MICF- Zoe Coombs Marr, Tom Ballard and Nath Valvo

The challenge for the acts at this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival seemed to be how to address the coronavirus pandemic in their comedy shows (if at all). Over the past couple weeks Belinda and I have been to see a few of the Melbourne-based comedians at the festival. On 31 March we were at the Melbourne Town Hall for two shows. We started the evening in the Powder Room for Zoe Coombs Marr and her show Agony! Misery! She began by reminding the audience what comedy is and how to laugh through the use of some Wiki How illustrations, and then reflected on her past and key moments from her childhood. Told using slide show pictures and dramatic readings from her diary, we learned a few things about young Zoe, including how through a series of unfortunate events she managed to land the flute solo at band camp when she was 13 years old. It was a silly and fun show which had a fantastic musical ending.

Next we headed upstairs to the Supper Room see Tom Ballard in We Are All In This. Needless to say, if you are a conservative, this is not the show for you. Using PowerPoint slides and some film clips, Tom went through a bit of a 2020 Year in Review covering such cheery topics as the coronavirus pandemic, Liberal Party voters, structural racism and inequality, and climate change. Throughout the show he explored the history of these topics, how we got to where we are now, and expressed the rage we are all feeling living in the world at present with a blistering delivery of biting political humor. No one was spared from Tom's wrath and the audience was laughing and cheering him on all the way through. The show was my highlight of MICF and I definitely recommend seeing it if you get the chance.

Our last show of MICF was tonight at Max Watt's where we saw Nath Valvo in Chatty Cathy. This was the first time I have seen Nath live, and he was full of energy as he wandered around the stage and told stories about his life and how things have changed now that he's in his late thirties. He had observations on how his friends have changed from their partying youth now that they've become parents, his dislike of Airbnbs, fans of true crime stories, and a funny recurring bit where he told mini horror stories he wrote in lockdown under dramatic lighting at the front of the stage. It was a fun and entertaining show.

MICF- So You Think You Can Drag?

After getting cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival is back this year with a program primarily made up of Australian acts due to international travel restrictions. After an Earth Hour dinner by candlelight at Mamasita Sean and I headed down to the Forum Melbourne for So You Think You Can Drag? as part of The Festival Club. The show featured a range of drag performances and was hosted by the hilarious Tina Del Twist, who sang, drank and joked her way through the evening. 

 

There were some great numbers throughout the night. Highlights for me were Dazza and Keif dancing to the Beastie Boys “Intergalactic,” Sabrina Baby Slut’s lip sync themed around a girl addicted to air freshener, Lou Wall’s song about the patriarchy dedicated to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and Kali Forni-Kate’s bee-themed number complete with a section where she lip synced to an ASMR track. My favorite performance of the evening though was the closing act Ruby Slippers & Egson Ham. They came out in a colorful horse costume to Daryl Braithwaite’s “The Horses” and segued into Cardi B’s “WAP." The performance had elements of dance and burlesque in it and was absolutely brilliant.

MICF- Lazy Susan and Joel Creasey

Tonight were my final two shows of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. I started the evening at ACMI to see the UK sketch comedy duo Lazy Susan (Celeste Dring and Freya Parker) and their show Forgive Me, Mother! The minute they came out and greeted the crowd with, "Good evening, ladies and predators" I knew I would enjoy the show. They started out with a few harmless improvisation games, but woven through the hilarious sketches was the underlying threat that someone would die tonight, and Freya's increasing fear that a male audience member was after them. The threads of the various sketches, including Celeste hitting on an audience member when Freya worked to calm herself down, all culminated in a murder - but you need to see the show to find out who the victim was. This show was very well done and I highly recommend checking them out.

Next I went to the Forum for Joel Creasey's latest festival show Drink. Slay. Repeat. Joel came out onto the stage to some pyro going off at the sides of the stage. You know that Joel is going to give you all the juicy gossip from the past year in his shows, and he did not disappoint. He discussed his latest celebrity feud with the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, his encounter with Kylie Minogue at Sydney Mardi Gras, the controversy around what he said during Australia's Eurovision broadcast, and dealing with a stalker who wasn't happy with one of his tv appearances. He also told personal stories about his friends and family, including officiating a straight friend's wedding, his boyfriend's health scare, and how he dealt with the death of his nan. It was non-stop laughs throughout and Joel even cleverly did a call back to someone at the end of the show where he was able to get his ultimate revenge.

