Little Running Bear

I’ve seen a whole bunch of shows this year. You may have read some of my gut-shot reviews. In those I was trying to get the most instant feeling about a show as possible. Get them down and get them published. That’s by-the-by.

Right now I just want to tell you about shows you need to see because they are really clever and funny.

Yes, two things: clever and funny.

Justin Hamilton – Circular

Ignore pretty much all the reviews you’ve read about Justin’s show. This is so much more than just a straight stand-up show. He plays with the structure of a comedy show in a way we haven’t seen before. It’s a genius concept carried out with a light touch. Also, if getting all meta about comedy structure isn’t your thing, then just enjoy the jokes. There are so many ways to enjoy this show and it will be your last chance to see Justin in Melbourne for a while.

Tig Notaro

She was nominated for the Barry Award but don’t let that stop you from going to see her. In this case, believe the hype. Her style of comedy is unlike anything I’ve seen before. She uses silences to bring the audience to her. Take all the expectations you have and just let them go. She’s one of those one-of-a-kind geniuses that others will try to emulate in years to come.

Maria Bamford

Let me ask you one question: Do you want to see one of the best comedians in the world in a fairly intimate setting?

If you answered “Yes” then you need to see Maria Bamford.

She won the Barry in 2004, which is before it became tainted by Nina Conti’s stink. She swaps characters effortlessly and says the things that most people only think, all-the-while being super-conscious of everything she is doing to the audience.

Update 19 April, 23:29.

I’m reliably informed that Maria Bamford’s run finished last Sunday. You’ve missed out and you only have yourself to blame. Sorry for giving you a bum steer. I’m going to see Bob Franklin’s show later this week. You should try to get tickets to that. I haven’t seen David Quirk yet but he’s been excellent in past years and Josh Earl’s show is delightful (and conveniently on at the same time as Bamford’s was). Also, Sammy J and Randy have put on a couple of extra shows and they’re doing great work.

Disclaimer

Justin Hamilton is a friend of mine. Sometimes we hang out and talk about comics and Lost. I’ve got plenty of friends with shows in MICF. Justin’s is something so completely different, it needs to be seen. At the time of writing, Justin does not follow me on twitter. Make of that what you will.

9:30pm 14 April, Bosco Theatre, City Square

There was a time when Simon Munnery was probably in the top 3 comedians in the world. The first half of this show is a reminder of that time.

Each line Munnery utters has multiple levels to it and is probably also interrupted by an aside that adds a couple layers more. It’s a pleasure to watch. It’s the mastery that we saw in Alan Parker: Urban Warrior and The League Against Tedium, but he stood before us in a two-piece suit doing what was essentially straight stand-up; That’s something I haven’t seen him do before.

Unfortunately he can’t keep that energy up for the whole show and the second half starts to drag. Even when watching a Simon Munnery show drag, it’s still better than pretty much anything else you could see.

A note about the venue: The Bosco theatre is just a tent. It’s a tent on one of the noisiest corners Melbourne has to offer. It’s ridiculously unfair to the performers and the audience. Nobody should ever have to compete with the ridiculousness of a man, dressed as a rabbit, playing the bass guitar. It’s possible that the lag in the show was due to the noise or maybe Munnery just doesn’t have the stamina he did 8 years ago. A lot has happened to him in that time. His material relies so much on pointing out the absurdity of real life but sometimes reality is too powerful to compete with.

Written using Plain Text, after getting home and while watching Top Chef Masters.

7:00pm 14 April, Lower Town Hall, Melbourne Town Hall

We are so lucky to have both Tig Notaro and Maria Banford in town in the one festival.

For all those pathetic humans who say women comedians just aren’t funny, they can keep their unfounded beliefs. I’m yet to see a man as talented and diverse as those two this year (but I’m seeing Simon Munnery this evening).

Maria Bamford is back with her particular brand of internal monologue said out loud.* She flits from topic to topic and performs little plays using only her hands.

Bamford is a genius who acts like a child while exposing us to her psyche. It’s obscure, particular and extraordinary.

She has the ability to bring us emotionally on stage and then slap us back down to our seats. Everyone is mocked or might be. It’s a personal show and it should be taken personally. That’s how she means it because that’s why it matters.

She closes with a stab at a particular kind of female comedian and it really is a stab. Take that. Bam. She knows what’s going on. She’s smart, she’s funny and she’s better than pretty much everyone else out there.

Written using Plain Text, mostly outside the venue before heading out to dinner.
* Everything after this point was written after getting home and while watching Top Chef Masters.

8:15pm 13 April, Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall

I had to forgo a couple of shows last night because of this god awful cold that makes me just want to sleep all the time.

Tonight I forwent seeing Headliners but managed to get my aching bones up four flights of stairs to see a very competent professional American comedian perform some well-crafted material.

There’s not much more for me to say, partly because Maron somehow manages to be generically very good and partly because the pseudo-ephedrine is wearing off.

He’s good. I’m sick.

The end.

Written in Plain Text while sitting in the passenger seat of the car on the way home, barely able to lift my own head.