Ross Noble - 'Things' @ The Enmore Theatre 5/5/10

 You pretty much have guaranteed laughter when you book a ticket to Ross Noble. Although I had front row tickets staring at me on screen, I still don't have a credit/mastercard, which meant I had to book in person. I also didn't have enough cash to buy 6 tickets; so called upon the assistance *cough*bankaccount*cough* of mum, who (reluctantly) agreed to pay for the tickets. We ended up with row G, and I thought, 7 rows might be a bit far back; but once again the Enmore proved to be the deceptive one, and we had a great view.

The first thing to notice, however, was the inflatable stage set. I had completely forgotten about the new sets for every tour. And this was a nice (is nice the right word?) surprise:

To me it looked like a hybrid Pokemon. We were laughing before Ross even took the stage. Usually a good sign for a great night.

And fantastic night it was! Every single thing Ross says makes your cheeks ache. Half, well all, really, is just silly ramblings. There doesn't even have to be a point and yet Ross seems to cast an instant laughter spell across the audience. 2 hours of just silly fun. And that is what I love about his shows.

Sadly I didn't have enough time to make something to leave on stage in the interval. Last time I made this:

So instead I left (to accompany the same slogan and Gandalf and Frodo figures, which, normally would perform a karate chop action, however when interpreted in a sexual manner has a very different connotation, doesn't matter...) a note with, "Taste the cuteness. *whale picture* <- cute. ♥ from your felt doll replica making friend Hannah. x"

We thought 'Taste the cuteness' (schoolies slogan, long story) would just be random as it had nothing to do with Ross' show - yet sort of fitted in somehow. I thought it was pretty cool that Ross remembered who I was from when I left the felt doll.

After the show we (staggered) out as quickly as we could to try and meet Ross at the stage door. It was only about 5 minutes from the time the show ended to the time we could get out through the crowd out of the theatre to the stage door. We waited for about 30mins-1hr. It wasn't until a staff member closed the roller door, most likely signaling that no-one would be coming out, that we realised that we must have missed Ross. It was freezing but we had fun with random photos - the end result being:

So not too bad. Still a shame we didn't get to meet Ross. Maybe next time - because clearly we have to see him every time he's touring. Clearly.

To borrow a segment from Simone at Sycophant., which I strongly urge you to check out:

A thought.

Comedy shows and outings are a lot more fun when combined with drinking.

Trio of Laughs 29/4/10

#1. Comedy Festival Showcase
#2. David O'Doherty
#3. Die Roten Punkte

#1. Arriving a bit early, I went to book tickets for Die Roten Punkte, where I was greeted at the front door of The Metro with the offer of free tickets to the Comedy Festival Showcase and of course I said yes. Michael Chamberlin was MC; quite humorous throughout. About 6 or 7 comics for the night, however 2 did stand out.

I can't think of his name (and can't seem to locate him online), but we'll came him Impressions Guy. Impressions Guy was great! All of his impressions were spot on, and rifled through 25 in quick succession, instantly changing characters - too good.

My favourite comic however was 19 year-old Scotsman Daniel Sloss, who told a story about the confusion between the Dad sex talk and shaving talk, thinking one was the other - you get the picture. Side-splittingly funny. The 19 year old certainly held his own against the older comics, surpassing most with his observational humor. Just excellent. And I can't go past a Scottish accent too.

Tony Woods & Die Roten Punkte 28/4/10

On Tuesday I found out that I won tickets to Tony Woods at the Comedy Store. Being on such short notice, it was very unlikely that someone else could join me, so I would venture out on my own. I don't mind, too much. It does get a bit lonely, especially traveling and waiting for the shows, but I couldn't pass up free tickets. Plus I wanted to book tickets to see David O'Doherty for the next day, who I've really been wanting to see for ages, so I was definitely decided on going.

After accessing McDonald's free wifi (absolute gold), I received confirmation that I had also won tickets to Die Roten Punkte for that night. I was ecstatic when I got the email. Two comedy shows in one night. And free at that. Score.

In order to save cash, I decided to walk to the Comedy Store. Google Maps told me it was 3.2km from Town Hall. My TYSIC mind kicked in and put any thoughts of catching a taxi to rest. 3.2km, not much, plus the exercise is always beneficial. On second thoughts, after reaching the Comedy Store, it was quite long (seeming even longer as I was constantly looking out for road signs to find my way there instead of already knowing where to go and just walking, leaving the issue of time and distance out of the equation), and mostly on a slope - but not too bad in the end.

50 minutes of solid walking later and I was waiting inside, seated to see Tony Woods. I had only seen him on Good News Week and had looked up a couple of his YouTube videos, but liked his humor, so was pleasantly keen.