MICF- Maria Bamford, Rhys Nicholson and Anne Edmonds

I began my Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows this evening at the Forum with Belinda to see the American comedian Maria Bamford and her show The Irrelevant Redundancy. It's been eight years since she was last in Australia, and this was my first time seeing her live. She spoke openly about her mental health issues, but her main bits were focused on her career and relationships with her family and husband as she took on their voices and worked through different scenarios from each person's point of view. The funniest bit was about her and her husband role playing solutions to problems such as having a living wage and gentrification.

Next I headed to the Victoria Hotel to see Rhys Nicholson's show Nice People Nice Things Nice Situations. In this show he talked about being the non-exciting age of 29 and that transition as you move into adulthood and can't really do things you never got around to doing as a younger person. Many of the stories he told were from his day to day life, such as his relationship with his family and fiance, and encounters with people at the dog park (which happens to be the one next to where I live). He crammed a lot into his hour long show with some very funny and inappropriate lines that were well suited to his core audience.

My final show for the evening was Anne Edmonds' What's Wrong With You? at the Melbourne Town Hall. Last year I saw Anne as her character Helen Bidou, but this year she was just herself with a strong command of the late show crowd. She was quite funny dealing with the audience, particularly a guy at the front who decided to rest his foot on the stage. She spoke about her mental health issues, particularly thinking the nearby freeway was poisoning her and what she did to heal herself. She also had a running thread throughout the show around dealing with males who don't think the rules of society apply to them, whether that be a young boy not listening to his indulging mother at a grocery store, a man with road rage about a turn lane out front of a hospital, or a guy deciding to play a ukulele at the end of a yoga class when no one asked him to.

MICF - Dazza & Keif and Hans

Tonight I ventured down to the Malthouse Theatre for my two Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows this evening. Sean joined me for the first one, which was Dazza and Keif and their show Go Viral. We saw the duo in January at So You Think You Can Drag and were looking forward to seeing them in their own show. Dazza (Keely Windred) and Keif (Danni Ray) are desperate to become YouTube famous for their mad breakdancing skills. However, a staged breakdancing battle in a Bunnings car park doesn't quite go to plan, and they not only get defeated by a girl, but also become inadvertent feminists. The show features some hilarious dance routines to classics such as Bomfunk MC's "Freestyler" and Darude's "Sandstorm." Dazza and Keif are played with some nuance, and you end up feeling real emotion for them as they go through some ups and downs in their friendship.

My second show for the evening was cabaret star Hans with Like A German. Hans (Matt Gilbertson) has done many shows at the Adelaide Fringe and even appeared on America's Got Talent in 2018 (making it to the quarterfinals). Hans talked a bit about his experience in the States, but the majority of the show was him and his band singing songs and having lots of fun with the crowd. He did a hilarious polka style mashup of Australian rock classics on the accordion, and got two guys from the crowd to change into some sequin hot pants and vests to dance and see who was the bigger Hans fan. It was a very entertaining and fun show full of fabulous costumes and music.

MICF- Hannah Gadsby: Douglas

It's been two years since I last saw Hannah Gadsby at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where she debut a little show called Nanette. I knew while watching it that it would transform the structure of comedy, and it not only did that but also made Hannah an international star. Tonight Ebony, Sally and I got to see Hannah's new show, Douglas, at the much bigger venue of the Arts Centre Playhouse compared to her previous shows at the Melbourne Town Hall.

Opening up the evening was the hilarious Zoe Coombs Marr, who did a few bits from her show Bossy Bottom, which is being reprised this year for a short run at MICF. If you haven't seen it check it out as it was my favorite of last year's festival.

Hannah has named her latest show after her dog, Douglas, but like Nanette, the title doesn't really hint at the content of the show. Hannah started off by talking about how her life has changed since moving to Los Angeles and having access to some of the trappings of Hollywood. She joked about various words and references she will have to change in her set so they make sense to an American audience, and also referred to America as the straight white male of cultures, which is sadly true. Both Ebony and Sally told me after the show they felt slightly uncomfortable for me, but I'm well used to the American bashing by now.

