The Fluffy Shop Tour has arrived on Australian soil, and Iglesias is performing four shows during the Melbourne Comedy Festival, before moving onto Sydney. At $45 a ticket, some people may be put off, but never fear, we are treated to two warm up acts, and the headliner. Lance Patrick serves as the first act, and the compere for the evening, but really does the job of reminding the audience of the basic rules during the performance (no pictures, videos etc). You have to start somewhere, I suppose. The second act of the evening is Alfred Robles, who plays the part of the straight talking Mexican. As acts go, he has some good material, and witty observations, but he is fighting a losing battle; the audience are here to see Iglesias, and the lack of support for these two acts is audible.
As the lights dim, and the Iglesias finally amkes it to the stage, the theatre goes nuts. With a mix of anecdotes, and impressions, he really has an everyman appeal, and after 5 minutes on stage I am totally converted. The jokes are funny, and enthusiastically performed, but he does not feel the need to punctuate the jokes with unnecessary bad language, or crude humour. It is a real breath of fresh air. By the time his set coming to a close, he goes into the audience and takes requests for their favourite stories. It is quite a feat, and highlights the power of the internet for those who choose to utilise it. After regaling us with the funniest story of the night, and apparently his most outrageous story, he walks off the stage to rapturous applause. This was too easy, or at least it seemed to easy. People this talented shouldn’t be let out. It’s bad for morale.
