Laughapoolooza - The Umbrella Revolution, Federation Square, Melbourne - 02/05/06- by epod

This was my first visit to the groovy big tent that I had been admiring during my walks around Federation Square. It was for Laughapoolooza, a show which consists of short, approximately 15 minute sets from mainly musical comedy acts from the Melbourne Comedy Festival.

Host of the night was Chopper. No, not the real Chopper, the Chopper impersonator of sorts from the tv show, "The Ronnie Johns Half Hour." tv show. I thought that it was a bit of an odd combination for a night of musical comedy, but I found Chopper to be a great host, who kept me smiling all the way through his various sets. I particularly liked the many various products that he bought out with his name emblazoned on them. For example there was a Chopper Spray and Wipe and he said it got rid of all the usual stains, "...blood, guts, etc".

First performer was Sammy J, who played the piano whilst singing a few songs, the most clever and amusing being his backwards song. Although he was interesting to watch, I don't think that I could sit through an hour long show of his material. Elbowskin, a duo armed with a guitar were great, and I would definately like to see more of them.

I was dying to see Die Roten Punkte (The Red Dots) as I had heard so many good things about them. They did not disappoint. This is a rock band of sorts made up of Melbourne actors Clare Bartholomew and Daniel Tobias. They introduce themselves as Astrid and Otto, a band from Germany, and they are so convincing that you really do believe them. Astrid plays a miniture sized drum kit, whilst Otto plays a tiny electric guitar. These guys were so cool, that I checked out their full show. A review of this will be up on my reviews page soon.

Renegades of Folk performed, and their original song was a little too cutesy and a little lame for me. The concept that they have of covering songs in a folkish sort of way is cool, and they do sound great... but again, I don't think I could sit through a full show of their material without falling asleep. That said, one half of the Renegades of Folk is The Bedroom Philosopher. He did a solo set, which was awesome.

This guy is cool, and I really enjoyed his set. He took to the stage with his acoustic guitar and cardigan, right after Die Roten Punkte (the red dots) performed - a little difficult to do considering the rock power of Die Roten Punkte, but he captivated the audience. Firstly, with a song that he said that he had just written on the spot about a particularly annoying heckler. If he indeed did write it on the spot, it makes his performance more impressive. This is a bloke who I could easily watch for a full show.

I had never heard of Geraldine Quinn, but what a shame that is, as she was amazing. She sings and plays the guitar and has an awesome voice. The song she sung called Penis Envy was extremely intense, and was performed with such vehemence, that totally blew me away. I would have liked to see Geraldine's solo show, but unfortunately run out of time.

If it returns to the comedy festival next year, I highly recommend checking out the Laughapoolooza shows, as they are a good way to get a brief look at various performers - some very popular ones, and others that you otherwise may not have heard of or thought of seeing.