Laughapalooza is the musical comedy extravaganza that features a different line-up each Friday night of the festival. It is always a great night out in itself but also provides a sneak peak into the performers’ festival shows, and after last night I might be having to add a few more to my ever increasing list of shows.
It was great to have The Bedroom Philosopher, who does not have a show on at this year’s festival, to be the MC for the first week. He started off proceedings, skipping formal introductions and heading straight into a song, which set the pace for the remainder of the show.
First up was duo, Elbowskin, who sang a song about supposedly legitimate reasons to break up with someone, as well as a special dedication to the father of Ernie’s girlfriend about his relationship with his daughter, to finish off with a bang (pun intended).
Tom Gleeson was a surprise inclusion considering he’s not known as a musical comedian, however, what he can do with a delay pedal would blow your mind! Tom said he used to be in a band but once he got this extraordinary piece of technology they were never able to get any rehearsing done again. We’re glad he switched to comedy.
Hooray for Everything are a trio who have brought their first solo show to the festival this year. In the short amount of time available to them, they impressed with their bubbly approach to their performance and their pop song medley exposed the striking similarities between each one – gasp!
You may recognise Jordan Raskopoulos, from ‘The Ronnie Johns Half Hour’ but he is at the festival as The Man with the Dominant Claw – an ordinary man with a giant lobster claw for a right arm. He did encounter some difficulty playing the piano, but proceeded to awe the audience with his profound insights into the world of colours and what James Brown would sound like if he were to sell office supplies.
Sammy J may have only been on stage for 10 minutes or so but in that time he managed to fit in a couple of hilarious songs from his show ‘Cyclone’, a rap and a duet… with himself of course. Imagine what you would get to see in his hour long show.
Geraldine Quinn was the headline act of the night, and with a voice that could fill a packed stadium and a sharp wit, she makes one heck of a musical comedienne. Her performance rounded out a fast paced, rockin’ night of Australian musical comedy talent.
Laughapoolooza runs Fridays until the 27th April. For full booking details check out the Comedy Festival website