It’s a truly heartbreaking moment when one of your favourite acts cancels their show citing “unforeseen circumstances” as the cause. Personal speculations begin to arise, and after browsing the interweb for answers, it becomes even more heartbreaking when it emerges, after noting that said band’s Friday and Saturday evening shows haven’t yet sold out, that the lack of sales may be that circumstance.
That’s exactly what happened to The Axis Of Awesome’s Thursday night opening show for this year’s Sydney Comedy Festival. Branded as their ten-year anniversary/homecoming tour, despite this lack of interest, Friday’s show is still three-quarters full, with the front seats of the Factory Theatre pregnant with punters excited to partake in the foray.
From the opening music and introductory voiceover, tonight’s comedic proceedings are instantly all too familiar, reading much like last year’s event. The trio proceed to introduce themselves as a ‘men band’, rehashing the joke that prior to this, they were a ‘boy band’. It’s their tried-and-true segue into their hit, ‘This Is How You Write A Love Song’, a piss-take at the industry and its talentless wonders.
Nostalgia continues to reign supreme as the night progresses with jokes about Jordan Raskopoulos’ similarity to Jack Black, Lee Naimo’s dimwittedness and Benny Davis’ height all on the menu. (This year, they’re likening Davis to Chicken Little.) However, there is a spate of new material in the mix concerning the ravages of age.
It’s an acknowledgement of many things, including the notable baldness of each member (Naimo’s wig joke is now more sad than funny, according to the man himself), and the slight dulling of their vocals and energy. It’s not enough to stop them from doing what they love, though, as they’re still plugging at it. And their songs, while many of those played tonight are the hits, are still evolving.
The Axis Of Awesome might not be gathering the same number of punters as they did when their breakthrough ‘4 Chords’ song (a medley of pop songs that rely on the same chord progression) hit YouTube, but their fans still remain true. Even if they are only here to revel in the latest version of that famous comedy song.
3.5/5 stars
The Axis Of Awesome were reviewed on Friday May 15 as part of Sydney Comedy Festival 2015.
