Gig Review - Flight of the Conchords - Brisbane Entertainment Centre
WHO: Flight Of The Conchords
WHEN: July 7
WHERE: Brisbane Entertainment Center
You know you’ve made it big when you cause traffic, so I suppose you could say the ridiculous wait just to get into the labyrinth that is Brisbane Entertainment Center’s car park was a good sign for Flight of the Conchords on Saturday night. Another good sign is laughing at things that are funny. Usually when it comes to funny situations “You had to be there!” however on Saturday night, Arj Barker and the New Zealand comedy duo seemed to provide an amusing night that left Brisbane with some new material, sore cheeks and witty one-liners.
After finally being united with my seat, Arj Barker bounced on stage whilst cheerfully greeting the audience with his thick accent. It was quite refreshing to see a comedian as a support act and being no stranger to his work, Brisbane welcomed him with appreciative cheers. Telling stories that made your stomach hurt, from mistaking Brisbane’s XXXX factory for a giant sex club to my favourtie, which involves telling someone to “Take a filing cabinet to the toilet and sorting your shit out”. However Barker’s shit was definitely sorted, being a perfect warm up for the night and performer in his own, he put on a witty performance with hilarious stories whilst the crowd found their seats.
But everyone knew it was business time when Flight of the Conchords ran onto the stage, wearing silver jumpsuits with robot like cardboard boxes on their heads. They kicked of the night with the frantic colors and beats of ‘Too many dicks on the dance floor’, before continuing on with ‘Robots’.
Between tracks, Brisbane seemed content to just sit and chuckle at the duo’s awkward interaction and stories. Overall that’s what I believe the night was most, a night of stories. Ordinary life stories and adventures put to music. Like as if you had gone over to your mates house, the hilarious ones that may have a few drinks then start jamming. Brett and Jermaine created this pretty intimate vibe within Brisbane’s arena, and as per usual singing about the most random and blatantly obvious only emphasized their humor.
The audience was treated to a handful of new material amongst some Flight of the Conchord classics, such as ‘Business Time’ and ‘Hurt Feelings’. Not to mention ‘Hippopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros’, in which Jermaine rapped congratulations to the ladies in the first five rows that he claimed to have just impregnated (Fourth row, sorry Mum!). But a highlight of the night was definitely the stories and improvisation between tracks that made the show more intimate and genuine. From being called ‘Brizza’ to the cringe worthy yet typical Australian ‘Show us ya tits’. However that one did work, we got to see Conchord breasts and with good timing too, as moments later the duo sprung into the track ‘Bowie’. Wearing Bowie inspired glittery spandex, which then later transformed into glam rock costumes for their song ‘Demon Woman’. Complete with pre- windswept scarfs and capes, it was a sight that could not be taken seriously. A similar situation also if the Brisbane audience had to form a choir, after turning the sing a long during ‘Song for Epileptic Dogs’ into a complete disarray of uneven levels of enthusiasm and noise.
Finishing the night off with the provocative track ‘Sugar Lumps’, the stories came to an end and so did the pain in everyone’s cheeks. Overall, there was at least one laugh had by all and far too many moments to be put in one review. But for two guys from New Zealand who can’t be taken so seriously, they provided quite a seriously hilarious night.
Kirsten Sullivan- AAA Backstage
