Arj Barker Articles/Reviews

[mish]

in todays SMH (30/4)

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/...381945109.html

[miss_doobie]

tooooooooo long to be shorts, too short to be pants... Shpants!!!


hee hee, i love arj

[Beckslee]

I remember that song at the spinning wheel, it was cool with the backing music from simm and ben


* arggghh Now I have the schpants song stuck in my head

[miss_doobie]

aha! my plan for world domination via the Shpants Song has begun!!!


*evil cackle*

[Beckslee]

Originally Posted by miss_doobie

aha! my plan for world domination via the Shpants Song has begun!!!


*evil cackle*

It's as distrurbing to have that song in my head as looking at the nude picture on his website (no giggling you lot :p )

[miss_doobie]

tooooooooo much material to be sandals... not enough to be shoes...


shoodals



hee hee

[Melicious]

That picture seriously scared me... he emailed me and asked my opinion on his website - and sent me a link.... i just clicked on it.... AND IT WAS THE NAKED PHOTOS!

The little bugger tricked me!

If only i had have watched the episode of Rove that those photos were on - at least then i would have been prepared....

[unfrufru]

http://blogs.theage.com.au/entertain...laugh_arj.html

Last Laugh: Arj Barker v angry mob




Arj Barker took on an angry mob last night - and won. Barker's show - due to start at 10.45pm - was delayed for over an hour due to earlier shows at the Capitol Theatre running over time. Given that some fans had begun queuing up to an hour before the scheduled start, Barker was greeted by a lot of tired, frustrated people when he finally took the stage.

And he knew it. The American festival regular made it clear from the outset that he appreciated the audience being so patient. He then treated us to an hour of excellent stand-up that demonstrated why he's so consistently popular at the festival.



This year's show, Unmitigated, sees Barker returning to free-form stand-up after last year's themed show, Ego No Amigo. Unmitigated is promoted as "all-time vintage classic jokes as well as some sweet new freshies". It's true that a fair bit of old material gets an airing (walking shoes, Australian licence plates, digital watches) but there's enough new stuff to keep fans happy.



Perhaps Barker's most endearing quality is his ability to tailor jokes to his local audience. He's one of the few foreign performers who manages to make comments about Melbourne and Australia that are both funny and insightful, rather than sticking with cliched topics like Australian fauna or how we're descended from convicts (two things Dylan Moran touched on).

So Barker gives us analysis of Aussie phrases like "crack the s--ts", ridicules the Commonwealth Games and lines up the "Where the bloody hell are you?" tourism campaign as a (admittedly easy) target.

As the show came to a close and the time approached 1am, Barker told the audience he'd tried his best to keep the energy in the room up but felt we hadn't really responded. Perhaps it's true (I overheard several people complaining about tiredness in the queue), but it had little to do with Barker, who's own energy and enthusiasm made his show worth the wait.



Craig Platt
April 14, 2006 04:16 PM

[unfrufru]

http://www.theage.com.au/news/arts-r...861319587.html

A solid, safe bet for those looking for undemanding belly laughs.

Arj Barker: a festival staple.



GenreComedyLocationRMIT Capitol TheatreAddress113 Swanston St, MelbourneDate13 April 2006 to 7 May 2006TicketsFri and Sat $26.90-$28.90, Wed, Thur, Sun $22.50-$25.50, Tue $19.90.Phone Bookings1300 660 013Online Bookingswww.ticketmaster.com.auDetailsTue-Sat 10.00pm, Sun 9.00pm
COMEDY FESTIVAL REVIEW

INTERNATIONAL comedians with the temerity to take on local sacred cows should only be encouraged. Particularly Americans.

Arj Barker, a 32-year-old Californian, is something of a festival staple. Having visited Melbourne more than 10 times, Barker has collected wide-ranging material on Australians.
His wry, observational brand of humour in Unmitigated is punctuated by mostly funny tirades about mannerisms and behaviour.

Barker made light of Cyclone Larry, AFL footy scarves, pre-emptive text messaging, local pronunciations and, of course, one of this year's festival favourites, the Commonwealth Games.

Barker even had his own warm-up act: local comic Daniel Townes delivered a few uneven minutes of laughs as Barker's fans filed in.

Barker's bits and pieces about Australia, performed with a disarmingly affectionate context - he clearly loves Melbourne - provided his biggest laughs. While sure, the number plate thing has been done before, his imitation-Aussie accent was above average, as was a routine about an Australian giving him geographic directions.

Some things clearly didn't work, particularly long-winded yarns that failed to hold the attention of his sell-out audience.

There were obviously some monarchists in the room, as an excellent joke about the British monarchy did not generate the laughs it deserved.

Unmitigated is solid enough and a safe bet for those looking for undemanding belly laughs.