Category Archives: performing arts

been | Raybon Kan

17 May 2013   Sin-Mae Chung
Raybon

One of my earliest memory of Raybon Kan as a stand-up comedian was his brief appearance on old re-runs of Pulp Comedy (c. early 2000). Being a New Zealand born Chinese, I was intrigued with his rise to fame and recognition within a country that was still coming to terms with the fast cultural changes taking place in our big cities. I would have been an adolescent, perhaps a young teenager growing up in West-Auckland who could still recall a lot of racist encounters like a fresh flesh wound. Many of Raybon’s commentary on race, culture and racism would always strike a cord. Thankfully, the majority of racist behavior doesn’t happen much anymore in Auckland, well, not towards me anyway.

To my excitement I got given the opportunity to see Raybon Kan’s – Raybon without a Cause show on Wednesday night. The only ever times I had ever seen his work was through a television screen, this time I would make sure to experience his comedic routine in person.

Raybon’s appearance was well kept but casual, he had on a salmon coloured shirt which he left untucked over his tan coloured pants. The Crowd applaud and fell slowly into silence as he came on stage with a beer bottle in hand ready for his introduction. During that time and throughout the show I couldn’t help but think that he is much shorter in person, but then again he has the Asian genes, something that I am all too familiar with. As the show went on I realised a few things, growing up seeing a comedian on television never gives you the full perspective of their act. He seemed to exhibit a lot of thoughts, so many that if I collected all those silent moments and played it back to you, you would have a good ten to fifteen minutes of it. But that wasn’t a bad thing, good content comes from well collected thoughts. I had never realised how political he can be, he had his opinions on religion and he didn’t mind sharing them. You could say his opinions were a ‘matter-of-fact’ but border-lining offensive, and that was him being nice. Raybon is honest, sometimes that is hard to swallow, though he sparked two awkward walk outs that night, he still continued to keep the majority of us entertain and interested.

Let this be said… if you takes things too seriously, DO NOT attend, this show is designed for those with an open-mind. But if you are comfortable with laughing at the state of our society while being cognitively challenged, then this show would be for you. It was sad and uncomfortable to witness a walk out, but it is far worse to know that there are people on this planet that lack a sense humour. But hey, I guess a walk out is better and more sensible than a bottle being thrown.

 

AUCKLAND SHOWS:

Friday, May 17

10:00 pm @ Vault Q

 

Saturday, May 18

10:00 pm @ Vault Q

 

Book here: at the Q Theater website

been | Markus Birdman

17 May 2013   Sin-Mae Chung
Markus Birdman

Markus Birdman performed his most recent comedy Love, Life & Death at The Classic Studio earlier this week. Compared to other shows I had attended this one started earlier than most, 7:15pm, just enough time to rally up a friend to join me for the show after a quick bite at Carl’s Jr (hello bigger waistline).

In all honesty, attending this show was not the original plan. I had selected a list of other comedians whom I thought would be brilliant! But it turned out that one of them had cancelled (yes Margret Cho, I am talking to you *sad face*) and others were happening around and on my birthday. I don’t mean to say that attending a comedy show on my born-day wouldn’t be fun, but I had prior arrangements that I needed to fulfill.

Selecting my new list of comedians to review was hard since nearly all the names given to me were names that I hadn’t heard of. Staring at the list of names was like staring into a void of dust and tumble weed while someone played soundtracks of loud winds on a tape player. However, one name out of the few stood out to me, Markus Birdman. Not because I had seen his name floating around before, but his name sounded kinda cool like he was some bird whisperer or something. So I put my name forward in hopes it would be good, if not I was sure I would still be entertained with his scruffy and handsome face at least.

I had NO Regrets. It was by far one of the most funniest shows I have seen to date. The setting was simple; one corner stage, some curtains, microphone and this really really awesome drawn poster that I couldn’t stop instagram-ing. He appeared on stage quite casual and confident, but not overly cocky. His show was well rehearsed, entertainingly delivered, loaded with quick and witty comments and he was great on timing. He openly spoke of his scary experience of a stroke which he mistook as a hangover, stories of his cute virtuous daughter, and the abnormal size of his genitalia which all of us couldn’t help but laugh at. If anyone could take any tragic story and turn it into a light-hearted joke it would be this guy. Through some grim stories Birdman gives us a lesson to live a fulfilling life, he teaches us to love passionately and follow our dreams, to admire the little things and reflect on achievements. If ever you are given the opportunity to see this guy, I fully recommend it,  you will be laughing so hard that you would need to catch your breath. And let it be known, you wont be walking away with just an enlightened grin, but with a new outlook on life.

 

AUCKLAND SHOWS:

7:15 p.m. at The Classic Studio

Adults $28 Conc $25

8:45 p.m. at Comedy Chamber – The Edge

Adults $48.50, Conc. $44.50

7:15 p.m. at The Classic Studio

Adults $28 Conc $25

8:45 p.m. at Comedy Chamber – The Edge

Adults $48.50, Conc. $44.50

 

been | James Acaster

14 May 2013   Red Nicholson
James Acaster

The male comedian has become something of a stereotype in 2013. Fuelled by such arrogant, testosterone-toting blokes as Russell Brand, Russell Peters, and to a slightly lesser/more pudgy extent, Ricky Gervais, comedy has increasingly become the domain of the extrovert. So it’s always quite refreshing to be jolted from the world of chauvanistic, boofhead comedy and instead taken to a world of clever repartee, dry British wit, and jokes about the Beatles.

