Jeff Green, living the dream.

Many comedians dream of becoming as slick as Jeff Green*.


A long time Comedy Festival regular, Jeff Greens show this year is titled "Living the Dream".

It's about his Windsor suburban lifestyle: kids, marriage and a mortgage.

Despite the topic of the show, I still felt myself laughing a lot. I'm not quite living the dream myself, so I don't relate that heavily to much of the material. I do understand the topic, I guess I find it a bit too mundane and boring.

Jokes about not having enough sex, the laundry and other such things shouldn't really make me laugh, but they did. So at the end I felt mixed about it all. On one hand, I was definitely laughing, on the other hand I didn't want to.

Held in a fairly large room at the Melbourne town hall, it was mostly packed. Packed with people who were also living the dream - or aspired to it. These people also laughed a lot with Jeff.



Jeff Green - Living the Dream is on at the Melbourne town hall until the 26th of April 2009.

*ps, calling someone slick in comedy is a compliment relating to how well polished the performance is. Slick wasn't a reference to Jeff Greens hair.

Review - The Suitcase Royale Space Show

The Suitcase Royale Space Show is a cooky, crazy ride in Space with our three heros to find the cure for mannequinitis before it is too late.

The comic timing of the three performers is excellent and the assortment of bizarre characters add to the fast paced and action packed plot line. The guys have taken their junk yard theatre concept to a new rock and roll level.

I could have watched another hour, it's that much fun!

Comparisons will undoubtedly be made to the UK's The Mighty Boosh but The Suitcase Royale have their own unique and wonderful appeal.

If you like the silly and surreal with a good dose of mania thrown in, then make sure you check these talented guys out before they become too big.

A must see for the festival and my new favorite of the fest so far.

At the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2-26 April 2009
The Melbourne Town Hall
Thu-Sat 10.50pm, Sun 9.50pm
Tickets $20 - $15
Bookings www.comedyfestival.com.au

Review - Sammy J - 1999

The year is 1999, Sammy is at school...he's a bit of a nerd. The millennium bug is about to hit but Sammy has bigger problems on his plate the school bully has you as his pet project and the girl of his dreams seems out of his reach.

Sammy J is a talented musician, singer and comedian who combines his skills in a slick, laughter filled one hour show that showcases him as a likable performer.

Sammy J is a real talent in this one man musical comedy about a nerd who... eventually...roars.

A fun show from a talented local. Recommended.

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2 - 26 April
At The Melbourne Town Hall
Tue-Sat 8.15pm, Sun 7.15pm
$24.50/$22.50

tickets from www.comedyfestival.com.au

Review - Andrew Lawrence - My Contemptible Life in a Gutter of Abject Desolation

Andrew Lawrence's debut at this year's festival is a fast paced 1 hour of slick dark humour. The title captures the tone of the show well. He draws the audience in from the start, it's like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth...but this Brit has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Andrew segways between observational and self deprecating comedy with a dark twist. He certainly has a way with words; as every day observations take on Dickensian/Poe like twists and turns which had the audience giggling away throughout the show.

Andrew Lawrence delivers a slick and fast paced one hour of comedy that's not for the squeamish.

At the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2-22 April
Victoria Hotel
Tue-Sat 8.15pm, Sun 7.15pm
$27.50/25.50
tickets at www.comedyfestival.com.au

Review - The Bedroom Philosopher - Songs From the 86 Tram

The 86 Tram is a truly "Northside" Melbourne experience. The journey from Bundoora to the city showcases a microcosm of inner city life. There's the travelers, the mums, the junkies and the students.

Justin Hazelwood, aka The Bedroom Philosopher takes us on a one hour musical and comic journey that is well worth the ticket to ride.

You can tell he's not only a talented musician and performer but a comic writer with a sharp eye for satire. This time he shows the audience more of his acting skills making this his most theatrical comedy festival show to date His characterisation of some of the local characters is spot on. For those of you who know the 86 well.... prepare to spot a few local favorites.

This new show with laughs a plenty is a great night out at the Festival.

Recommended with tram bells on.

Give this guy a room at the Town Hall next year!!

At The Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2 - 25 April
At The European Bier Cafe
Tue-Sat 9.45pm, Sun 8.45pm
$18.50/$15

Yana Alana and the Paranas - review

Last week I saw Yana Alana and the Paranas perform ‘Bite Me’ for the second time. I laughed...again. The show has a lot to offer – Circus performers, live poetry, a hefty dose of Feminism and an even heftier dose of c-bombs.

Sarah Ward (of Sista She fame) is Yana Alana – a venomous and self-obsessed cabaret star on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Yana is supported by her band The Paranas - all ‘really quite talented’ women but never allowed to join Yana in the limelight.

Months ago, ‘Bite Me’ was on at the Arts Centre. Yana and the Paranas had won some sort of grant to perform there and took advantage of all the fancy acrobatic bits and pieces available. The no-frills staging of ‘Bite Me’ at 45 Downstairs confirms the character-driven nature of the show. In fact, it was more enjoyable without the drummer swinging around on the end of a rope like Peter Pan in a school play. I felt satisfied – and not just because of the catering (bananas and sultanas).


(Amanda)

Who: Yana Alana and the Paranas – ‘Bite Me’
Where: 45 Downstairs
When: Wednesday, 1 April 2009

Die Roten Punkte - review

Are Germans funny? Well, stereotypically no - but they are fun to make fun of and especially humourous to imitate. Herr Lipp, a German character from the British ‘comedy’ show The League of Gentlemen, comes to mind. He’s disturbing - an English-mangling, fleshy lipped pederast – but funny, nonetheless.

