Tim Minchin the “Woody Allen Jesus” Brings a Sermon on the Mount To Moontower
Photo: Birdsong Imaging, Mandy Earnshaw
Whether you consider comedian/musicians part of the “comedy” or “oddity” section of Moontower, the festival is full of some of the best comedians who get their laughs via song. A lot of comedy purists turn their nose down at an act who “cheats” by using a piano or guitar, and there certainly are some performers who lazily rely on the performance aspect to gloss over weak writing. But dismissing all musical comedians for that is like saying Whitney Cummings and Amy Schumer aren’t funny because you saw three newbie comics at an open mic telling mediocre jokes about sex. A good musical comedy act is almost like a one-man (or woman) sketch show, with the song providing a structure that allows painting a scene and its characters more vividly than you could squeeze into a setup-punch.
Moontower’s commitment to musical acts is apparent in their bookings – Australian comedian Tim Minchin headlined the Paramount Theater opening night, Bridget Everett will bring her amazing show to the Google Fiber Stage Saturday and she’ll be featured alongside Karen Kilgariff on the delightful live “radio program” Come To Papa, and both Karen and Irish comedian David O’Doherty have a strong presence on shows throughout the festival.
Tim Minchin isn’t necessarily a household name, but sitting in a sold out theater of fans who could sing along with every song, you may start to feel like you’ve been living under a rock for not being on board. The crowd who turned out at The Paramount Thursday night were so excited and full of anticipation, the entire place erupted in cheers multiple times at the mere thought that he was about to appear – first when the lights dimmed, then as the Moontower promo video played, once it wrapped up and again when Minchin did actually appear.
Minchin performed barefoot, oozing upbeat charm through songs that ranged from silly to deep, amiable crowdwork and some written stand-up. With his long red dreadlocks and good looks, he makes a winking reference comparing himself to Jesus during “Woody Allen Jesus” but his fans reacted like he really could walk on water.
While Minchin is like a modern Russell Brand take (I’m sure he gets that comparison so much he’s sick of it) on conversational, intimate feeling old school acts like Victor Borgia, Bridget Everett is like a cabaret, Vegas revue and one-woman theater show all wrapped in one. Each song paints its own picture, while Bridget weaves them all together into a coherent whole with banter to rival any chanteuse and the kind of crowd interaction that is well beyond memorable.
If you missed out on Tim Minchin, you can still catch The Bridget Everett Show Saturday at the Google Fiber Stage and Come to Papa tonight at Speakeasy.
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