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  • NOW.. ONTO THE COMEDY
  • HUGS ACHIEVED
  • CONTACT
Hugging Comedians

now.. onto the comedy

Lemon Comedy, 17 October 2017

10/17/2017

 
On 17 October 2017, I checked out Lemon Comedy at Hares and Hyenas. For my first experience at the comedy room, the line-up included Alistair Baldwin (MC), Claire Hagan, Matthew Vasquez, Annie Louey, Elyce Phillips, Aurelia St Clair, Kimberly Twiner of PO PO MO CO and Kirsty Webeck.
 
Lemon Comedy is held every month with $15 entry or $10 for concessions*. What does the * mean? No one is turned away due to a lack of funds, punters are recommended to get in touch with Lemon Comedy if cash flow is going to be an issue. Lemon Comedy strives to promote different voices in comedy and wants to celebrate diversity, which is reflected in their line-ups and stood out in the material on the night.
 
Alistair Baldwin kicked off the evening as our MC with light-hearted but occasionally cynical tones. While Alistair occasionally dabbled in self-deprecation, he followed these moments with bursts of intense confidence and strong material. He was a supportive and friendly host who kept the night flowing well. Speaking of friendly, Matthew Vasquez had immediate onstage rapport. He performed with a smile throughout as he ran through some insights into his heritage and his favourite extracurricular activities.
 
Annie Louey and Aurelia St Clair were two comedians who I had never seen perform before but who left a really good impression. Annie who had just come off a sell-out 2017 Melbourne Fringe Festival with her show ‘Butt Donut’, delivered a confident set covering anecdotes of love, loss and racism. After living dangerously and entering the scene with gusto, Aurelia also covered some personal stories that drew solid laughs. What stood out is the cheeky perspective that Aurelia's jokes took, which often came as a surprise and delighted. In particular, her commentary on IT security was endearing.  
 
Claire Hagan performed one of the best sets I have seen from her. She delivered a well-crafted piece with many new takes and clever quips on issues ranging from body image to serial killers. The flow and the interlinking nature of the set demonstrated the time and care that had gone into its preparation. Claire drew consistent, good laughs from the crowd and was a strong opener to the night.
 
Two refreshing and entertaining sketch pieces broke up the stand-up focussed evening. Elyce Phillips closed out the first bracket with excitement and enthusiasm as an all-too-believable salesperson. She used her props to good effect, which included some simple but adorable cartoons. In the second bracket, the ever-entertaining Kimberly Twiner of PO PO MO CO entered incognito and showed off her hip-hop skills. Kimberly demonstrated her talent of drawing in an audience and then executing left field but hilarious routines. She showed a lot of patience and faith that her build-up would help the piece resonate…which it did.
 
After seeing Kirsty Webeck own the stage at the Vote YES Comedy Gala, it was great to see her work a smaller room. Kirsty closed out the night with a cracking set covering a range of pieces, primarily centred on stories from her life. Even if a little distracted by the microphone stand, she owned the stage and enjoyed the time in front of the supportive audience.
 
Thanks Lemon Comedy for a really enjoyable evening. Check out their Facebook page for details of the next Lemon Comedy event.
 
If you run a comedy night or are a comedian in Melbourne, get in touch and we can sit down for a chat/interview. Contact Hugging Comedians on Facebook, Twitter or through the website.
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Club Voltaire Comedy, 10 July 2016 

7/11/2016

 
Two word review: Fountain o’youth. 
Hugs achieved: x 1

The alleyway through which you enter Club Voltaire Comedy on a cold and windy Melbourne night might seem a little daunting for newcomers (like myself) but one should not be put off. The entrance, located at 14 Raglan Street North Melbourne, is not hard to find and just up a few flights of stairs, you are welcomed to the comedy club.
 
The night kicks off at 7:30pm but if you get there early you can grab a drink and even sit alongside the comedians, who chat amongst themselves pre-gig in the intimate venue. 
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​It is rare for me to go to a gig where I have not seen any of the performers live before. While there is some comfort in the familiar, seeing comedians where I have no forewarning about their style or how they operate can amplify the comedy experience.
 
On the bill for Club Voltaire Comedy on 10 July were Rob Caruana (MC), Roland Hoffman, Kimberly Lisle, Angus Gordon, Mitch Garling, Clara Cupcakes, Kirsty Webeck, Nikko Maylon, Sarah Jones, Michael Tancredi and Alex Ward.
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​For what was a jam-packed evening of comedy, below are some personal highlights for my first night at Club Voltaire Comedy.
 
Where to begin? Clara. Cupcakes. With a name like that, where can you go wrong? Clara Cupcakes has developed, and I imagine, continues to develop, a character on stage that is both eye-catching and engaging. Clara appeared to have a sweet yet maniacal disposition through which she delivered a set very suited to the quick turn-over pace of the evening. With a straightforward set up, Clara had an excellent stage presence with rolling jokes throughout her set. Even without the flashy ending, Clara gave a memorable performance. 
​Rob Caruana, our well-dressed MC for the evening, provided the audience a deconstructed meal of comedy throughout the night. While I often try to avoid comparisons, Rob had moments of similarity to how Max Greenfield plays Schmidt in ‘New Girl’. Rob had good energy on stage often resulting in nervous cheeky outbursts or odd thought processes. Rob could focus more on structured handovers between performers but overall he did a solid job getting the shy audience’s laughter up!
 
This piece may prove to be a written example of my poor judgement of character but Sarah Jones appeared to be a genuinely nice, knowledgeable, and perhaps most importantly in this scenario, funny person. I do not know Sarah in the 'real world' but after her set on Sunday night, I want to. Not all audiences are partial to ventriloquism but I respect it as a craft when executed well! Sarah had solid comedic timing, to the point where you start to question her sanity just a bit (I didn’t really, but she’s good)! What made Sarah’s performance standout for the evening was her titbits about the history of ventriloquism which complimented her set well. 
Kirsty Webeck’s well-timed and considered set was another highlight of the evening. Kirsty put together a series of jokes that jelled well, which also suited the mood of the crowd for the evening. Without going into the ‘realism’ of stand-up comedy, Kirsty’s jokes genuinely appeared to be drawn from her own experiences and were crafted into well-told stories. HUG ACHIEVED
 
I had a great time seeing a bunch of comedians for the first time and hearing where their comedy minds were at. Without judgement, there were a couple of moments throughout the night where I thought of the New York Times piece with Jerry Seinfeld from a few years ago titled ‘How to write a joke’. I have no insight into how much of the material performed on Sunday night was new. However, I felt there were a few moments where a comedy thread could be pulled further, where a unique concept or idea could have even been the feature of an entire five-minute set. Strictly coming from an audience’s perspective, I would encourage the comedians who did not get the desired level of laughter to not reject or discard unique or interesting premises, rather to pull at the thread until there is no more humour to be gained from it.
 
Thanks Club Voltaire Comedy and all the guys behind the scenes running the show (particularly Murphy)! Great work and we’ll see you next time! 

    editor

    Andy
    Melbourne-based comedy enthusiast.

    If you are a Melbourne-based comedian or a comedian just passing through, please get in touch! I'll buy you a coffee, we'll talk about comedy, and I'll write up our chat for others to enjoy (hug optional but recommended).


     

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