It seems to becoming an annual event for July; a date so many eagerly await, just itching to unleash their inner child for one night of toffee-apple-sticky, inky-fingerprinted fun; A night where you can clap your hands with glee and shout lyrics with unabashed joviality. The return of Peter Combe.

But every great show needs a great warm-up act, and in a burgeoning tradition, the audience was reacquainted with The de Grussa Band; returning at their comical best. Their show was comprised of a lot less covers this time, except for a few obvious favourites including; Monkey Magic, the Inspector Gadget theme and some much-loved Bohemian Rhapsody. The bulk of their set was made up of original tunes, which are so hilarious because of how very real the subject matter is. Songs like Come and get Your Stuff Steff, about breaking up with a girl and threatening to burn all of her crap if she doesn’t come and get it soon, is something so many of us can relate to that you can’t help but laugh.

The thing that makes The de Grussa Band a great musical comedy acts, is their flawless delivery; they have mastered comic timing, on-stage banter and come complete with props, streamer cannons and gorgeous angel-wing costumes, topped off with some truly talented musicians; what’s not to love?

The de Grussa Band began with a fantastic video-intro, depicting the journey from Kalgoorlie to Fremantle, in one day, without a car. Drummer, Danny Jeater opted for a rocket, which travelled at a whopping 62km/h, that he belatedly discovered was powered by painful pop-ballads. Lead Vocalist/Keyboards Michael de Grussa, suggested he could get there faster on foot, and promptly took off in a sweat-shirt and teeny tiny gym shorts, amazingly running the entire distance in only one day, and arriving at the door fractionally before Jeater arrived in his rocket, none-other than Mr Squiggle’s famous vehicle (which was created in all its glory by the Fly-By-Night Stage Manager – what an artist!)

After a fantastic set by The Degrussa Band, the Belly-Flop in a Pizza Band arrived on stage; followed shortly by the man of the hour; Peter Combe. He strutted out and immediately busted out Big Yellow Ball, a great big tune that gave everyone a chance to warm up their voices, hands and dancing shoes. We soon discovered that The Band is a collection of jazz session musicians from Perth, along with Combe’s long-time partner in crime, Phil Cunneen. They really are all consummate performers, flawlessly executing the seemingly complex tunes and looked like they were having a good time doing it, especially the guitarist, who was suffering from outrageous guitar face syndrome; at least he’s passionate about his craft.

Combe took us through all the classics, at times squeezing his throat in a bit of pain, Perhaps he was suffering from a cold, or may have done some damage with the strenuous vocals of Syntax Error, once through the first few songs though, everything seemed to sort its self out and he gave us an absolutely beautiful rendition of Spangle Road. This is such a beautiful song; simple enough to be enjoyed by children, but its very simplicity makes it’s message poignant for adults too “What could be better than you and me together, walking down Spangle Road?” It wouldn’t be surprising if a few die-hard fans or maybe pre-school teachers have used it for their wedding waltz.

Culinary delights were also the order of the day, with more than just beer on offer this time – œround – for only a small price, punters were tempted at the door by sticky treats. Now, toffee apples always seem like an awesome idea, that is until you’ve negotiated the toffee and successfully smeared it over your face, and you’re left with a warm and usually somewhat smooshy apple… trying to disguise healthy food with candy doesn’t fool us. But it was worth it just for the fun of seeing people trying to dispose of their de-toffeed fruit.

The show was about more than just music and sweets though, with a crate of newspaper at the door, the entire room was decked out in newspaper hats; some glitter-clad numbers had obviously had a bit of preparation, but for the most part, people were happy with a bit of last-minute origami magic. How many gigs do you get to go to these days that give you the opportunity for arts and craft? Although perhaps it’s a growing trend: several newspaper clad heads were spotted at the Rocket Room later that evening, for which a certain reviewer is taking no responsibility…