Caught another dose of Ross Noble at this years comedy festival last night since my sister and her boyfriend are down from Edinburgh and wanted to catch some decent comedy. Turned out Ticketmaster made an error in our tickets and printed LAST Wednesdays gig as opposed to last nights so our seats were double booked. We had to stand which kinda sucked but I’m used to standing around for hours waiting for tickets or watching bands. The only problem was that the Athenaeum theatre gets incredibly hot and when you’re standing at the back, all the heat sits there like a bad smell. Luckily the inclusion of alcohol is permitted into the theatre otherwise I would have come out looking like I’d just sat in the sauna for two hours.

Ross’ new show Noodlemeister wasn’t too bad, regurgitating a few jokes from last years stellar shows but bringing mostly new material. His Yeti impersonation was a nice touch and a comedy show wouldn’t be complete without dick and fart jokes but I couldn’t get into his act this year. I found the best parts were when he improvised on the spot when asking the audience for any questions. Don’t get me wrong, the rest of the crowd loved it but the majority of us agreed he didn’t get to stomach-hurting comedic heights this time around. But for a two and half hour show at $20, who’s complaining.

Already booked tickets to Dave Hughes in a couple of weeks but man, you’ve gotta be quick to get tickets. If you’re going with a group of 4 or more (which I am), chances are you’ll end up with back-row seats, particularly for such a popular local comic such as Hughes. Luckily I scored the second row but it’s in the upper circle (that’s the top section people). And this was booked for a weeknight too!

Now I wanted to see Steven Wright but with tickets costing just under $70, I thought that was a little steep. Then there’s Bill Bailey from TV’s Black Books (although I remember him most as Bilbo Bagshot from Spaced) who could be quite good. I was never a fan of Black Books though but then again, he has stated that his live shows are nothing like his television work, so it could be money well spent.

Anybody else seen or planning to see some good acts this year? Let us know.

Had my first taste of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival last night. The crowds were huge, the weather cold but the atmosphere perfect. Ross Noble was in top form, performing for two non-exhaustive hours and had everybody in the theatre cheering for more. He showed his talent when he made the funniest jokes out of the professions of a couple of people in the audience. One person was into aerial engineering and the other was a lawyer who told everyone her job consisted of “shitty paper work”. He managed to combine the two jobs for some hilarious jokes. The “chicken” jokes were a great start to the show. By the end he didn’t cover a lot of different scenarios but you could tell a lot of it was spontaneous which made in that much funnier. He held back swearing at first and told the audience that he’s trying to cut down but of course, went on a major overload which I think shocked a few of the older audience members. I, of course, found it hilarious but it doesn’t take much for me to laugh at a comedy festival.

I’m still keen on seeing a few more acts while the festival is still going on. Watching the comedy gala on TV last week, I thought Adam Hills, Lee Mack, Rob Rouse and Tom Gleeson were particularly funny.

Quick Links:

- The new batmobile surfaces on the official Batman Begins website. It looks like a kick-ass vehicle but I still prefer Burton’s designs. That said, this is entitled Batman Begins so maybe Bruce didn’t have the technology when he first started out.
- Roger Ebert reviews Hellboy. Three and half stars (out of four)? Hrmmm is it really that good or is America\rquote s most influential critic losing the plot? Australian’s will find out September 2nd.
- Pissed off about Elephant not being released in Melbourne until April 24th. Why such a long wait between Sydney and Melbourne? I’ve been waiting for the Cannes Palme D’or winner for what seems like ages.

Off to see Ross Noble at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this Friday night. Comedy is just what this patient needs at the moment. Love seeing live comedy acts but the problem is it’s often a hit and miss affair if you don’t know the comedians work. I saw Daniel Kitson last year at the festival and he was pretty funny. But I had seen some of his material before. I tried to get tickets to Dave Hughes at first this year but he’s probably THE most popular act in Melbourne so his show sold out lightning quick. Hughesy is probably at his most hilarious when he appears on ABC’s The Glass House on Friday nights. He’s joined by Wil Anderson and Corrine Grant and a couple of guests, chatting away about world and local news. Sometimes it goes off on some pretty weird tangents but that’s the great thing about it. One minute they’re talking about the Iraqi war and the next they’re chatting to Andrew Denton about ‘fingering’. Yes it’s not for the kids or for those easily offended by generation X and Y humour but those who visit this site will probably get a kick out of it.

Quick Links:

- I told you previously that PJ Harvey has a new album on the way. Well here’s the complete details.
- Jack Black cast in King Kong. Hell yeah!
- Finally. The review board doesn\rquote t succumb to Niles narrow-minded ideologies.
- Check out my amazon wishlist. Feel free to buy me whatever! ;)