US comedy heavyweight, Jim Gaffigan, had Brisbane City Hall’s Main Auditorium ringing with laughter when he made his Sunshine State debut at the Brisbane Comedy Festival.
Fresh from holidaying at the Great Barrier Reef with his family, Jim acknowledged his first visit to ‘Brissy’ before poking fun at Australian’s penchant for abbreviating everything. Calling out Aussie terms like brekky, toastie, mozzie and cossie, Jim declared that it’s like talking to a four year old, before taking aim at our absurd habit of buttering bread. Who’d have known that (to a tourist) our sanga combo of butter, mayo and cheese is akin to wearing contacts, glasses and goggles simultaneously? Mind blown.
Cultural observations made up a lot of Jim’s material, and as a top touring comedian, the punch lines came thick and fast. Whether describing New York City marathon participants dispersing at the starter’s gun like Godzilla’s approaching, or discussing his discovery (and survival) of France’s cheese course, Jim delivered joke after joke with the nonchalance of someone who is a giant in his field.
Shifting between his conversational dulcet tones, a brash, booming timbre, and an accent not dissimilar to 'Family Guy'’s Peter Griffin, Jim’s voice plays a massive part in his delivery, and had audience members hanging on his every word.
With nary a profanity to be heard, Jim delivered good, clean, family comedy, with a sprinkle of political and chauvinistic mischief, and a hearty dose of self-deprecation.