The main theme of the show though is power - who has it and its impact on others. Hannah talked about how men are the ones that have named everything, and how it was mainly men who complained that Nanette was not comedy, but a lecture. She turned than on its head by actually doing an arts lecture, which is something that has featured in her work over the years. Hannah also spoke for the first time about her autism diagnosis, and how she has to navigate in a world that is ableist and doesn't recognise neurodiversity and the impact of that on her life. It was always going to be difficult to follow up Nanette, but while Douglas has a bit more laughs, it still holds those in power to account.

MICF- Helen Bidou

My final show for the 2018 Melbourne International Comedy Festival was Helen Bidou (aka Anne Edmonds) in Enter the Spinnaker Lounge. Helen Bidou originally appeared as the fashion expert on the spoof morning tv show Get Krack!n. In this show she attempts her own variety hour by interacting with the audience, chatting with guests and singing songs, all while accompanied by her awkward son and wannabe DJ Connor (Sam Campbell).

Helen wore her trademark sarong and was sipping cocktails throughout the show. She tried to keep it together while she occasionally railed against those in her life who had wronged her, including her on again/off again beau Simon. It was a show that kept you laughing but tense as you didn't know what Helen would do next. It wasn't nearly as shocking as I was expecting, although the final number is pretty revealing (and why the show has an 18+ rating).

MICF- Louise Beuvink, Zoe Coombs Marr and Danielle Walker

Tonight was a big night of comedy shows for me at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as I went to three different performances. I began the evening with New Zealand comedian Louise Beuvink's show Ladylike: A Modern Guide to Etiquette at the Butterfly Club. Dressed like a 1950s housewife, Louise took the mainly female audience through her modern takes on being a lady, including lessons on how to dress and put on makeup, cheap ways to entertain through homemade food and drinks, and a quick lesson on cricket to be able to talk to guys. Her funniest bit was a twist on women acting like some men do when being turned down by the opposite sex. The show was a blend of stand-up and cabaret (Louise has a really great singing voice).

Next I headed to the Melbourne Town Hall for Australian comedian Zoe Coombs Marr and her show Bossy Bottom. In this show Zoe sheds her male alter ego of the past six years Dave and performed stand-up as herself. She promised that this show would be just jokes, jokes, jokes, but of course that was never going to be the case. Zoe was full of energy and commanded the stage throughout her set as she broke down the traditional tropes of stand-up comedy (particularly that of white hetero males) and did call backs to different bits throughout the night. Her use of props was hilarious, and she had the audience on its toes as you just didn't know where she would go next. This was my favorite show at MICF so far and I highly recommend checking Zoe out if you can.

My final show for the evening was Australian comedian Danielle Walker's Bush Rat at the Victoria Hotel. The title comes from the nickname that Danielle's grandfather gave her, and the show focused on funny stories about her family who live up in Townsville in northeastern Queensland. Danielle also does drawings, which she used to illustrate some of her stories, including a pig with wheels for legs that was a running gag throughout the show. You can see why Danielle has been nominated for Best Newcomer at MICF this year.

MICF- Fern Brady and Alex Edelman

It was Tightarse Tuesday again at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and I booked in to see another two shows tonight featuring comics from overseas. First I made my way down to ACMI for Scottish comedian Fern Brady's show Suffer, Fools! Fern did a set of stand-up and told stories about her life, including her relationships, time at university (including paying for her degree by being a stripper), and jobs as a cook at a halfway house and journalist. It was an honest hour long show with a funny ending.

Next I headed up to the Greek Centre for American comic Alex Edelman's Barry nominated show Just For Us. This is the second time I've seen Alex perform and the main thread of this show is the rise of antisemitism in Trump's America and Alex's decision to attend a white supremacist meeting in an apartment in New York. Alex expertly tells the details of that meeting interwoven with other stories such as working with Stephen Fry, encountering Prince William at the BAFTAs, and his brother competing for Israel in skeleton at the recent Winter Olympics in South Korea. The show is very well written and provides some interesting insights on the rise of intolerance and hatred in today's society.

MICF- Josh Glanc and Andrew McClelland

For tonight's MICF shows first I headed down to the Melbourne Town Hall to see Australian comedian Josh Glanc's show Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Chamedian. Josh's show was a series of different sketches complete with costume changes (some of them quite revealing). The funniest bits were his Behind The Music take on the rise of the Danish Eurodance band Aqua of "Barbie Girl" fame, and a French mime having a crisis of artistry. There was a lot of audience participation in the show, and a recurring commercial skit with an American footballer was more distracting to me due to him naming the team the Cincinnati Falcons than using a raw fish.

