The Little Dum Dum Club Live Podcasts!

By Jayden Edwards

A month long extravaganza of live dickheadery kicked off Sunday night as everybody’s favourite podcasters, Karl and Tommy, presented the first of four Live The Little Dum Dum Club recordings from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

For those not in the know, The Little Dum Dum Club is one of Australia’s longest running and most popular podcasts presented by comedians and mates Tommy Dassalo and Karl Chandler. The show, normally recorded at Tommy or Karl’s place, usually involves a bit of daily life material from the boys before welcoming one or two comedian guests in to… well, talk shit for an hour or so. Whether the boys know their guest personally or not, the vibe is always a loose comedic love-in that feels so inclusive that you’ll think you know the whole gang. And none of this is lost at the live shows, in fact it’s intensified.

For their first 2014 live show, die-hard fans and some bewildered newcomers crammed into a cosy room at Five Boroughs Bar to witness what can only be described as no holds barred chat mayhem. After some familiarities, and a sing along for birthday boy Karl Chandler (who demanded Mousse, and got it), Karl and Tommy welcomed first guest, token “Stupid American” Kyle Kinane. Lawrence Mooney and Charlie Pickering soon followed. The three were welcomed one by one, each getting their time to shine, but it’s when everyone’s in the fold that things really fire up.

The gang spiral into a spectrum of rude, crude and wonderfully offensive topics like suicide, bigotry, pretend Chinese, MH370 and air-crash investigations (Mooney the slightly hungover instigator of this decent into chaos). If this stuff was on the radio there’d be lawyers involved, though Pickering does provide a bit of a moral conscience in this sea of debauchery.

Whilst things seem chaotic, Karl and Tommy always have a handle on things. Tossed in with the general chatter are a few prepared topics and questions, some audience tales from the room or via social media and even a call from Dave O’Neil, all stuff that keeps things running nicely yet never feel rushed or cut off. Any risk of that inclusive, relaxed vibe being stunned by a live audience is dissolved with Tommy and Karl’s masterful crowd work and stage presence; some pretty relaxed and experienced guests doesn’t hurt either.

If you’re a fan of the Dum Dum Club, you have to get down and catch it in all it’s live glory, you’ll feel even more part of the gang, but if you’re easy offended and like your comedy a bit more high-brow, membership might come a little harder.

The Little Dum Dum Club is on at Five Boroughs until April 20
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/live-podcasts-the-little-dum-dum-club

Matt Okine : Happiness Not Included

By Colin Flaherty

Matt Okine has risen in profile as of late (he’s on JJJ Breakfast, co-hosts ThursdayFC and was on the debut episode of Stand Up @ Bella Union) and after hearing of the acclaim of previous shows and only seeing his short spots, I was curious as to what an hour in his company would be like. The experience can be described in one word – impressive.

Starting out with some gentle banter and various observational routines, he covered topics such as his small role in Neighbours, travelling to the UK, his hatred of clothes shopping and share-house living. Aside from the TV credit, they were rather standard subjects but his colourful descriptions and big stage presence were more than enough keep all interested and laughing heartily. On the surface it appeared to be just a series of random topics save for the frequent exclamations of “I’ve gotta get my life in check!” to link them to the shows’ theme of striving for happiness and how limited finances can create a barrier.

As he reached his climatic story about a messy night at a nightclub to celebrate a well paying job, all the pieces fell into place. Topics covered previously popped up in this story, not just as token call-backs but also some integral parts of the tale giving plenty of context and gravitas. Okine had obviously revised this show to within an inch of its life to ensure that every word had its exact place. This attention to detail paid off with consistent laughter in all the right places.

On stage Okine is thoroughly engaging and energetic. His conversational put everyone at ease and the concepts were universal enough for all to relate. With tricks such as repeating core statements with exaggerated indignation to extract every possible laugh from the line, he had the audience howling throughout. It was almost a masterclass in how themed stand-up should be done.

Happiness Not Included is on at Swiss Club and Melb Town Hall until April 20
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/happiness-not-included-matt-okine

David O’Doherty Will Try To Fix Everything

By James Shackell

Now that’s an ambitious show title. And although O’Doherty admits, on one of his trademark whimsical ramblings, that world-peace and the solutions to life’s inherent mysteries are probably beyond the powers of a 38 year-old man and his keyboard, we don’t begrudge him some lofty ambitions. For God’s sakes, this is the man with Very Mild Super Powers, the DOD, the D-Dog, official leader and spiritual focal point of Team O’Doherty.

Yep, it’s fair to say that O’Doherty’s trademark “Very Low Energy Musical Whimsy” has built around it a certain professional mystique over the years. At one point during the show he even asks the audience for any requests of their favourite DOD tunes. For a comedian, that’s gangster.

One of the festival stalwarts, O’Doherty is not your typical Irish comedian. For those that haven’t had the pleasure, he resembles a bearded man-child that, depending on the context or the lighting, could either be a hat-less Steven Spielberg or a friendly, loveable vagrant. He’s got that lilting accent that makes things automatically 20% funnier, but if you can keep up with the scatter-brained rapid-fire delivery of his monologues, there’s some serious smarts going on too.

O’Doherty’s style is lamentation and observation in one; there’s that ‘But why Me?’ undercurrent on which we, as the audience, love to bob along. And hearing him wax lyrical about Lance Armstong’s drug betrayal (he’s taking it personally), getting his bike set on fire during a gig (“How do you even set a bike on fire?”) and the essential wankery of the people on Grand Designs, all while hammering the poor keys of his Yamaha keyboard like some demented organist, is nothing less than pure comedy gold.

