David O’Doherty Packs His Tiny Piano For A Big Night In Adelaide

David O'Doherty
Tim is a Brisbane-based writer who loves noisy music, gorgeous pop, weird films, and ice cream.

Comedian David O’Doherty is the first to admit he is not a rockstar.


The Irishman has long been a musical-comedy favourite, combining absurd lyrics with the chintzy sounds of his trademark Yamaha keyboard (the same used by indie bands Grandaddy and Stereolab, he proudly states). However, the O2 Academy in Leeds somehow mistook the comic’s low-energy musical whimsy for a raucous rock band.

“When I arrived there, there were anti-stagediving barriers up,” he recalls. “When I came out to do the show, a bouncer stood directly in front of the stage like they would if I was Suicidal Tendencies to stop people from trying to rush the stage. The bouncer was basically just eyeballing all of these comedy fans. Any time they’d laugh, he would look up as if to say, ‘A bit of respect for the artist, please?’ I couldn’t stop laughing when I got off the stage,” he laughs.

David is currently at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, in the middle of his season for his new show, ‘Tiny Piano Man’. Despite being amidst his Melbourne run, David will jet over to Adelaide for a special one-night-only performance at the Hindley Street Music Hall. It’ll be a treat for his Adelaide fans, and hopefully appease them.

“Whenever I announce a gig on social media, I’ll be, like, ‘Guys, I’ll be in Liverpool next week’. Someone will appear under the thread being like, ‘When are you coming to Adelaide?’ I’m not going to call it cyberbullying, but just a sustained campaign of asking me when I’m coming to Adelaide. The only time I could come to Adelaide, unfortunately, was on a Monday on this tour. One of the people who always pesters me to come to Adelaide was like, ‘What are you doing coming on a Monday?!’”

While social media has allowed David to communicate with his fans, he has also discovered its dark side. Recently, he was the victim of identity theft when another account bearing his name appeared, stealing his photos, and messaging his friends. Thankfully, the imposter also happened to be what David describes as ‘the most incompetent catfish ever’, and provided inspiration for his latest show, ‘Tiny Piano Man’.

“It is pretty terrifying,” says David. “He started following women who followed me and sending them messages. I wasn’t exactly sure what his endgame was. Was he going to ask to see pictures of their boobs and then try to blackmail them? Whatever he was trying, he was grossly incompetent.

“The terrible error he made was he followed several of my best friends who were just engaging him in these incredibly tedious, long chats where they seemed to be coming on to him stronger than he was coming on to them. Eventually, it turned into a scam; he was alleging that I had a daughter and it was her birthday and he had no money. The only interaction we had was when I told everyone to ignore him. Then he said, ‘Ignore yourself, tiny piano man!’” he laughs.

While David’s Adelaide trip is for one night, he is excited to be performing an extended version of his new show at a new venue like the Hindley Street Music Hall. “The venues I play are generally old and dusty music halls,” he says. “All of my previous Adelaide venues seem to have been demolished. It doesn’t bode well. So, fingers crossed for Hindley Street Music Hall.”

Since opening, acts who have graced Hindley Street Music Hall’s stage have included Hanson, Counting Crows, and The Vengaboys. David O’Doherty may be the first comedian to perform at the venue and feels he may have to muster up his inner rockstar especially for Adelaide.

“I don’t think I’m Hanson, and the David O’Doherty-bus is not coming, sorry to disappoint you,” he says. “I would probably be most similar to Suicidal Tendencies, if I had to pick one, but with less stagediving. If anyone stagedives at my gig, I will personally give them $10,” he laughs.

David O’Doherty plays ‘Tiny Piano Man’ at Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide, 17 April.

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