Astrid and Otto are a German brother and sister rock band, ‘Die Roten Punkte’ (The Red Dots). Neither are nonces and neither mangles English (much) but Otto does have a pair of disturbingly red, fleshy lips. He’s made up like a grotesque Emo clown and sweats messily through thick white greasepaint. Astrid and Otto have a few ‘issues’. What family doesn’t? Between airing each others dirty laundry on stage ‘Die Roten Punkte’ are the German ‘White Stripes’. The music is pretty good - a Nick Cave inspired number was particularly memorable.

The show I attended started late and was a mite too long but all things considered seeing ‘Die Roten Punkte’ is a great way to spend your Friday or Saturday night, especially if you fancy some funny German rock numbers and alcoholic sing-alongs.


(Amanda)



Who: Die Roten Punkte
Where: Victoria Hotel
When: 10.45, Thursday 2 April

Dave Thornton - review

I’m sorry. I’m only human, OK? Yes, I was distracted by Dave Thornton’s brand of clean-cut Aussie spunkiness and didn’t pay all that much attention to his jokes on Saturday night. Yes, he mentioned his girlfriend a couple of times. C’mon, it doesn’t do any harm to look! So – I remember there was some material about cars. German cars. A bit of banter with a German woman in the audience. A bit of remembering his childhood in the eighties – slip’n’slides and the like. One fart joke. One chiselled jaw...sorry.

Apparently Dave has a show on Channel 31 – if you’re into that or if you’re into good, fairly clean Aussie humour delivered mighty professionally by a bloke who ya wouldn’t kick out of bed for farting – give this one a burl.

(Amanda)

Where: Victoria Hotel
When: 9.30, Saturday 4 April
Who: Dave Thornton

Pajama Men – Versus vs Versus - review

The Pajama Men – Shenoah Allen, Mark Chavez and their musical accomplice Luminous Craft – deliver laughs effortlessly.



With multiple and eventually converging storylines Allen and Chavez switch characters furiously fast but with such skill, the audience is never lost. A simple change in voice or expression transforms the rider of a time-travelling camel, or a chess-playing bat, into a young girl trying desperately to deal with an adolescent crush and a disturbingly overbearing father.

Wonderfully weird and downright hilarious The Pajama Men embrace a surreal dream world where anything is possible.



(Romy)

Pajama Men – Versus vs Versus
Venue: The Bosco
Date: 2 - 26 April
Times: Thu-Sat 8.15pm, Sun 7.15pm
Duration: 65 minutes

Time ninjas are your friends.

'Welcome friend!' said the jolly man in a red shirt. He was a time ninja.

One of two time ninjas.

Andrew and Lawrence are back together! The dynamic duo, bring their comedy skills together with ninja timing.

These two ninjas, go through time, on their time-wheel-chair-machine -- waxing, and being silly about different times in history.

There's songs, dances, and a bit of biffo. With a big historical axe, and large boards of wood connecting with heads(ninja heads). Don't be scared though, it is all in fun.

So much fun, I thought they were going to pitch a tent at any minute. "Time ninjas" is another good show.

Lawrence Leung and Andrew McClelland have made another great show that their mums would be proud of.

Berlin Calling - review

Berlin Calling is a movie about a DJ losing his mind, and his adventures in Berlin clubs.

It can't help to be compared to other Dance lifestyle movies, which often make you cringe, and cry at how bad they are. However Berlin Calling seems not to follow these other movies. Don't get me wrong, it still has some deliciously cliché moments, but they're not the only tool this movie uses. So at a few points I was thinking... 'oh no, this is going to be crap!' only to be pleasantly surprised.

Focusing mainly on the relationships in his life, Berlin Calling gives us some more interesting things to think about.

...

Like how to say Keta in German.

... and other more meaningful social commentary.

Music plays a big role in this film. Much more than other films, that merely use music to evoke moods -- this movie is about the music too. About the moods of the man making the music -- his happiness, his anger and his insanity.

Scenes from Berlin clubs look so cool... I just want to catch a plane and fly there NOW.

Berlin Calling is part of the German film festival. It is showing in Melbourne(2 screenings), Brisbane(1 screenings) and Sydney(2 screenings) in April.

Review: Ca$h

Director: Eric Besnard
With: Alice Taglioni / Jean Reno /Jean Dujardin / Ciarán Hinds
Length: 100mins

The movie 'Ca$h' is a splendid caper movie, in the style of Oceans 11... but frenchy!

It has many twists and turns, and heaps of cheesy scenes -- French cheese naturally. I loved *ALL* of those one liners... the kind that make you cringe but also cause a wide grinned smile.

There's chase scenes, action scenes, and lots of expensive French Champaign drinking scenes! Oh how stylish, and chic -- drinking Champaign for breakfast... oh my.

The various characters turn their charm and good looks on each other... who is conning who?! Well you'll just have to hold on tight and follow the movie all the way through.





Jean Dujardin plays 'Cash', the con-man at the centre of this movie. Yes 'Cash' is the name of the main character. There were a few familiar faces to me... including two actors from 'The story of my life', and of course the prolific Jean Reno.


Ca$h is playing in the Alliance Française French film festival.

Ping mag closes down. -( tokyo based art/make mag)

Adding to another in the long list of dying culture mags, Tokyo based ping mag has The End'd. You can still read the old 1000+ articles - but there will be no more updates. Maybe one day it will return.