Now approaching his tenth year of stand-up comedy, funny man Damien Power is about to hit the stage with his all new show, ‘I Can’t Believe I Cared’.
Nominated for best comedy act at the 2013 Sydney Fringe Festival and nominated for Best New Comer at the 2013 Melbourne International Comedy Festival for his show ‘Monkeys In Space’, Power is sure to bring the heat when he performs at the Brisbane Comedy Festival. “I think this is going to be a really good show. I'm really looking forward to this show. Last year I tried to do a story about my personal life, whereas this show is stuff that I’ve been working on all year, topics that I really enjoy and it’s really just a good hour of stand-up stuff, you know?”
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With 2015 marking his sixth, consecutive appearance at the Brisbane Comedy Festival, Power always looks forward to performing to his home crowd. “I have a local advantage in Brisbane and people really turn out to see me. It’s a great room and the festival is really accommodating – I've done it six years in a row.
“Melbourne is very competitive and very tough, but I think any given night anywhere a crowd can be great – or you know, shit. One night in Melbourne I had a really bad show. I got completely naked and did a political monologue. The performance did not go over well – it was like getting your dick out at a funeral. It was just fucked.”
Having the confidence to be humiliated on stage can only come from years of performing in front of a crowd, with Power first honing his skills at his Toowoomba primary school. “I used to get up in primary school and do show and tell and I’d get up every week and do sketches and stuff in front of teachers. I used to write comedy about taking the piss out of teachers and school and stuff.”Power recently gained international notoriety on several major US networks for his hilarious live commentary of the US Indy Car series on Twitter. His brother just happens to be Will Power – the championship-winning driver of the series.
Damien had no interest in racing cars though, instead choosing a career in IT. “I actually studied IT. I found motorsport really, really boring. I chose computers over motorsport – that’s how boring I found it.”
Inevitably, IT also proved to be too boring for Power – he decided to do what he loved most.
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“I think going back to what I was describing about being in primary school – I just really loved performing, acting out characters and doing voices. Doing IT really smothered my creative spirit by working in the corporate world. I decided to do an acting course after all that. I think I just started it and thought fuck yeah! It just really hooked me in, doing stand-up, and it’s just such a tough craft to master.”
Power gained a following in the US following his Twitter antics about his brother – he even ended up being chosen as the support act for Tenacious D on their 2013 tour of Australia. “They needed a replacement for Barry Morgan who was sick. They saw videos of me online and may have even seen my festival show at the time which got nominated for an award. I guess I was in the right place at the right time when they found me.
“I can remember I was just shitting bricks. But one big thing that Kyle did for me every show is he would come out before me and say ‘hey guys, we’re not on now but this guy is and he’s great’, you should support him.”
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Power’s new show is a little more refined, if just a little touchy at times – highlighting the lighter side to religious beliefs, war and consumerism. “I’m doing jokes that I’ve worked on and refined. You can expect stuff I like talking about on stage. I talk about beliefs and war and consumerism and making those things funny is what I do. I think they'll find the show quite touchy and interesting.”
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Being a dad also has given Power a lot of new material for ‘I Can’t Believe I Cared’, with his young son providing plenty of inspiration. “I've got one kid and generally speaking there’s a lot of material there. It offers you a unique perspective on life. Plus when you're a parent you've got responsibilities – your whole perspective on life changes.”
Damien Power Tour Dates
17-21 Feb – Adelaide Fringe Festival10-15 March – Brisbane Comedy Festival
TBC – Melbourne Comedy Festival
TBC – Sydney Comedy Festival
