I didn’t see as many shows as last year’s MICF. This was because of a group of things, in part fewer people I wanted to see, but also less time for me to be able to see them.
Also, as it’s the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, I kinda felt like I’d missed out somewhat on the I in MICF. The only international comedians I saw was FanFiction Comedy the guys and girl from New Zealand that make up that group. Last year I did attempt to see comedians from overseas. This year...just no one really grabbed me, or rather no one and none of their show subjects grabbed me.
The weather, oddly is something of note, throughout the festival it dramatically shifted from the last vestiges of summer into full on autumn. In the latter parts this was fine, getting from one venue in one part of the CBD grid to another is much easier in cool weather than in warm. Humidity and even a little rain on those warm days being not a great thing when you’re sitting in an audience with other people unprepared for the warmth of humidity. Rain on the cooler days was much better, a bit of rain transforms the city, as long as you’re prepared; an umbrella and a weather app to check whether you need it or not.
Out of the two podcasts that I saw, I think I Love Green Guide Letters is a better podcast to see live.
Although The Little Dum Dum Club has things like Australia’s longest running live comedy full cast sketch (Rad Dad) it’s also a somewhat more random affair.
Steele Saunders’ I Love Green Guide Letters, with its Green Guide letters aspect gives the podcast some structure. While the lead in and probably half or even more than half of the show / podcast is a general chat, the letters’ presence gives the show scaffolding to support itself better than just random conversation. It allows all the guests to have something to say / be able to say something.
In some of The Little Dum Dum shows I felt that maybe not all the guests had been able to say all that they could.
Though perhaps that’s just down to the constraints of the length of time (an hour) and the amount of guests they had on. On the recorded (non-live) podcasts there’s one or two guests on for about an hour, and with that there’s more time and space for the guests to have a good chat with Tommy Dassalo and Karl Chandler.
The most unexpected show of the festival was Hannah Gadsby’s “The Exhibitionist”. I really wasn’t expecting what I got in that show, but I really very much enjoyed it. It and Wil Anderson’s show are two that I would happily see again. Though unfortunately I wasn’t able to move my schedule around to be able to see either again.
My favourite show of the MICF 2014 was Joel Creasey’s “Rock God”. It was a well constructed narrative, with elements that seemed to be random tangents of the night, but on reflection had to be built into the narrative in order for it to work. Joel Creasey makes it seem like it’s random and of the moment despite it being the Xth time he’d performed it.
Having seen Creasey 2-3 times now,
This MICF I think as with last year the podcasts I was a subscriber to made the biggest impression on my thoughts on comedians and who to see. I saw Bart Freebairn based primarily on seeing him on I Love Green Guide Letters and The Little Dum Dum Club. I saw Karl Chandler and Steele Saunders in part because I’d heard them on their podcasts and wanted to support them. Likewise with Tommy Dassalo who’d I’d seen last year (because of The Little Dum Dum Club) and saw again this year in part based on seeing him last year and also my wish to support him.
I think that every comedy fan should be listening to comedy podcasts and seeing them when they’re recorded live.
They are incredibly good value, for $18 or so a ticket (or $55-$60 for a season pass of 4 shows) you get to see a lot of comedians. Each show there’s 4 or 5 guests usually comedians or some other sort of media person. Sometimes they may not even have a show at the festival like Josh Earl appearing on The Little Dum Dum Club or might not even be comedically related like Livinia Nixon appearing on I Love Green Guide Letters.
Podcasts recordings are also unrehearsed, which means what comes out of them is unique and honest. It’s like a talk show, a comedy show, a bit of news, it’s really just a bit of a friendly chat. Which happens in front of an audience.
You can sit in the front row of the audience and you’re unlikely to be picked on because there’s more than one person on stage at a time which means the host of the podcast has their attention on them. I have sat in the front row of all but 2 of the the podcasts I went to and wasn’t picked on nor were any of my fellow audience who were sat at the front (except for 4-5 people who sat in the front row of the final Little Dum Dum Club and then left early to go to Tommy Little).
So, to sum up.
Hannah Gadsby’s “The Exhibitionist” was my favourite show, for being unexpected, funny and well written. It had some great unique insights, plus I felt like I learnt something, and it made me want to see her show again.
Joel Creasey’s “Rock God” was the best constructed show, it felt polished, his performance highly honed yet still seemed spontaneous and ‘of the night’. He made what he was doing look easy despite it being a complex narrative.
My favourite podcast was I Love Green Guide Letters and specifically my favourite show was the final show with Adam Richard, Fiona O'Laughlin and Bart Freebairn along with Steele Saunders.
I have been impressed each time I’ve seen him, that he’s built on what he’s done before and still produced a consistent and brilliantly creative narrative.
