A comedian performing at a rock show.

[Paydirt!]

Condensed version: I'm in a band and I do stand-up comedy, and I do my best wherever possible to carve out little "crossover" opportunities here and there, loosely inspired by that wonderful comedy-music convergence you seem to have going in America but which is entirely unheard of here in Australia. One thing's led to another and now I'm two weeks away from compering a grand triumphant tour-closing rock show at a 1500-capacity theatre, which is WAY beyond what I'm used to. Haven't been given any specific instructions on how to do it (the singer from the headline band saw me doing something else and got me this gig), all I know is I'm on before all three bands, doing whatever I do and then introducing them.

I've got a bit of a rough idea of how to approach it, but I'm just wondering if anyone's got any advice or suggestions. I've never even seen a stand-up do anything at a music show (other than a few grainy YouTube clips of Jon Wurster at various shows), I'm just aware that it goes on in your part of the world and I'd be very interested to know how it works in practice. I definitely wouldn't want to stay on stage for too long and test people's patience, but the organisers are covering my airfare and everything so I feel like I should do something special. Any thoughts, FOTs? (I think that rhymes in your accent but not in mine.)

[buffcoat]

Any thoughts, FOTs? (I think that rhymes in your accent but not in mine.)

Try as I might, I can't conjure up what "FOTs" would sound like with an Australian accent.  Maybe not even "thoughts," come to think of it.

[Paydirt!]

A drawn-out "thawwt" versus a short, staccato "FOT".

[buffcoat]

A drawn-out "thawwt" versus a short, staccato "FOT".

Gotcha!

[ChrisRawk]

Like you I'm a musician who also does stand up (but recently went back to music.  It's a long confusing saga.  Okay not really that's basically what happened).  Music and comedy in my experience has always been a volatile mix.  I think Tom actually said once "No one goes to a rock show to laugh."  But if the show is structured right I think it can work.  It sounds like you're the opening act and MC so you have the advantage of going first and getting the crowd while they're completely fresh.  The worst thing is to be a comic and have to be sandwiched between musical acts.  I've been there and it can get rough. 

If it's a hip crowd and you've got a good act I think it can work.  I know a lot of alt comics open for bands and it goes alright.  So advice-wise...Uhhh...be funny?  . Good luck and post an update!

[Paydirt!]

Thanks! I would say the odds are as much in my favour as they can be: the headliners are a great old-fashioned fun-loving country band (which is a very unlikely niche to carve out for yourself in Australian indie circles) and while the country thing is no ironic pose, they have enough of an established sense of humour around themselves that they tend to attract a laid-back, good-natured audience. Plus it turns out I'm actually being mentioned as part of the promotion for the show, which should mean that at least some of the crowd should be aware in advance that somebody's coming out to try and raise a few wry smiles before the bands start. (I'm on before each band; not sure if that's what you meant by "sandwiched", but the way I see it, if I'm losing the crowd for whatever reason, I just drop whatever I'm doing and head straight for the band introduction.)

Wagons "I Blew It"

[ChrisRawk]

Good call.  Yeah, I'd say basically feel out the crowd and if it's going well keep going.  If not, pull back and bring out the next act.  Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em and all that.  But it sounds like the band is cool and if the crowd is cool then I'm sure you'll do fine.  Rock forth!

[buffcoat]

"Crikey."

[Paydirt!]

"Crikey."

I couldn't even tell you the last time I heard that spoken unironically. We all speak American here nowadays. Y'all don't even know how much you run Western culture.

[buffcoat]

"Crikey."

I couldn't even tell you the last time I heard that spoken unironically. We all speak American here nowadays. Y'all don't even know how much you run Western culture.

Oh, I hope that y'all was unironic, Paydirt!.  Y'all is a beautiful Southern (U.S.) solution for one of the many basic problems of the English language.

Happy lowercase fourth of July to the rest of the world!

[Paydirt!]

Oh, I hope that y'all was unironic, Paydirt!.  Y'all is a beautiful Southern (U.S.) solution for one of the many basic problems of the English language.