Next I ventured down to the Malthouse Theatre to see Australian comedian Andrew McClelland's latest festival show A Seated Walking Tour of Western Europe. In typical Andrew style he opened with a little musical number. It was a fun show as he used Google Street View to take us on a low budget tour through Europe. Parts of the audience were assigned different travel groups, which were referenced throughout the show as we did certain tourist activities. The tour itself led to some unexpected adventures and side trips along the journey, but we covered quite a lot of ground in an hour.

MICF- DeAnne Smith and Sam Simmons

For tonight's Tightarse Tuesday I booked into two Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows. First up was Canadian comedian Deanne Smith's show Worth It at the Greek Centre. Before the show officially started she came out to admit that the show would not be about money as described in the flyer. Instead it focused on her observations on life, women's equality and tackling her fears as woven through a story about pit bulls. She engaged with the audience and gave a loose and funny set, although I think her show last year was tighter.

Next I headed down to the Arts Centre for Australian comedian Sam Simmons' brilliantly titled show Radical Women of Latin American Art, 1960 - 1985. While the show isn't really about what's in the title, the start and ending are inspired about an incident he observed outside the museum in LA after seeing that exhibition. The show itself is cleverly paced and organised around a series of impressions which are proceeded by a voice over of someone saying "This is an impression of a man...." There was a lot of audience participation, some singing and dancing, and a string of absurd observational jokes which made for a tense yet entertaining hour.

MICF- Kate McCartney & Kate McLennan In Konversation

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is currently in full swing and this afternoon at the Comedy Theatre I attended the Q&A Kate McCartney & Kate McLennan In Konversation, which was facilitated by Benjamin Law. The Kates have worked in comedy for years and are best known for their mock cooking series The Katering Show and Get Krack!n, their satire of morning talk shows.

During this hour long discussion we got a peak behind the scenes as they discussed their creative process for writing their shows. After having seen one of their Get Krack!n characters, Helen Bidou (Anne Edmonds) live last night in her own comedy festival show, they joked how depressing it was to see something you've be created be taken further and funnier than you ever imagined. In the era of #MeToo they emphasised the importance of having a diverse writing room so that one person is not having to represent their entire gender/race, and ensuring that things were safe and fun on set for cast and crew. From a casting perspective they said they are committed to diversity and actively try not to cast white people unless it's needed for the punchline of the joke to work.

They showed a clip of once of the most daring bits from this past season of Get Krack!n, which was an Aboriginal man getting the Kates to "eat my black shit for reconciliation." They also discussed the filming of the infamous Katering Show episode that featured Kate McLennan's actual placenta (but thankfully they did not cook it or eat it). It was an insightful hour listening to two of Australia's great comedic voices, and will be interesting to see what they create next.

MICF- Nazeem Hussain and Helen Thorn

I began the evening for my final two shows of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival at ACMI to catch Nazeem Hussain's show Public Frenemy. Nazeem recently appeared on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! so the first part of his show was about his experiences in the African jungle. As expected Nazeem discussed the current state of politics in both Australia and the US (using some of the material from Political Asylum last week). The most hilarious bit though was about when he worked at the Telstra Call Centre and the emails he sent to then CEO Sol Trujillo to try and get fired.

Next I headed up to The Tuxedo Cat on LaTrobe Street for my friend Helen Thorn's show Thorny Questions. Helen came out onto the stage in a black catsuit (not the gold lame one she normally wears as one half of the UK comedy duo the Scummy Mummies). In this solo show Helen discussed topics such as body image, the labels we put on ourselves, being in a long-term relationship, and her experiences with bullies during her teen years growing up in country Victoria. There were even a few "guest" appearances by some different characters, including Helen's mother-in-law. I found the show to be very funny, with some laugh out loud moments which may have been aided by knowing a few of the people being discussed in the show in real life.

MICF- Joel Creasey and Rhys Nicholson

Tonight's Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows featured two of Australia's top young comedians (who also happen to be good friends). First up was Joel Creasey's Poser at Max Watt's. Joel's shows are always entertaining and this year didn't disappoint. Joel has reached the stage in his climb to fame of getting untrue stories about himself published in the tabloids. He shared gossip on various Australian "celebrities," told the hilarious story of his Thanksgiving dinner in Docklands with a group of gay American Trump supporters, and had funny and touching things to say about his encounters with Joan Rivers and Carrie Fisher before their passings.

