Ayre's rebuttal of jokes done by other comedians was funny. The rest had some good jokes but not all the way through their routines, so they ended up OK. Nick Sun and Eric Hutton were trialling new stuff so they were a bit hit and miss. I always have trouble with The Cloud Girls but they do have some funny sections, like the Glebe and Whale bits. I'm not sure if the crowd were regulars and know the jokes or they were new and a bit timid but they weren't that rowdy so it may have affected the night. It was strange the difference between the generations, my friend and I would laugh at the older related jokes while the younger ones would stay quiet, and vice-versa for the new stuff we didn't understand. I'm kind of going off stand up because I see so much. 3
02.03.10 : The Blind Side - movie
Biography, Drama, Sport : The true story of Michael Oher. A black boy from a broken home and a bad part of town is taken in by a white family and allowed to find his potential. Michael appearance is that of a man giant but in reality is only a young boy at 18 years old. This confuses people in to thinking he is a big dumb ox, and only people willing to look beyond appearances find the true gentle giant that is Michael. Considering his background and being young he lacks direction until a head strong mother guides him. Most times when well meaning white people try to help unfortunate races they have ulterior motives, whether consciously or unconsciously, and end up shaping them for their purpose, a bit like the missionaries that feed the blacks if they worshipped their god, and this very question is asked. A beautiful, nice, gentle, warm film that is more about Michael life than football. 4.5
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