Jason Byrne @ The Enmore Theatre 24/4/10

It's fair to say that I was quite excited for Jason Byrne. It's the taunting of comedy fun when you book tickets months in advance that does it I think; your excitement grows as the date nears closer. And excitement levels were at an extreme high on the night of the 24th. Anything comedy is always a great experience, especially teamed with my favourite comedy buddies Cat and Em; and occasional comedy buddy Eddie.

Travelled, grouped together, ate pizza and garlic bread, stood in line and took our seats. It was finally time for some Jason shenanigans (isn't shenanigans just an awesome word?!).

Philadelphia Grand Jury @ Oxford Arts Factory 15/4/2010

 We Don’t Want To Party (Party) Tour

 This was pretty much the most insane gig I've ever been to.

Kicking off the show was Art Rush, who simply used his voice, a ukulele and a computer. His quirky songs and dance moves had the audience interested and giggling (though not necessarily his intention: see an in-depth interview here) - especially with 'I Spin Bland Beats'.

Next were the The John Steel Singers. Their pounding notes soon drew a large crowd, who by the end of the set were dancing along to those infectious drumming beats. 'Masochist' particularly resonated with the crowd, producing loud cheers and enthusiasm for more. Props have to go guitarist Scott Bromiley. No wait, keyboardist. No wait, trumpeter. Hang on, aiding drummer? That guy was pretty cool. Entertaining and catchy, The John Steel Singers are a fantastic live act.

Tim Minchin, Ready For This? @ The State Theatre

The night had finally arrived that Tim Minchin would be performing his last show of Ready For This? after an 18 month tour. The night that I would be seeing Ready For This? (again). My last fix of Tim live was back in April 2009; I know it doesn't sound that long, but it feels forever ago. So it was fair to say that my excitement levels were beyond high.

In order to catch the afternoon train to the city to meet my friend Emily who I would be sitting next to, Mike and a friend of Mike's, I had to leave at 8:00am and stay at my pa's place until that time. This meant that I would be void of the internet and therefore void of all contact as I had no phone at the time. I confirmed all the details of the meet-up the night before, so everything was sweet. Or so I thought.

I had also organised to meet a fellow Angry (Feet)er (Foilly [another Emily]) at the train station and guide her to the State Theatre. I arrived at 7:00pm, a little later than had been expected due to delays but I found Foilly and headed off to the show. We'd arrived a bit early as the show started at 8:00pm, and we waited for the people who we were meeting; I'd agreed on 7:30pm. 7:30 came: no sign. Foilly met her friend who had her ticket, up the back as it was a last minute decision and luckily scored a ticket. As it edged closer to 8:00, I became increasingly worried that they wouldn't arrive before the show started: and I had Emily's ticket. About 5 minutes to go, Mike and his friend turned up and I was told that Emily wouldn't be able to make it due to family issues. She had sent me a message through Facebook but was after I had left home so didn't get it till I got home. The next day. I was gutted! I scored prime seats (Row B) and I knew she was looking forward to the show; we're both massive fans. I then realised that I now had no-one to sit next to. Oh. In a split second I offered the seat to Foilly, which she gladly took (a bit of an upgrade, up the back to down the front - she was in fact ecstatic!)

After purchasing the souvenir merchandise package, (canvas bag, souvenir program and poster) we ventured down to our seats. I was a bit worried that as we were 3 and 4 seats in from the far left side that I would have an obstructed view; this however, was not the case. Our seats were fantastic! A clear view of the piano and the entire stage: of which we were quite close to. :D Soon it was time for the show to start. XD

Adam Hills @ The Comedy Store, Sydney

I've wanted to see Adam Hills for a very long time now. Unfortunately last year I had HSC exams and couldn't go, so I snatched up the opportunity to see him at the Comedy Store very quickly for the 14th February 2010.

The ordeal of actually getting to The Comedy Store started when we got on the train (of which we thought was going straight to Central. Or not.) We'd planned on getting an earlier train so that we would be an hour early to score prime seats. It wasn't until we got to Casula, 30 minutes in the opposite direction, that we realised we'd gone off track. The issue of trackwork was only now brought to our attention. Great. Off that train and onto another that was actually going in the right direction, and we were back on target. It took us 3 hours to get to Central, instead of the usual 1 and 1/2, and we arrived severly late. The show started at 7. We arrived at Central at 7. Fantastic.

After running through Central platform and to the car (in the rain) where we met up with friends, we rushed to the Comedy Store. Oh what's that? Detour. Excellent. Got past that, parked, ran to the lift which seemed to take forever to open, got out to the street and ran through the rain. We'd only made it 10 minutes late, which was a relief, but did mean seats in the back.