As well as their normal Festival show, this year Tripod are doing a late night show at Trades Hall on Friday nights called Idioclips. This show is a culmination of plans that began last year with a call on their website for fans and budding film makers to make a music video for a Tripod song. Apparently, fans have occasionally over the years made film clips of their songs and sent them to Tripod, so they thought it might make a fun competition. Winners have been promised a “prize pack containing goodies from Tripod” and that includes a hefty cash prize of $2,500. There is also the possibility of a DVD release of finalists. Entries have been narrowed down to eleven finalists who are currently listed on their website. It is these lucky entries that are played on a large screen during Idioclips while Tripod play along live on stage.
It was a wonderfully relaxed late gig in the Ballroom at Trades Hall. There are tables and chairs and you can take a drink in from the bar. Tripod amble in and ease into their chairs to chat about the competition and introduce each song. Amazingly some of the applicants have come as far away as Maine USA, the adorably dotty live action “Gonna Make you Happy”, and The Netherlands, an animated “Trying to impress the bargirl”. Most were animated, my favourites of these being “Tattoo” which looked like it was being animated in tattoo style across someone’s entire body and “I hate your family” which worked well as an animation with an animated Tripod acting like a sort of Greek Chorus throughout. Scod told the touching story of how this song always reminds him of the late comedy legend Dave Tarranto, because their first ever performance of the song took place directly following the announcement of Dave’s death at their Christmas show that year.
My favourite of all the clips was the seven minute live action epic “We Are the Nerds”. It was a magnificently heroic portrayal of the Nerd saga from Tripod’s play “Lady Robots”. Will it win, I wonder? I will have to wait until that is announced during the final Friday night of Idioclips on the 27th of April. You can find out about it on their “website”:http://www.3pod.com.au/podhome/ and “Myspace page”: http://www.myspace.com/yonscodgatesy and have a vote for you favourite. Go along and enjoy a fun evening with Tripod, checking out the creative talents of heir fans.
’Idoclips’ is on every Friday until April 26. See the “Comedy at Trades”:https://www.comedyattrades.com.au/program_guide/show_77/ for booking details