The School Of Life Secular Sermon: On (Not) Knowing

It's been a while since I went to Sunday mass, so I was intrigued to learn about The School of Life's Secular Sermons. Belinda joined me this morning at Deakin Edge in Federation Square to see comedian Lawrence Leung speak about the topic On (Not) Knowing. Of course any service should have some music, and the morning began with Dan Kelly singing three of his songs solo on acoustic guitar: "Baby Bonus" (with one of my favorite lyrics, "Baby was born in the morning, traditional Cesarean style"), "Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam" where he got the crowd to sing along to the chorus, and "Catholic Leader." Dan sounded great in the acoustics of the room, and used his sound effects peddles to add to the vibes of each song.

It was then time for Lawrence's sermon about his obsession with the unknown and curiosity leading to trying to find the answer. But do we really need to know everything? Throughout his presentation Lawrence argued the “not knowing” of something is the catalyst that drives human endeavour, science and other things. He did psychological tests, magic, discussed coincidence and why we easily fall for hoaxes - it's all in the drive to "know" the answer. Lawrence was quite entertaining and his magic tricks were amazing. I'm still trying to figure out how he did a couple of them. To close the service Dan came back out and sang "I Will Release Myself (Unto You)."

MICF: Lawrence Leung's Part-Time Detective Agency

After meeting up with Ruth, Danny and their friends for dinner last night at Terra Rossa we all headed next door to the Swiss Club for my second comedy festival show of the night, Lawrence Leung's Part-Time Detective Agency.  I always enjoy seeing Lawrence perform because of his use of multimedia and pop culture references in his shows.

This time Lawrence has been inspired by Sherlock Holmes and the tv show Bored To Death to become a part-time detective and solve one of the greatest mysteries in his life: Who dumped a bucket of raspberry cordial on him at his 21st birthday party?  He took the crowd through the evidence and the various suspects for the prank, but the culprit may or may not be who you expect.  The filmed bits were quite funny, and I had no idea he was so obsessed with Brandon Lee and the movie The Crow.  Check out Lawrence's show if you want to put all those detective skills you have learned from watching tv crime shows to the test.

Here's the promo clip for Lawrence's show:

MICF: Lawrence Leung Wants a Jetpack

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is on once again this year.  Ruth, Danny and I met up for dinner on Lygon Street before heading to the Trades Hall to see Lawrence Leung.  In this show Lawrence is inspired by an old photo of his father, and wants to have ambition and purpose like his Dad did at his age.  So he decides to give up his quest to make friends with an Ewok and aim higher- to fly.

Lawrence recounts that tv shows in the 80's talked about a future where people would travel around using jetpacks.  He wants to be able to fly in a jetpack and starts his quest by contacting some of the few rocket men in the world, but they ignore his requests.  So he finds a local guy who likes to tinker in his shed (a bogan MacGyver) and convinces him to build a jetpack.  Unfortunately for Lawrence, it's made mostly out of lawnmower parts. They decide to try out their jetpack for the first time at the annual Birdman Rally along the Yarra River.  The video of this was both frightening and hilarious to watch.  Although Lawrence only lasted about 3 seconds in the air, he did win the George Abel Crafty Combinations award and some prize money, which he plans to use to buy stock in a NZ jetpack company.  I really enjoyed the show and Lawrence's use of photos, animation, voice mail and video to tell the story.

MICF: Lawrence Leung & Andrew McClelland- Time Ninjas

Tonight I organized a group from work to attend Lawrence Leung & Andrew McClelland- Time Ninjas at the comedy festival. This was the first time I had seen either of them perform although they have done solo shows in previous years. The show had singing, dancing, history, props, videos and time travel. At the start of the evening they invited an audience member up onto the stage to play the role of Anne Boleyn. Unfortunately, they accidentally chopped off her head. Luckily though their future selves have built a time machine with Stephen Hawking's wheelchair, so Lawrence and Andy decide to travel back in time to save their audience member's life. Along the way they meet Jesus, Hitler's mother, and the teenage versions of themselves.

I thought the show was good but not as hilarious as I was expecting, although there were consistent laughs throughout the night. Lawrence and Andy have known each other since kindergarten and as a result they have great chemistry on stage and occasionally would break out of character and improvise a bit. You could tell they were having a lot of fun, although I would like to see them perform a tighter show next time.