It’s that time of year again, and what better way to sample some of the home-grown highlights of this years Brisbane Comedy Festival than to enjoy a comedy tapas at the gala.
Fitting eight acts into 55, short minutes is no mean feat, and Sammy J and Randy launched into their opening as hosts at breakneck pace, finishing each others sentences. Latecomers were shamed via the medium of song as the crass pair pushed the boundaries of taste in ways that only a puppet could get away with. Their lengthy description of the journeys our funny bone would take over the course of the evening got the guffaws, titters and sniggers out early, setting the crowd up perfectly for the first act of the evening, Matt Okine.
Returning to his hometown of Brisbane on stage at the City Hall, Matt is quick to inform us that “the last time I was here was my high school ball”. Now living in Sydney where he hosts the breakfast show on Triple J “The only question anyone seems to ask is what time do you have to wake up in the morning” and takes great delight in regaling the audience with anecdotes about how rich he is now and downloading music he’s already pirated.
Next up was Bianca del Rio and Courtney Act who were barely on stage before heading off to their show at the Powerhouse that same evening. In their few minutes, they managed to describe who they were, where else they were playing and a couple of gags before leaving the stage barely making an impact one way or the other.
After another musical interlude with Sammy J and Randy, next up was Dave O’Neil. Exploring gender differences and parenthood through strongly opinionated, observational comedy, Dave’s down-to-earth shtick is like a verbal extension of his witty, newspaper-column writing and he plays the grumpy, old-man angle well.
Mel Buttle occupies a similar cynical space, taking us through the pitfalls of online dating and her dislike – no hatred – of people who describe themselves as ‘gluten intolerant’. It’s a sharp slice of self-deprecating, self-aware humour whose universal truths win the audience over with ease.
Damien Power is one of the undeniable highlights, venting his thinly-veiled jealousy of his brother Will. Though the critique of Indy Car is like shooting fish in a barrel, it's Damien's delivery and call backs that had everyone laughing hardest.
Ronny Chieng has the rare gift of being funny with barely a word leaving his mouth. His angry frustration at anything and everything, with even the trivialities of Android vs. iPhone debates inspiring a rant at the complacency of the most recent generation is hilarious in its absurdity. Not even the recent white & gold / black & blue dress debate escapes unscathed.
Closing out the night was Fiona O’Loughlin whose delivery is more like gossip at the water cooler than that of stand-up. Her ambling, relaxed delivery barely gives her time to get much further than a brief catch-up on her family life. Her set ended with an underwhelming anecdote about a Polish priest which gets a few titters but is a relatively anticlimactic end to the night.
Though short, it was a great reminder of the fine state of Australian stand-up comedy at the moment and a fine introduction to some of the acts playing full shows as part of the Brisbane Comedy Festival, running at the moment until Sunday 22 March.