Also, as it’s the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, I kinda felt like I’d missed out somewhat on the I in MICF. The only international comedians I saw was FanFiction Comedy the guys and girl from New Zealand that make up that group. Last year I did attempt to see comedians from overseas. This year...just no one really grabbed me, or rather no one and none of their show subjects grabbed me.
The weather, oddly is something of note, throughout the festival it dramatically shifted from the last vestiges of summer into full on autumn. In the latter parts this was fine, getting from one venue in one part of the CBD grid to another is much easier in cool weather than in warm. Humidity and even a little rain on those warm days being not a great thing when you’re sitting in an audience with other people unprepared for the warmth of humidity. Rain on the cooler days was much better, a bit of rain transforms the city, as long as you’re prepared; an umbrella and a weather app to check whether you need it or not.
Out of the two podcasts that I saw, I think I Love Green Guide Letters is a better podcast to see live.
Although The Little Dum Dum Club has things like Australia’s longest running live comedy full cast sketch (Rad Dad) it’s also a somewhat more random affair.
Steele Saunders’ I Love Green Guide Letters, with its Green Guide letters aspect gives the podcast some structure. While the lead in and probably half or even more than half of the show / podcast is a general chat, the letters’ presence gives the show scaffolding to support itself better than just random conversation. It allows all the guests to have something to say / be able to say something.
In some of The Little Dum Dum shows I felt that maybe not all the guests had been able to say all that they could.
Though perhaps that’s just down to the constraints of the length of time (an hour) and the amount of guests they had on. On the recorded (non-live) podcasts there’s one or two guests on for about an hour, and with that there’s more time and space for the guests to have a good chat with Tommy Dassalo and Karl Chandler.
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| Tall chairs for ILGGL (front row view) |
The most unexpected show of the festival was Hannah Gadsby’s “The Exhibitionist”. I really wasn’t expecting what I got in that show, but I really very much enjoyed it. It and Wil Anderson’s show are two that I would happily see again. Though unfortunately I wasn’t able to move my schedule around to be able to see either again.
My favourite show of the MICF 2014 was Joel Creasey’s “Rock God”. It was a well constructed narrative, with elements that seemed to be random tangents of the night, but on reflection had to be built into the narrative in order for it to work. Joel Creasey makes it seem like it’s random and of the moment despite it being the Xth time he’d performed it.
Having seen Creasey 2-3 times now,
This MICF I think as with last year the podcasts I was a subscriber to made the biggest impression on my thoughts on comedians and who to see. I saw Bart Freebairn based primarily on seeing him on I Love Green Guide Letters and The Little Dum Dum Club. I saw Karl Chandler and Steele Saunders in part because I’d heard them on their podcasts and wanted to support them. Likewise with Tommy Dassalo who’d I’d seen last year (because of The Little Dum Dum Club) and saw again this year in part based on seeing him last year and also my wish to support him.
I think that every comedy fan should be listening to comedy podcasts and seeing them when they’re recorded live.
They are incredibly good value, for $18 or so a ticket (or $55-$60 for a season pass of 4 shows) you get to see a lot of comedians. Each show there’s 4 or 5 guests usually comedians or some other sort of media person. Sometimes they may not even have a show at the festival like Josh Earl appearing on The Little Dum Dum Club or might not even be comedically related like Livinia Nixon appearing on I Love Green Guide Letters.
Podcasts recordings are also unrehearsed, which means what comes out of them is unique and honest. It’s like a talk show, a comedy show, a bit of news, it’s really just a bit of a friendly chat. Which happens in front of an audience.
You can sit in the front row of the audience and you’re unlikely to be picked on because there’s more than one person on stage at a time which means the host of the podcast has their attention on them. I have sat in the front row of all but 2 of the the podcasts I went to and wasn’t picked on nor were any of my fellow audience who were sat at the front (except for 4-5 people who sat in the front row of the final Little Dum Dum Club and then left early to go to Tommy Little).
So, to sum up.
Hannah Gadsby’s “The Exhibitionist” was my favourite show, for being unexpected, funny and well written. It had some great unique insights, plus I felt like I learnt something, and it made me want to see her show again.
Joel Creasey’s “Rock God” was the best constructed show, it felt polished, his performance highly honed yet still seemed spontaneous and ‘of the night’. He made what he was doing look easy despite it being a complex narrative.
My favourite podcast was I Love Green Guide Letters and specifically my favourite show was the final show with Adam Richard, Fiona O'Laughlin and Bart Freebairn along with Steele Saunders.
I have been impressed each time I’ve seen him, that he’s built on what he’s done before and still produced a consistent and brilliantly creative narrative.