September, 2011

Vince Chadwick writes… There is no denying that there is something intrinsically funny about the keytar. The Keytar Kid aka Mr Brady aka John Nelder plays on its phallic elements at one point, which might be a bit of a stretch – but see, there you go! An absolute artefact of the 1980s, the two [...]

Freelance writer Meghan Lodwick writes… I was alone which was perhaps a problem as I may have thrown off the act. But did I? The performer did, after all seem a tab bit amateur. This is the problem when attending Melbourne Fringe, anyone can enter, anyone at all, as long as you have a story [...]

Freelance writer Siobhan Argent writes… I don’t spend hours listening to music unless I’m running a marathon (every second day), at a concert or at a bar (so, pretty much the same thing). In Al Newstead’s case, it seems these periods are not enough. Several people in the audience for Al’s Music Rant were wondering [...]

Freelance writer Siobhan Argent writes… After the success of his show A Study in Scarlet (A Study Of) last year, Rob Lloyd’s Who, Me has continued the fictional-character exposition with an exhibition on obsession. Lloyd is a self-confessed Who fanatic, indoctrinated in his early uni years and a helpless contributor to the BBC’s cash-cow ever [...]

Freelance writer Meghan Lodwick writes… When you eat candy it should be taken in moderation, when you go and see Candy B, the same rules apply. Australian Booty, written and performed by Candy Bowers—aka Candy B— was a mediocre performance with snippets of funny, but in the end the curvaceous beauty should have left the [...]

Dr Toby Halligan is not a Doctor sounds like it is an inwardly reflecting hour of comedy, in which Toby looks at his life, makes jokes about his problems with ADD, and invites the audience to laugh at his ‘failings’ at being gay. It is all of these things, but in addition, there’s regular interjections [...]

Dressed in a smart waist-coat and a striped tie, Simon Taylor presents a practised and polished performance to kick of the 2011 Melbourne Fringe Festival. Over the course of his show you will come to appreciate his love of psychology, as he takes you through the way we experience morality, happiness, language and love. There’s [...]

Misunderstood Triple M radio show Get This was cancelled in 2007, and since then, the fans have remained strong (and it needs to be said, just a little bit scary). I’m sure there have been nights where Tony Martin has woken up in a fevered sweat, having been chased through a nightmare by people wanting [...]

Much hyped, lumbering, and tired, Two and a Half Men is back on our screens, Sheen-free and with extra-added Kutcher. Let’s leave aside that Australian audiences are pretty much fatigued from this show, what with back-to-back episodes of it screened by Channel 9 on a regular basis. The interesting question is whether the show can [...]

Ever wondered what goes on behind-the-scenes at the lodge, the home of Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and her First Guy Tim Mathieson? Yeah… me neither. At any rate, wonder no more, as four episodes of At Home With Julia are hitting your screens on ABC1.

Well, that was grim viewing. I’m going to come out right away and say that I’m not entirely sure what Good News World is trying to be. Aiming for a hybrid of a sketch comedy show and Daily Show with Jon Stewart, it resembles nothing of the previous incarnation of Good News Week, and instead [...]

Dan Barrett of Crikey’s White Noise blog writes… Dressed in his uniform baggy black t-shirt and baggier denim jeans, Louis CK took to the stage last night at the Sydney Opera House. Despite the large venue and the very enthusiastic crowd response, the essence of what works for Louis CK was not lost. CK is [...]

Josh Kinal writes… The audience displayed their preparation for fun on Thursday night at the Princess Theatre in Melbourne. There to see the talented Tony Award® winning character comedian Martin Short, they passed around Minties and interacted playfully like a group of friends despite being strangers moments earlier. A self-warming crowd is the sort of [...]

Freelance writer Kate Leaver writes… The awesomeness of a Dylan Moran gig depends very much on his indulgent wine-guzzling. The last time he performed in Sydney, he swaggered on stage, poured himself a glass of red and sucked on a cigarette between a snide, wry commentary that seemed to be genuinely off-the-cuff. This time, he [...]