Next I headed down to ACMI for Rhys Nicholson's show I'm Fine. Rhys was exquisitely dressed in a tailored suit with his perfectly coiffed red hair. His show covered a wide range of topics in a rapid fire style, including his social anxieties, awkward teen years (with a very cringeworthy story about hooking up on a tennis court), white privilege, and a visit to a sex shop with his long-term partner to enliven his"vanilla" tastes. The show finished with Rhys bringing out a very interesting prop.

MICF- Richard Gadd and Political Asylum

Last night I attended another two shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. First I went to ACMI to see Scottish comedian Richard Gadd's show Monkey See Monkey Do, which won best comedy show at the 2016 Edinburgh Comedy Awards. In the show Gadd is literally running away from his anxieties as the majority of the show is performed on a treadmill. This unique and courageous show covers mental health, masculinity and how talking to people can help you get that monkey off your back.

Next I headed to the Melbourne Town Hall for the annual Political Asylum Late Night Riot! show. In its eighth year, this mega show featured a number of comedians doing short stand-up sets with a political tinge. Highlights for me were MC Mathew Kenneally and his observations on Australian politics throughout the night, Nazeem Hussain's description of his encounter with a Trump supporters rally on Hollywood Boulevard before the election, Rod Quantock's hilarious history of Australian politics drawn on a flip chart easel pad, and special guest Andy Zaltzman's take on Brexit and Trump. As Political Asylum do monthly shows at The Brunswick Green I will have to check it out again in the future.

MICF- Tommy Little & Gossling, Rose Callaghan and DeAnne Smith

For tonight's Melbourne International Comedy Festival shows I started at The Famous Spiegeltent at the Arts Centre to see Tommy Little & Gossling perform Heartbreak & Hilarity. Combining the music of Gossling and Tommy's stand-up, it was a great mix of storytelling and songs about love and heartbreak as Tommy talked about trying to get his unicorn. Touching at times with a hilarious musical ending, this was a fantastic and unique show you should definitely check out if you get the chance during its limited run.

Next I went to The Forum for Rose Callaghan's Will You Accept This Rose? As you can guess from the title it was themed around The Bachelor, which is one of my guilty pleasure tv shows (both the US and Australian versions). Rose even got Osher Gunsberg to record the intro and voice overs throughout the show. Along with stories about run-ins with former contestants, Rose also spoke about the adventures of her dating life, with one particularly spectacular story to finish the show.

My final show for the evening was North American comedian DeAnne Smith's Post-Joke Era at Taxi Riverside. DeAnne's show was very entertaining and touched on topics such as depression, gender and identity, equality and how straight men should be treating their women. There were so many mike drops it was hard to keep track, and she finished with a great story about what can happen when you respond to someone's texts to the wrong number.

MICF- Hannah Gadsby, Josie Long and New Order UK

It's the funniest time of the year with the start of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival this week. We began the evening at the Melbourne Town Hall for Hannah Gadsby's Nanette, her latest and reportedly last show at MICF. I've been to many of Hannah's shows over the years, and this was one of the most powerful and brilliant pieces I've seen from her. It's a very brave show that touches on the impacts of homophobia on identity and self-worth, mental health, violence, and fighting through it all to achieve self-acceptance. This is not a show full of laughs but an important personal statement about resilience.

Next up was British comedian Josie Long in her show Something Better. Josie is ever the optimist, even while being a lefty progressive during a period of conservative UK governments and Brexit. As someone hitting her mid-thirties she takes joy in the little things like drinking pinot grigio and the youthful effects of wearing a chunky necklace. However, this show mainly focuses on finding inspiration from the underdog and keeping your chin up in the face of nationalistic right-wing movements around the world.

The final show I attended this evening was at the Victoria Hotel and featured four young up and coming UK comedians in the annual New Order show. First up was Brennan Reece, who spent most of his set chatting with a few members of the crowd getting to know a bit about their lives. Next was Ahir Shah, who had a fast-paced set around social and political issues such as colonisation and Brexit. The third act Emma Sidi was the highlight of the four as she performed completely in character as a scorned woman confronting her cheating boyfriend and sister, with the whole set spoken entirely in broken Spanish. The last act of the night was Steve Bugeja, who played up his geeky and awkward nature in anecdotes about his life.

