By Jennifer Beasley.
One of Australia’s best comedy writers provides a hilarious hour of standup comedy with his keen wit and observational humour.
Adam Rozenbachs is like the Australian Royalty of Standup Comedy. He is frequently the warmup act for Dave Hughes and Adam Hills, has performed at over ten comedy festivals, as well as multiple comedy gigs and is one of the writers for The Front Bar. He is also on The Cheap Seats, a comedy panel show on Channel Ten, which, like this show, presents weekly observations with stinging humour.
I wasn’t meant to go to this show, but my companion is a stalwart The Front Bar fan, and before you could say, ‘that was a great pint, want another’ at the stunning Coopers Inn, I was whisked into the impressive comedy room on the second floor of this 1854 classy pub.
Rozenbachs has an easy and enjoyable style. Launching straight into his set, he proves his comedic chops with no um, errs or blank stares. As he keeps reminding us, he has been doing this for over twenty years, so you expect a good solid performance.
This is traditional standup. There’s no theme, and only a mild attempt at circling to close the comedy loop as a wrap up, however, this is where the MICF excels. There truly is something for everyone, and sometimes, you just want to go and hear the fast-paced ruminations of a laconic Aussie spearing idiocy at a classy pub.
Nicely transitioning from topic to topic, including why bother folding fitted sheets (I agree. Like why? Shouldn’t they be on the bed?), speeding fines on a bicycle, flying business class with the alcohol-free Royal Brunei Airlines and medical visits are all fodder for Rozenbachs’ quick wit and punch-line style.
Halfway through his set Rozenbachs asks Tracey from the Commonwealth bank about the perks of her job. Apparently, you get a day off if your dog dies, which only provides extra material for the comedian to run with, and to ponder on this absurdist provision. I also was picked on, but nothing that happened to me that Saturday could match Tracey’s input!
Rozenbachs continued to regale us with other insights and, at times, not afraid to venture into darker material. Not all his gags landed, but he was so rapid fire that he moved quickly into the next piece. My companion noted that he could almost pick the jokes that Mick Molloy would say on The Front Bar, which I took to be a compliment on Rozenbachs writing skills.
Great fun and a must watch on this last day of MICF.