David O’Doherty Will Try To Fix Everything is on at the Forum Theatre – Upstairs until April 20
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/will-try-to-fix-everything-david-o-doherty

Juliette Burton : When I Grow Up

By Ellyse O’Halloran

I didn’t know much about UK’s Juliette Burton before seeing her ‘docu-comedy’ When I Grow Up but judging by the name and the colourful poster, I had a feeling it would be adorable. The show is about her journey into adulthood, finding the right ‘job’ and the pursuit of fulfilling her childhood ambitions. Burton accompanied her story with guest interviews, music and some props. The show is relatable and thought provoking. It wasn’t always laugh-out-loud funny but it was definitely entertaining and I left the theatre with something to think about.

It is very much an autobiographical recount of Burton’s journey to becoming the person she wants to be. A dreamer. She begins the show interacting with the audience and asking about certain people’s careers. She has a bubbly demeanor that was really joyful to watch. On the evening I went, the audience was only a handful of people but she wasn’t fazed by this at all and didn’t hesitate to approach the front of stage and even at times step into the audience and speak directly to us. I loved the way she delivered the show, her anecdotes were encapsulating and moving and I felt myself nodding along in agreeance to everything she said.

The show came to an inspirational, up-beat end. It was like a funny, motivational speech except more personal and more riveting. I actually found myself getting a little teary at one point towards the end. I would encourage young adults and families to see this show, Burton has great energy and her positive attitude towards life will rub off on you by the end of the show.

When I Grow Up is on at Trades Hall – The Meeting Room until April 20
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/when-i-grow-up-juliette-burton

Damian Callinan : The Lost WW1 Diary of Private Paddy Callinan

By Colin Flaherty

You can always count on Damian Callinan to deliver a brilliant theatrical performance. In The Lost WW1 Diaries of Private Paddy Callinan we saw a humorous account of World War 1 that treated its subject with respect while keeping the laughs coming.

Beginning with an awesome scene of irreverential gallows humour, Damian stepped out of character for a segment of stand-up to give some background. Covering Damian’s obsession with all things military and the story of what brought him to find Paddy Calinan’s diary in a Warrnambool Op Shop, he created some wonderful mythology for the tale that followed.

Then into the diary proper with Paddy’s descriptive monologues setting the scenes to be brought to life via Damian’s acting and character work. Seen through Paddy’s naïve eyes, we met a range of eccentric characters with whom he shared the experience. These included Bluey the Scot always seeing things from his Trade Unionists’ point of view, Stanza budding poet with his raunchy prose and the scrounger who could find the most bizzare items.

This was a beautifully detailed story that managed to keep a foot in the reality of war but give plenty of offbeat humour to keep it jovial. The servicemen were portrayed as lovable scallywags who embodied the iconic Aussie attitude of laughing in extreme circumstances (The Light Horsemen really copped a serve!). We were kept on our toes with many modern references that not only added some welcome silliness but made humorous points about current issues.

It was not purely a boy’s own adventure story. Callinan (Damian through Paddy) provided some poignant moments that brought home the horrors of war. These moments describing the tragic loss of young men brought tears to the eyes of many. Some apt tragedy to balance the comedy.

As with any show from Callinan, it is brilliantly performed with wonderful vocal mimicry, fluid motion and even some dancing. His mime work was spot on and he handled exchanges between multiple characters with ease. He often cheekily broke the fourth wall to poke fun at minor staging shortfalls and his own performance. Another tour de force from Damian Callinan.

The Lost WW1 Diary of Private Paddy Callinan is on at ACMI – Cube until April 20
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/the-lost-ww1-diary-of-private-paddy-callinan-damian-callinan

Lewis Hobba : Backs To The Wall

By Lisa Clark

Lewis Hobba is known for his work with Hungry Beast and his radio show with Mad As Hell’s Veronica Milsom; Weekend Breakfast with Veronica and Lewis on Triple J. A self-described hipster, it’s not surprising that his show, Backs to the Wall, is in a contemporary art gallery. The concept of the show seems to have changed a little since he filled out his Festival application form and is now less about heroes and more about complaints and complaining, which is fine by me.

For the most part Lewis is a congenial observational standup comedian who starts out on unpromisingly topics, riffing about wearing glasses and the proliferation of themed marathons. He’s definitely funny though and has some nice zingers peppering his amusing stories. When he hits his stride though is when he starts telling tales about his Hippy family living without dairy or any pressures to conform to society and some very naughty older sisters. I wanted more of that.

Other topics he covered that I enjoyed included coming out as a hipster, racism and the new cool Pope (who is a bit of a headache for another comedian at the Festival doing negative stuff about the ex-pope). His pope material, as well as jokes about something called Upworthy, shows his Hungry Beast pedigree in being able to present topical material accessibly with smarts, charm and humour and bring to the audience a fresh view of both new and familiar concepts.

Lewis surprises the audience towards the end; building to a crescendo, shouting passionately about Russell Crowe and reminded me a little of Michael Chamberlain at his best. There were times at the beginning (possibly through nerves) where he sounded a bit like he was reading a script but things really loosened up as Lewis warmed into the show. Considering that this is his first ever solo comedy festival show, he presents a pretty slick performance and Lewis is definitely one to watch.

Backs To The Wall is on at Fort Delta until April 20
http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2014/season/shows/backs-to-the-wall-lewis-hobba