Flight Of The Conchords at Hammersmith Apollo
Flight Of The Conchords
Arj Barker
Hammersmith Apollo, 17 May 2010
I must admit I've never gone to see a stand-up comedian before, let alone a comedy band. The nearest I have ever come to that is seeing Steve Martin and his bluegrass band last year, but that was "serious" music although there were jokes between the songs. At this show, however, I was getting my first taste of both a stand-up and a comedy band live and it proved to be a pretty great experience.
First up there was Arj Barker, best known for playing Dave on the Flight Of The Conchords' hugely popular TV series. This Californian comedian wasn't a million miles away from the part he plays on the show, brash and silly, getting indignant at the ash and smoke that stopped all the flights recently ("If only the terrorists had known! They could have just started a huge fire by Heathrow and fanned the smoke over there!"), spoke of his relief at not having children and tried to start a campaign to blame the sun for global warming instead of us ("all I know is, when my toast gets burnt, I don't blame the bread.") Very funny, strangely sweet and definitely worth seeing.
Although from New Zealand, the Flight Of The Conchords guys actually got their start in the UK, recording a radio show for the BBC that eventually became their hit HBO series but despite this, these shows (two smaller ones at the Hammersmith Apollo and two huge "they've really made it" gigs at Wembley Arena) mark the first time the duo have played live here in five years, so anticipation was high. When they (Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement) arrived on stage (after a vintage New Zealand tourism clip from the 70s) it was to a roar of excitement and then laughter as they walked into the spotlight only to reveal they were sporting silver, cardboard robot heads complete with flashing lights. But rather than launch into their song Robots instead they gave us the disco-infused electro number Too Many Dicks (On The Dance Floor) from their latest album (and the second series of the show). Afterwards Jemaine endearingly told us in his sweetly clueless way that "it's not just about too many guys on the dance floor, it's also about guys who are dicks. It's a song with many levels."
There was a huge cheer for their next number, The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room), one of their older songs, and with new ablibs and lyrics it was hugely funny but it was the newer material that I hadn't heard as much that I got a real kick out of, particularly the following song, Hurt Feelings, about how rappers can be sensitive too ("the day after my birthday is not my birthday, mum"). There were also a couple of songs I wasn't familiar with, one was called Jenny about a case of mistaken identity and another medieval-set number sung by Jemaine called Woo A Lady which seemed to prompt a mass exit for all those waiting for the opportunity to take a bathroom break but was actually pretty funny.
In addition to all the music, there also was plenty of in-character banter between songs which actually provided the biggest laughs. Don't get me wrong, the songs were a complete thrill to hear live and still funny but maybe not as freshly funny as the new material. Most of the between-songs banter centred on Bret and Jemaine's so-called wild rock 'n' roll lifestyle on the road which they recounted in full detail such as the time they found a complimentary muffin in their hotel room or another time when Bret spilled some water backstage ("ha, Led Zeppelin!"). It was pretty much an extension of their awkward and geeky personas from the show and worked beautifully on stage.
Supplemented by a cellist named Nigel (who earned a wolf whistle from the crowd, prompting an onstage discussion about where the term came from), Bret switched from acoustic guitar to keyboards and while Jemaine stayed on his guitar, he's a surprisingly kick-ass guitar-player, playing some pretty intricate stuff. Song-wise there were so many highlights, it's hard to complain really: I'm Not Crying ("It's just raining on my face"), Pet Shop Boys spoof Inner City Pressure, the appeal song Think About The Epileptic Dogs (one of my personal favourites) and the rap number Hiphopopotamus Vs. Rhymenocerous, which drew one of the biggest cheers of the night. During their tribute to the Starman himself, the song Bowie, the band pulled off their check shirts and jeans to reveal they were wearing sparkling, silver jumpsuits underneath and Bret grabbed his Flying V for a rocking, almost metal, version of Devil Woman.
Of course there was an encore with the Kiwi duo returning to stage still trying to put back on their clothes. Getting all soulful they treated us to We're Both In Love With A Sexy Lady which morphed into the even sexier Sugalumps ("all these bitches, checking out my britches") with Jemaine and Bret venturing out to the edge of the stage to accuse all the women of staring at their "sugalumps" and eventually out into the audience, ending up with Bret taking a woman's camera to take photos of their crotches (fully clothed, I should add) for her. All gigs should end this way (or at least Flight Of The Conchords gigs).
