Firstly, three things about the Athaneum Theatre. I would like to thank them for a lovely seat at the front of the dress circle. Also the announcer should by now know which order the act’s name is (Scared Little Weird Guys?) and finally, you would think they would have the foyer area organized so the people leaving could actually get out! I took me over five minutes to get down the stairs to the front door!
The Scaredies were dressed in the striking red suits with black shirt and yellow tie you can see on the poster. I’m still not sure whether this is good or just eye-catchingly startling. The first song was the show title (Mindless Stupidity for the Thinking Person) and was a new one to me. After this the boys put on a solid hour of songs both new and old. We had the New Zealand song (fair few kiwis in the audience), the Phone Book song (time for a new intro, perhaps?), the Melody Pops song, Waltzing Matilda, I’ve Been Everywhere and a couple of other classics, plus new ones including an ‘updated’ Split Enz medley, a song about someone I didn’t know but assumed came to prominence during the recent sporting fest (Mei Mei?) and some interesting choices in ‘Stump the Scaredies’, where they meld the melody of one song to the tune of another.
The crowd for the show was large, vocal and appreciative. Their age ranged from little kids to their great-grandparents because it seems the Scaredies are a show that it’s hard not to love. One problem I did have is in their first song, they require audience participation (silly noises) and you can either make the noises or listen to them. I would recommend seeing them at the Ath, but that was their only show there. If you want to see this show, then check the suburban touring schedule for the next month and catch them in your home town.
On a final note, I was watching the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games from London and on one of the channels, while waiting for the show to begin, we had a long shot of the stadium where we could just make out the big screen in the ground and hear the entire Scaredies warm-up set.
For booking details go to Scared Weird Little Guys in Mindless Stupidity for the Thinking Person