Would you believe it actually was. "Hrm... it is obvious to me that I am referring to the collective nation, rather than the individual -- but how to convey this unambiguously? Ah! A solution presents itself -- and how delightfully apropos (&c.)"

The direct Australian equivalent of "y'all" is "youse". The plural of "you"!

[buffcoat]

Oh, I hope that y'all was unironic, Paydirt!.  Y'all is a beautiful Southern (U.S.) solution for one of the many basic problems of the English language.

Would you believe it actually was. "Hrm... it is obvious to me that I am referring to the collective nation, rather than the individual -- but how to convey this unambiguously? Ah! A solution presents itself -- and how delightfully apropos (&c.)"

The direct Australian equivalent of "y'all" is "youse". The plural of "you"!

"Youse" - is there a Brooklyn, Australia?   If you start saying "yins," I'll ask if there's a Philadelphia, Australia.


We need another Australian craze in the US.  Crocodile Dundee and the Crocodile Hunter were so long ago - the only recent Australian I can remember is the girl Jemaine dated in the second season of Flight of the Conchords. 

Y'all can't let New Zealand and the Peter Jackson machine steal y'all's thunder!

[Wes]

Oh, I hope that y'all was unironic, Paydirt!.  Y'all is a beautiful Southern (U.S.) solution for one of the many basic problems of the English language.

Would you believe it actually was. "Hrm... it is obvious to me that I am referring to the collective nation, rather than the individual -- but how to convey this unambiguously? Ah! A solution presents itself -- and how delightfully apropos (&c.)"

The direct Australian equivalent of "y'all" is "youse". The plural of "you"!

"Youse" - is there a Brooklyn, Australia?   If you start saying "yins," I'll ask if there's a Philadelphia, Australia.


We need another Australian craze in the US.  Crocodile Dundee and the Crocodile Hunter were so long ago - the only recent Australian I can remember is the girl Jemaine dated in the second season of Flight of the Conchords. 

Y'all can't let New Zealand and the Peter Jackson machine steal y'all's thunder!

Youse is Philly; I assume any Brookyln co-opting of it is largely ironic. Yins is Pittsburgh, I think, but never here.

I would be up for another round of Austra-philia in the US, especially if it was for pretty much all of the same exact things it was the first time around, with no update. Jacko could come back and everything. Failing that, I'd settle for all the anglophiles who like to say shite and holiday-instead-of-vacation suddenly dropped all of that and started throwing around Aussie terms instead.

[scratchbomb]

Youse is Philly; I assume any Brookyln co-opting of it is largely ironic. Yins is Pittsburgh, I think, but never here.

I respectfully disagree; youse is definitely Brooklyn, as my grandmother used to employ it quite often, especially when angered (as in, "Youse kids quit jumpin on the the bed!). Although it is often pronounced closer "yez", particularly when used at the end of a sentence, whereas I think "yooz" is the more Philly pronunciation. My mom would also bust out "youse" every now and then when mad, which would usually make me and my brothers laugh, which in turn would lead to severe repercussions

[Paydirt!]

Youse've prompted me to research this (well... Google it) -- apparently "youse" was an Irish immigrant thing, which would certainly explain its appearance both in Australia and the northeastern US.

We need another Australian craze in the US.  Crocodile Dundee and the Crocodile Hunter were so long ago - the only recent Australian I can remember is the girl Jemaine dated in the second season of Flight of the Conchords.

The best thing about that episode was that the parody of Australians was broad to the point of total absurdity -- except for the unremarked-upon background detail of the "Racist Jar" on the shelf of the Australians' apartment, filled to the brim with small change. That hurt. We had a Prime Minister who spent his 11 years in office ('96-'07) slowly fostering a toxic anti-Aborigine and anti-immigrant culture that I don't know how we'll ever put to rest. I'm not saying racism wasn't an issue before then, but Howard sure helped make casual racism more openly acceptable. 'nem Conchords got us good on that one.

I just tried to put together a kind of Fantasy Austrophilia Dream Team 2011, but then I realised that it couldn't happen without Shane "Warnie" Warne and I got so depressed that I had to put the Star-Spangled Banner on repeat to cheer me up.

Warnie Episode 1 Part 1