Bill Bailey began Qualmpeddler by bounding on stage with the
youthful frivolity of a comedian receiving his first big audience.
The cheeky comic’s inexhaustible exuberance belies his cynicism, making for a
pleasant tour through the existential anxieties of contemporary life.
Bailey, who these days looks more like a big-time comic than
an over-confident roadie, relates personal anecdotes about Australian
adventures, but he’s also notably boned up on Aussie current affairs and
pop culture. He quickly gets his audience on side with jabs at
“famous-for-no-reason” Lara Bingle and by stirring the crowd into a collective jazz jam,
making his stage presence feel like a night spent with your favourite dinner
party companion. The political commentary was biting without gloom: he pulls
references from shameless US campaigning, British government antics and even
the Gillard chronicles, and his light-hearted touch was often as simple
as comparing conservatives to porridge.
As expected, a big part of the show featured his trademark
musical mash-ups, deconstruction of language and pop-culture throwbacks.
At times it felt like Bailey was playing songs for the sake of it, but the
exotic instruments – like a saz-bouzouki and a foghorn – definitely added a sense
of playfulness. It’s hard to go past his trance remix of a church organ song
or his reggae/dub step interpretation of Downtown Abbey’s ‘My Mother Is An
Ox’. Bailey has charm and intellect with a circumlocutory element
that makes any rambling observation a hilarious spoof, the main victims
being Australian
accents and the internet generation.
Although relying largely on the spoken word, Bailey’s
physicality is well timed: he jumps, crouches, shakes his fist and points at the crowd
like a medieval jester. The show lasted for just under two hours, and was
definitely worth the cost, particularly if you’re already a fan.
Published in The Brag Magazine.
No comments:
Post a Comment