The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has kicked off for another year, and I was lucky enough to be able to get tickets to so many amazing comedians that I wanted to see. So I've decided to review all the shows I see, and to include some general comedy festival tips as well (scroll to the end for those). First up, Matt Okine!
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| Matt Okine, comedian, TV star, radio host, etc etc etc |
Matt Okine is having an amazing year. Professionally I mean, he may be having a shit time personally, who knows. Seriously though, he seems to be killing it at life. You may know Matt as one half of former Triple J breakfast duo Matt and Alex, which graced our airwaves until 2016. You may know him for his music career, his cooking show on the ABC, his stand-up, or his TV show The Other Guy (which he both wrote and starred in). He even hosted this year's Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala. I know, right? He's one of those annoying people that seems to be good at everything they try.
So that's why I was a bit surprised at the venue he is performing in this year. The Supper Club at Town Hall is a small room, surely he could sell out a bigger space? It felt kind of perfect though, Matt's comedy comes across as though he's your friend, telling you an entertaining story about his weekend, so the intimate venue really worked for that.
I found Matt's show to be a good mix of current issues and his own life. His stories are relatable, even those about acting in his own TV show have a universally human awkwardness that everyone understands. I also really like how he delved into his thought process behind one of his jokes (is it sexist? is it offensive?) something that most of us lately have been putting more thought into.
From observations on racism and homophobia, to the story of the risk that changed his life and started his career, Matt Okine uses experiences from his life to craft a story that is relatable, funny, and most surprisingly, inspiring.
I expected the typical hilarious anecdotes about living in a sharehouse and parents navigating modern technology, but I didn't expect to leave feeling inspired. Maybe it's just me, but I love hearing about how people became successful, and if you can tell that story while being down to earth and making people laugh, well I think that is just the best type of story.
Where can you find Matt?
(Probably at his house, but that's not ok, do not stalk him)
Melbourne International Comedy Festival until April 22 (then on to other comedy festivals around the country)
Tickets to all of them can be found here: http://www.mattokine.com/tour-dates/
His show The Other Guy, on Stan (there are only six episodes, which is tragic, I'm hoping there will be a season two, but who knows?). You can sign up to Stan for a free 30 day trial as well, which is good.
On a number of episodes of comedy podcasts including Don't You Know Who I Am with Josh Earl, and The Little Dum Dum Club.
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| The Other Guy, starring and written by Matt Okine |
Tips for visiting the Comedy Festival:
TICKETS
Of course, all the big acts sell out pretty quickly, but if you can't get tickets to who you wanted, or if you're just not sure who to see, why not try someone new?
If you head to Town Hall, you will see so many people handing out flyers for shows, which is also great for last minute tickets if you have seen an early show and want to extend your comedy fix for the night.
If you're not sure who to see, it can also be great to see a show with more than one comedian, so you get a bit of variety.
There can be massive queues if you're buying them on the night though, so if you can it's best to book in advance, which you can do here: https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2018
PARKING
If you're driving into the city, parking can cause massive anxiety; where to park, does it cost money, how far is it from the venue, etc.
I've found the best thing to do is to pre-book your parking online, which you can do here: https://www.wilsonparking.com.au/book-a-bay. You just find the closest parking lot to your venue, book it, and when you show up you just tap your card to enter and exit.
It's sometimes a bit cheaper, but it is cheap anyway, usually about $6 for the night. You also get Velocity points, which is an extra bonus.
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