So it went last night, as we were greeted by a reedy, sky-blue cardigan-wearing young man with a classically British mop of golden blond hair, who approached the mic with an air of trepidation, as if to say “I’d like to try and make you laugh, please”. Well alright then, we seemed to collectively murmur in response. We needn’t have worried. James Acaster was in the house.

Acaster is immediately captivating, luring us in within the first few minutes with a wonderfully delicate delivery; at times speaking so softly that you had to genuinely strain your ears in anticipation. This wasn’t due to some inexplicable lack of awareness about his capacity for voice projection, but rather seemed to stem from a desire to leave his audience hanging on every word, and boy, did we ever.

He takes us through his genius, must-be-heard-to-be-believed plan to rejuvenate the flagging ice cream truck market; discusses the differences between American society – “They call their unidentified men John Doe. He’s the guy at the bar with a whiskey on the rocks, looking cool in the shadows” – and British society – “We call ours Joe Bloggs. He’s the guy at the bar forcing shy people to do karaoke”; and reveals the truth about Yoko Ono and the Beatles. I don’t want to ruin it, but it involves biscuits, guitar amps, and sex with a list of men.

Acaster delivers an incredibly well put-together routine. You know those shows where you’re constantly being fed jokes “from before”, making you feel like you’re involved in some intricate long-form in-joke? And those performances where the conclusion is punctuated by a big, hilarious exclamation mark from all the way at the start of the show? Acaster had all of that, and it was brilliant. He even found time, amongst his multi-layered setups, to engage in genuinely witty banter with the audience. Oh, and he had bloopers, too. The bloopers are exactly what you think, but way more hilarious than you could possibly imagine.

I cannot recommend Acaster’s show highly enough. He’s funny, endearing, and superb value for money. Go and see it while you can still get tickets!

Who: James Acaster
Where: The Classic, Queen St, Auckland
When: NOW – Saturday 18th May
Tickets: Ticketek

been | Le Comique

13 May 2013   Red Nicholson
Le Comique

Ah, variety shows. They’ve fallen out of favour of late, much to my disappointment. Really, what’s not to love about eight comedy acts, as varied in their bizarreness as they are in their hilarity? And so it was last night, that local stalwarts and 7 Days regulars Urzila Carlson and Jarred Christmas hauled us through 3 hours of comedy peculiarity. Christmas regaled us in the story of how the acts were chosen; he asked them, “Are you funny?” and then, “Are you weird?”, and based on what we saw last night, it’s fair to say there was a great deal more weirdness than funniness. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

From Titty Bar Ha Ha, a female two-piece with their at-times cringe-inducing medley of songs about love and masturbation, through to Juan Vesuvius (who wins the award for ethnic hybrid of the night; coming from Venezuela, wrapped in a Mexican flag, and boasting a Romanesque surname) who spun some comedy magic on his turntables, right through to local-kid-turned-superstar The Boy With Tape on his Face, turning in his staple fare of side-splitting improv with members of the audience.

The highlights, though, came from the comics of more standard fare. James Acaster, with his low-key, droll British delivery had the audience in stitches with his unconventional plan to capture the ice cream truck market, as did Markus Birdman, with his reflection on dating again at 40 years old. Both comedians provided a wry, witty commentary on various aspects of life, and helped lend the evening a degree of credibility that was at times lacking.

Whilst I take nothing away from the hosts Carlson and Christmas, as it is no mean feat to conjure an hour of improvised banter that was – most of the time – genuinely funny, but when you go attend a show on a Sunday night, with a considerable eight-act bill, you want less of the appetizer and more of the main course(s), thank you very much! In this case, the entree overstayed their welcome by a fair dose, and we ended up filing out of SKYCITY at around 10:30, not helped by a 20-minute intermission that seemed less of a much-needed break and more of a cynical attempt to ring up a few more sales at the bar.

Multi-act shows are a great way to sample the delights of any festival. Bite-sized morsels of comedy that disappear before they can begin to get stale. You might not like the taste of all of them, but with 8 on the menu, there’s bound to be something you’ll enjoy. Whilst Le Comique was a one-night affair, make sure you head out and see one of the others, such as the Big Show, before it’s all over!

been | Dave Bloustien

11 May 2013   Sin-Mae Chung
DBloustien

If you are the kind of person up for a cozy night of gentle laughter, Dave Bloustien would just be right up your alley. On Thursday night I was invited to see his show at the Q vault theater, and was warmed with the sight of a dim-lit space with a small stage, a few row of chairs and a random DJ/lighting technician tucked away in the corner. The audience was the smallest I have seen in any comedy show but then again I have only been to three, not many at all.

