#creative sidekick

Last night a packed Comedy Chamber witnessed the last but one of The Axis of Awesome's show in Auckland.

I have heard and read a lot about this comedy rock trio during the first week of the festival but have avoided youtubing so as not to spoil the surprise, and I knew enough to know they sounded rocking.

My expectations were met, and some as they were, well awesome.

The group came on to the stage apologising for the lack of pyrotechnics, lights and animatronic dinosaurs and began thier hour set of comedic songs and clever musical comedy.

They are phenomenal musicians and applause comes as much for their musical prowess as their comedy.  Their banter is sharp, sometimes within songs and  sometimes in between, but always hilarious. Their keyboardist takes the brunt of the on stage ribbing due to him being a little shorter than the others.

The show makes fun of all our favourite pop and rock clichés expertly imitating styles and well known songs.

Probably their most famous song is the Youtube hit '4 Chords' which gets a huge reaction from the crowd.

This show was great fun and they are definitely at the top of their game in this genre of entertainment, it's no surprise they have had such huge worldwide success.

I would happily have watched the whole show again so it's a good thing you can buy a CD after the show, something to play in the car on the way home ;).

Where do I even start talking about last night’s Jason Byrne stand up show People's Puppeteer at the Q Theatre in Auckland .

It was a chaotic, rampant laughter fest which fell in to disarray and resulted in pure comedic genius and aching sides.

Entering the stage as a huge puppeteer Jason Byrne proceeded to  Irish dance across the stage as the merry crowd wooped, cheered and clapped almost all the way through!

I don’t think I have ever been to a comedy show when I wasn’t sure what just happened, almost an hour and a half passed where I laughed from start to finish at various absurdities, the likes of which New Zealand was seeing for the first time.

The aptly titled show People’s Pupperteer saw the Irish comedian man handle some of his fellow Irishman and use three audience members as a human xylophone ( I won’t tell you where his struck his batons!).

  He interacted and joked with his audience who became part of the show both on and off the stage. What Jason found particularly peculiar during this inaugural New Zealand performance was to be  asked to share his drink with a thirsty audience member for the first time in his performing career.

He was grunted and moaned at by various nationalities and appeared truly mystified  at the apparent inability of an Irishman to communicate with Kiwi after various miscommunication and what he called the ‘unnecessary’ noises that came out the people’s mouths.

The breaking point at which he may of thought we were all playing a joke on him was the when a man shouts out 'Umbrella' believing it to be slang for condoms.

Through all this he does manage to also tell some hilarious and raw anecdotes covering such personal topics as an ‘itchy bum’ and having sex while wearing an eye patch. He  jumps and leaps about the stage often laughing and giggling at his own crazy creations.

He is an infectious force with provocative material and an innate ability to puppeteer his audience like no comedian I have ever seen.

Jason Byrne is performing as part of the NZ International Comedy Festival at the Q Theatre until 5 May.

As a last minute addition to my itinerary last night I popped in to The Classic to see Craig Campbell, a Canadian comedian who I had not seen before but whose poster won me over.

It was a quiet Monday crowd and one that I am not entirely sure fully appreciated the  genius story telling capabilities of Craig Campbell.

I found him totally engaging, clever, sometimes quite unexpectedly shouty, but overall very funny. He had a great ability to sound improvised and to interact with, and include his audience. Having not seen him before I am not sure how much of the show was improvised but it certainly had that feel. It strikes me that he will adapt and meander around the interaction and commentary he gets from his audience.

He is a Canadian and proud but has many stories from around the world with humorous observations from his experiences in the Netherlands, UK, Norway as well as his homeland.

He is exactly the kind of stand –up I love and could listen to him for hours. He has similarities to his countryman Tony Law, as they both tell long tales with huge expressive movements and tone to get you to giggle.

Craig is able to delve in to his own life and travel experiences and link them together to form an hour of hilarious and varied antidotes including character voices as well as social commentary. It is the breed of comedy I admire so much and it’s no surprise he has been compared to Billy Connolly.

I believe his show will evolve during the week and no night will be the same, he is definitely one of my picks and I am so glad his poster caught my eye.

Craig Campbell is performing at The Classic, Auckland until the 12 May, part of the NZ International Comedy Festival.

Dead Cat Bounce is a three piece band from Ireland, but don’t expect classic covers at this show. Dressed the part and proving their rock credentials, the 3 guys wore gold skinny jeans, glittery leggings and leather trousers, much to the delight of the female front row!

This comedy rock trio gave us an hour of excellently executed songs including one about a Homophobic Penguin performed in the style of Johnny Cash, while bass player Shane O'Brien sung about his penchant for a Really Tall Woman. Every rock band has a huge international hit and they played theirs, the crowd pleasing Youtube hit ‘Rugby’.

Admittedly this show may not be everyone’s cup of tea but it’s a fun gig and a refreshing change from traditional stand-up.

They are amazing musicians with some clever lyrics, but make sure you pay attention as you may miss some classic lines if you don’t.

Aside from the songs you get to learn a bit about the band too. They have supported The Darkness and their lead singer, James Walmsley, has been on a quest to find his father who he believes to be Whitesnake front man David Coverdale !

Expect to see your first ever comedy drum solo from Damo Fox, as well as other impressive musical tricks too!

The band shamelessly plug their merchandise in their final song ‘Lets Make Love’ then  briefly leave the stage before returning for their ‘planned’ encore.  

If you still want more you can purchase your Dead Cat Bounce CD after the show!

Keeping Up With The Grid will be keeping up with the NZ International Comedy Festival over the next few weeks and feel that no one should miss out on having a right good laugh.

Well the lovely peeps at Elephant Publicity agree and have kindly donated a pair of tickets to see................

THE AXIS OF AWESOME WORLD TOUR 2006

SATURDAY 28TH APRIL

7PM

COMEDY CHAMBER, TOWN HALL, THE EDGE, 303 QUEEN STREET

Here is your chance to watch some live comedy as part of the 20th Annual NZ International Comedy Festival in Auckland for FREE.

Don't miss your chance to see Australia's Kings of Musical Comedy who are in New Zealand for the first time ever!

These guys have had over 40 million hits on Youtube.

The Axis of Awesome World Tour 2006 will feature an hour of their greatest hits as well brand new material .

All you need to do is like our Facebook page and post a message on the wall to say you would like to be entered in to the draw. If you are not on Facebook you can email an entry here. Please ensure you will be available attend the show on Saturday in Auckland. The winner will be announced on Friday 27th April.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED THANKS.

If you are still not sold then check out the guys on youtube