I’m a big fan of Mr Simmons. His Fringe shows in 2006 and 2007
were amongst my favourites in those festivals and he was sorely missed
last year. He has, of course, been spending his time on Triple J and
J-TV in recent times with varying degree of success. His absurdist
humour doesn’t always translate well to the radio or telly. This is
especially true when they have him trying to – œbe weird’ with
guests as they either just don’t get it or they try to get in on the
weird which often doesn’t work at all. Although I think that has
more to do with Triple J not really knowing what to do with him, than
Sam’s comedic talents it has to be said. After such a long break
from doing his stand-up shows, it is a bit disappointing that this
show is a – œbest of’ the three shows he had done previously. Having
seen two of the three, the sketches and abstract shtick lost much of
its impact with its familiarity. Some of the material makes a welcome
return (I’ll never get sick of seeing him do the Fuck Off
song) but the combination of the familiarity of the material and the
seemingly ramshackle way he was piecing it together tonight (yelling
out cd queues to the sound guy). However, the material I hadn’t seen
before, about him working in a Coles New World store, was a fresh and
hilarious. I still enjoyed the show, but I suspect this is for first
time Simmons attendees only. I very much look forward to a brand new
show in 2010.