I came prepared this time, I had done my research with good old trusty YouTube and Wikipedia. If I was going to be seated in the first couple of rows I would like to prepare myself for any possible randomised picking on. But fortunately he wasn’t that cruel as confirmed by the usher and plus I had a deterrent, my plus-one that sat next to me in a tuxedo (of course having been to another event earlier that evening). I truly believed Bloustien was flabbergasted at the sight that someone had over-dressed for his performance.

He came across as a classy performer, someone extremely well dressed with scruffy hair and grey sideburns. A way to describe his dress sense would be Amish Chic, like he rolled out of a classier music video of Amish Paradise by Weird Al Yankovic. I would describe his performance as a chilled hangout over a lite beverage with your quirky best friend whom can talk a lot, and when I say ‘a lot’ it is no understatement. He had multiple stories that intertwined and overlapped each other with random insertions of jokes here and there, and I swear he took (at most) two short breathers within an hour. He had the ability to maintain a conversation with the audience despite being the one talking in crazy uncountable tangents. Rookie blunders, law-suits, and terrible clients mixed up with cute side-stories of his six year old daughter was some of the stuff he delivered. I found Bloustien entertaining, his comedy was light-hearted, spirited and extremely engaging. I walked away not only thinking he was a great story teller, but he was also a fun-loving and decent guy to be great friends with.

Arj Barker Go Time

10 May 2013   Sal Stevens
ArjBarker

Skycity Theatre, Auckland
Thu 9 – Sat 11 May, 8pm

Bookings 0800 TICKETEK

With more than two decades of performing experience under his belt and from his work on Flight of the Concordes, audiences know what to expect from Arj Barker.

That is, finely honed material which is beat-perfect in its timing and delivered in a tone that’s part hound dog, part exaggeration.

The night begins with a big musical number, possibly one of the most low-key, high-energy openings you’ll ever see.

Go Time sees Barker in a philosophical mood, talking about his thoughts on work-life balance and the importance of living in the here and now. While at first glance these may appear to simply be elaborate set-ups for gags about getting laid or hating Little Orphan Annie, you get the feeling Barker really believes in what he’s saying.

Arj knows exactly how to hit the right tone, how long to spend on a big set-up, how to return to a comic riff, and he often even self-reflectively refers to how he does it.

It’s impressive and it’s very giggle worthy. A must see!!

been | Nick Rado – The Funniest Joke in the World

08 May 2013   Red Nicholson
Nick Rado - The Funniest Joke in the World

Nick Rado’s 2013 Comedy Festival offering is advertised with the tagline, ‘The Funniest Joke in the World’. It’s a fairly ambitious proposition that, unsurprisingly, doesn’t quite live up to its billing, but is nonetheless a novel hook on which to hang 60 minutes of relentless comedy.

To be honest, even ‘relentless’ doesn’t really do justice to Rado’s animated delivery; you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more energetic, enthusiastic Kiwi comic doing the rounds at this year’s festival. He traverses an incredibly wide range of topics throughout his non-stop set, and largely avoids the predictable comedy staples of politically incorrect gags.

Whilst some of his material doesn’t quite hit the mark, including a tale of an online dating site advertising girls from Palmerston North – “I got a virus… typical” – and a story about an embarrassing fart in front of his attractive yoga instructor, Rado commits himself without fail to every punchline and every leap across the stage, in support of the ultimate goal: laughs.

These, it must be said, are never in short supply. As Rado hauls us through anecdote after amusing anecdote, you’re never quite given enough time to let a joke fully sink in before he’s launched himself into another, inexplicably linked, story about “this time when…”. And when he’s not careering through tales of travel or that time he tried to look cool in his Mum’s “nipple-pink car”, he’s coercing members of the audience to assist him in his work. Which works well, most of the time.

Audience participation is a tricky beast: do you embarrass your willing helpers mercilessly, for the sake of your audience? Or do you take a more mild-mannered approach, for the sake of their dignity? Thankfully, Rado adopts a fairly balanced style, with participants unable to escape a light ribbing for their height or country of origin (in this case, an Irish couple were forced through a New Zealand initiation by eating ‘Raro’ from the packet), but are largely applauded for their efforts. The participation dragged a little for my tastes, but if you like this sort of thing, you’ll no doubt be in stitches.

It’s obvious Rado is still finding his feet in the comedy world. He’s highly engaging and a likeable character – his 2011 and 2012 “NZ Comedy Guild Best MC” gongs attest to as much – and his material will mature as his confidence grows. At one point, bless him, he even apologises for swearing, which felt strange given the litany of profanity that had preceded that once conspicuous f-bomb. Embrace it, Nick!

As for the Funniest Joke in the World, well, it’s a goodie. It’s by no means the Funniest you’ve ever heard (which will be problematic for the most literal of folk), but it involves such a dramatic and extravagant build-up that you can’t help but laugh.

Tickets for Rado’s show are currently only $15, which is a steal for a great night’s comedy. He may not be the absolute funniest comedian you’ll see this year, but in terms of sheer commitment to the cause and value for money, Rado is an absolute winner.

Who: Nick Rado – “The Funniest Joke in the World”

Where: Vault, Q Theatre, Auckland

When: Tuesday 7th – Saturday 11th May

 

 

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