MICF- Celia Pacquola and Velvet

I've been to a lot of shows over the course of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and the past two evenings have been my final ones for this year. On Monday night I went to see Celia Pacquola in The Looking Glass at the Comedy Theatre. Celia is a veteran of MICF and has branched out into acting with the comedy Utopia and drama The Beautiful Lie on the ABC. However, she joked that if someone as messed up as her can have that kind of success, imagine what a person with their life together could do. Celia's show mainly covered her being a single woman, love for beer, visits to a cat cafe, and a hilarious hate read of a passage from Miranda Kerr's book "Treasure Yourself." The ending was a very funny throwback to a story from the start of the show.

Tonight I headed down to the Malthouse Theatre for the disco cabaret show Velvet. The room was pumping from the start with DJ Joe Accaria playing music to get people in the mood. The show is set in a Studio 54-esque nightclub as a young conservatively dressed man (Brendan Maclean) wanders in and is intrigued by who he encounters. The cast is a hugely talented group that includes an acrobat, aerialist, hula boy, muscle man, two female backup singers and the legendary Marcia Hines.

Each member of the cast had their own moment to shine, with hula boy Craig Reid a real stand out. Marcia Hines nailed her vocals, but my favorite moment was Brendan Maclean's touching stripped back version of "Stayin' Alive" on ukulele. By the end of the show Maclean's character has transformed and is dancing around in a sequin jumpsuit with large feather collar. Velvet is a fantastic and entertaining show that will literally have you grooving even after it is finished - it's the only show I've ever been to where the audience stuck around to dance.

MICF- Sara Pascoe and Laura Davis

For tonight's MICF shows Onagh and I started at the Melbourne Town Hall to see Sara Pascoe in Animal. In this show Sara explores the theme of empathy and its limitations as she weaves through stories about hearing God over the loudspeaker of a grocery store, her love of mice, Tony Blair's bladder and a very different type of glass ceiling. Always intelligent, these stories tie together for a very funny conclusion.

Next we headed to ACMI to see Laura Davis in Marco. Polo. As we entered the room Laura was in a modest swimsuit sitting on top of a ladder blindfolded while a slightly deflated flamingo pool raft was on the floor in the corner. During the show Laura invited the crowd to join her in the pool, and being blindfolded she was reliant on that call back of "Polo" as she posed questions and interacted with the audience. She covered a range of topics from the handles of maple syrup bottles to questioning whether a potential rapist is more of a feminist than her because he assumed she could get his car to start. It was a thought provoking and unique show.

MICF- Tom Ballard, Gen Fricker and Andrew McClelland

It was a comedy packed Sunday as I started my afternoon at the Trades Hall for Tom Ballard's Boundless Plains To Share. In this show (he is also doing another one at MICF) Tom weaved through the stories of four different refugees seeking to come to Australia while utilising a slide show to focus on the history of Australia's immigration policy (which was just as horrifying in past as it is in the present). It was a high energy show as Tom raced through this history lesson, which also included some pre-planned questions for audience members to read out at certain points. I got chosen to read out the following question towards the end: "Why would you want them here when all they do is leech off our economy?" This was particularly funny considering my American accent. As this was also an Auslan interpreted show we got learn some very interesting sign language for certain things. Tom may not have had a final solution to this issue, but the show definitely left you thinking.

Next I headed to the Greek Centre for Gen Fricker's show Yeah? Yeah! Gen spent her 50 minutes discussing assorted stories from her life, such as her Maori heritage, battle with cystic acne and an experience with an incompetent dentist. The funniest story though was around her neighbor's horrible jam band, which she proceeded to discuss both on social media and at her job as a Triple J presenter, and how they ended up finding out about her real thoughts on their abilities. She finished her show by playing her version of a love song.

The final show of the evening was Andrew McClelland in We Really Must Do This Again Sometime at The Forum. Andrew was a tour de force as he sang, danced and joked his way through a very entertaining hour of comedy. Dressed in his usual dandy style, he talked about his issues with magicians, his girlfriend's obsession with The Sims, and how he used World War II dictators to motivate him while exercising. The show ended with an audience sing along that is an earworm that will get stuck in your head for the rest of the night.