From Brisbane via Las Vegas, Baz Vegas came to conquer Melbourne. Along the way he schooled a young up and comer in the art of show business.
Opening the show was a young stand up by the name of Daniel Hall who treated us to a set of stories based upon the issue of becoming an adult. His moving out of his parents house in Sunshine, learning to drive, iPhone use and even current events were some of the topics covered. He had the crowd eating out the palm of his hand during his twenty minute spot with his warm and confident delivery, including a number of energetically acted segments to highlight his points. There was a tendency to occasionally overshoot the punchline but this seemed to be due to his eagerness to drive the joke home and his limited experience. One thing that stood out was his implementation of a double call back to end the set. The jury is out as to whether this actually generated double the laughs but it was interesting tactic nonetheless.
Decked out in his lounge lizard cum lesiure boat captain outfit that included plenty of padding and a Ray Martin inspired hair do, Baz Vegas hit the stage in all his glory. Baz was a puzzling creature in that it was difficult to determine what was the aim of this larger than life character. If he was aiming for a supremely confident but washed up performer, he certainly had the persona down pat but didn’t really have the material to back it up. If he was hoping to steal Neil Hamburger’s crown, he didn’t have the chops to perform that kind of anti humour.
The execution of this act trod a very fine line between playing an incompetent character and actual incompetence. His rambling stories rarely went anywhere interesting and generally petered out without conclusion. He seemed to often get bored mid stream and change direction with no rhyme or reason. Occasionally he would come out with an amusing line but the laughter received was generally a response of suprise. His frequent downing of alcohol mid joke (even mid sentence) was frustrating rather than an effective device in the comedy of discomfort. He often told us that he wasn’t a comedian but was a Song and Dance Man which, apart from a short parody at the beginning, he failed to follow up on and exploit for laughs. A deliberately bad song would have certainly broken up Baz ranting at us for the forty minutes he was on stage. It seemed that he was only relying on his boisterous personality to carry the show which was a recipe for disaster. The audience were very patient with him, hoping that the promised sordid tales about Las Vegas would go somewhere but his very loose timing as well as his apathetic attitude made this an ordeal rather than entertaining.
This show was one of extremes. Daniel Hall pulled off a polished set that warmed up the crowd nicely. He is one to keep an eye on. Baz Vegas however is a character that still needs work.
For booking details visit the Comedy Festival website