Review of Gud - Pilbeam Theatre, Rockhampton 16/02/05 - by epod

I purchased my ticket to Gud not knowing exactly what to expect, but being a huge fan of almost all of Paul McDermott's past work, I was curious enough to attend a show which was described as "hardcore cabaret". In Gud, Paul is accompanied by musicians Cameron Bruce, and Mick Moriarty.

The lady in the box office asked me if I wanted a front row ticket, but knowing from past experience of what Paul McDermott is capable of in terms of audience participation, I declined and instead took her up on her offer of a third row seat. On the night, I made my way to my seat, which was located third row, dead centre and immediately began to feel extremely vunerable. I could not help but think that three rows back was perhaps not nearly enough.

The show began with all three members of Gud descending from the stage, into the unsuspecting first row of the audience for a bit of a love in, accosting them with plenty of hugs and the odd handshake. They didn't venture past the first row, so at this point in the show, row three remained safe and unblemished. To be honest though, I would not have minded a hug so much!

Cameron (from the Polaroids), sings and plays keyboard. I was impressed by his naughtiness, his vocals and superb comic timing. During the show, he said some inappropriate (but very funny) stuff, including some great responses to hecklers. In addition to this, I was also extremely impressed by his large collection of name badges that were pinned to his very groovy pinstripe suit. Unreal. The man has style!

Mick (from the Gadflys) plays guitar and also sings. He did mumble a few things during the show, but most proved to be unintelligible. Yes, most of this seemed intentional and perhaps even scripted, but admittedly it got a little irritating. Particularly when Paul-Richard (Doug Anthony Allstars) like banter went on between Paul and Mick. Mick seemed like a really cool bloke, but I just don't think using Richard-like banter worked particularly well and was admittedly quite cringeworthy at times.

Partway through the show, Paul decided that it was time for a sing-a-long, so he jumped off the stage into the audience. Starting at centre row one, he thrust the microphone in front of one punter, then climbed over to centre row number two, then omg! no! centre row number three - right next to me. I looked the other way so luckily he made the person next to me sing. Yikes.

The songs performed in the show were in a similar vein to Paul's work with the Doug Anthony Allstars. I loved all the songs because the harmonies and vocals sounded awesome as well as being so clever and funny. Although quite a few of the songs I heard Gud perform were quite dirty and full of innuendo, Gud are nowhere near as feral as DAAS were. I have not yet worked out if that is a good or bad thing though, or even if I should try to compare the two!

The show ended in much the same way as it started, with Gud leaving the stage, hugging as many audience members as they could on their way out of the venue. I didn't get a hug, but still managed to leave the venue with a smile on my face. Gud were cool as and I am ashamed to say that this is the first time I had gone to see them even though they have been around for quite a while.

The next day at work, I tried to tell everyone that I had seen "Gud", but copped quite a few weird looks from people who thought I was maybe sharing a somewhat bizarre religious experience with them. Others simply had no idea what I was on about, or perhaps were wondering if I had forgotten to take my tablets - again. Hopefully this review will explain how I saw Gud. No, I didn't have a religious experience. I didn't forget to take my tablets. I just saw Gud.


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