Jude Perl’s live performance was an absolute blast. While other performers at the Melbourne International Comedy Fest may have done well at telling a story, musically performing or stand-up comedy, it takes a very rare talent to mix the three into a show without it coming off as jarring. Perl seamlessly mixed comedic elements together creating a show that was hilarious from start to finish and left the crowd roaring in laughter, successfully using a sharp wit and a bit of slightly racy humour to create a night enjoyed by all.
Perl’s Part of this Complete Breakfast show sees her telling a story where she tries to follow her dreams and release an album whilst being held back by the company that she’s working for. Stuck creating jingles, she engages in discussions with the head of the company to try and get the release that she wants whilst being told that she needs to make stylistic changes to her music in order to appeal to a wider audience. Sexiness, summer, fun, the beach, and that idea of catering to “what the kids want” all result in Perl creating songs that take the absolute piss out of the pop music industry’s focus on shallow music and a perceived aversion to anything that touches on personal issues. Other great hits took aim at love, power ballads, the hypocrisy of appearing to be a good person whilst inadvertently using sweatshop labour amongst many other hilarious topics.
The comically upbeat tone of these songs are reinforced with flawless delivery, as Perl has a clear knack for intelligent rhyming and song writing. This is also supported by the fact that Perl has an incredible voice that often flutters from booming to delicate and cleverly breaks away from the music to add to humorous effect. The level of talent she has for creating these songs could see her as a potential contender for the void of musical comedy that Flight of the Conchords left in their absence – it’ll be very interesting to see if Perl’s skills take her to grander projects.
Whilst mainly using the stage show to stay in the plot of her tale, there were moments where she broke the fourth wall for some top notch stand-up comedy that made the show feel well rounded. There wasn’t too much music, storytelling or direct stand-up, rather all three elements balanced and complemented the show perfectly. Easily one of the most well thought out shows you could catch this comedy festival.
BY THOMAS BRAND