An awesome night indeed.
First up there was Arj Barker, best known for playing Dave on the Flight Of The Conchords' hugely popular TV series. This Californian comedian wasn't a million miles away from the part he plays on the show, brash and silly, getting indignant at the ash and smoke that stopped all the flights recently ("If only the terrorists had known! They could have just started a huge fire by Heathrow and fanned the smoke over there!"), spoke of his relief at not having children and tried to start a campaign to blame the sun for global warming instead of us ("all I know is, when my toast gets burnt, I don't blame the bread.") Very funny, strangely sweet and definitely worth seeing.
Although from New Zealand, the Flight Of The Conchords guys actually got their start in the UK, recording a radio show for the BBC that eventually became their hit HBO series but despite this, these shows (two smaller ones at the Hammersmith Apollo and two huge "they've really made it" gigs at Wembley Arena) mark the first time the duo have played live here in five years, so anticipation was high. When they (Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement) arrived on stage (after a vintage New Zealand tourism clip from the 70s) it was to a roar of excitement and then laughter as they walked into the spotlight only to reveal they were sporting silver, cardboard robot heads complete with flashing lights. But rather than launch into their song Robots instead they gave us the disco-infused electro number Too Many Dicks (On The Dance Floor) from their latest album (and the second series of the show). Afterwards Jemaine endearingly told us in his sweetly clueless way that "it's not just about too many guys on the dance floor, it's also about guys who are dicks. It's a song with many levels."
There was a huge cheer for their next number, The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room), one of their older songs, and with new ablibs and lyrics it was hugely funny but it was the newer material that I hadn't heard as much that I got a real kick out of, particularly the following song, Hurt Feelings, about how rappers can be sensitive too ("the day after my birthday is not my birthday, mum"). There were also a couple of songs I wasn't familiar with, one was called Jenny about a case of mistaken identity and another medieval-set number sung by Jemaine called Woo A Lady which seemed to prompt a mass exit for all those waiting for the opportunity to take a bathroom break but was actually pretty funny.
In addition to all the music, there also was plenty of in-character banter between songs which actually provided the biggest laughs. Don't get me wrong, the songs were a complete thrill to hear live and still funny but maybe not as freshly funny as the new material. Most of the between-songs banter centred on Bret and Jemaine's so-called wild rock 'n' roll lifestyle on the road which they recounted in full detail such as the time they found a complimentary muffin in their hotel room or another time when Bret spilled some water backstage ("ha, Led Zeppelin!"). It was pretty much an extension of their awkward and geeky personas from the show and worked beautifully on stage.
Supplemented by a cellist named Nigel (who earned a wolf whistle from the crowd, prompting an onstage discussion about where the term came from), Bret switched from acoustic guitar to keyboards and while Jemaine stayed on his guitar, he's a surprisingly kick-ass guitar-player, playing some pretty intricate stuff. Song-wise there were so many highlights, it's hard to complain really: I'm Not Crying ("It's just raining on my face"), Pet Shop Boys spoof Inner City Pressure, the appeal song Think About The Epileptic Dogs (one of my personal favourites) and the rap number Hiphopopotamus Vs. Rhymenocerous, which drew one of the biggest cheers of the night. During their tribute to the Starman himself, the song Bowie, the band pulled off their check shirts and jeans to reveal they were wearing sparkling, silver jumpsuits underneath and Bret grabbed his Flying V for a rocking, almost metal, version of Devil Woman.
Of course there was an encore with the Kiwi duo returning to stage still trying to put back on their clothes. Getting all soulful they treated us to We're Both In Love With A Sexy Lady which morphed into the even sexier Sugalumps ("all these bitches, checking out my britches") with Jemaine and Bret venturing out to the edge of the stage to accuse all the women of staring at their "sugalumps" and eventually out into the audience, ending up with Bret taking a woman's camera to take photos of their crotches (fully clothed, I should add) for her. All gigs should end this way (or at least Flight Of The Conchords gigs).
An awesome night indeed.
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