Off the back of a busy 2016, Cody has plenty of tales to tell. His European tour towards the end of the year, in particular, proved rewarding. “It was a bunch of places I had never been before, besides London,” he says. “To go and see new spots and do some comedy there and see how it’s received was fantastic. In Serbia and Antwerp and Amsterdam, you’re speaking their third language. And subtle jokes, they are all over it. They are over everything. The crowds are amazing. It’s fucking better than the Gold Coast. Gigs at the Gold Coast, you have to spell shit out. But in Belgrade, they’re like, ‘We see what you did there. Well done.’ ”
In a year of highlights for Cody, one in particular stands out: that time he appeared on The Conan O’Brien Show. Cody holds the distinction of being just the fourth Australian comedian to perform on the program.
“I still remember the day clearly. I remember being horrifically nervous. I was confident in the bits, I knew it was all fine. I think maybe 20 seconds in, I finally relaxed,” he says. “But up until that point, it’s just nerve-racking. When I walked out, I waved to my friends that were in the crowd and then I gave Conan a thumbs up and said, ‘Cheers, mate,’ and he bowed to me in his chair. That moment I will never forget.”
But you won’t catch Cody getting too carried away with recent success. In fact, you’re more likely to spot him playing smaller venues around town, honing his craft, just as he has done over the course of his career. “I go to the US a fair bit each year to do stuff and, in New York, there’ll be a show there with 15 people and Chris Rock might drop in. You go, ‘If he’s doing it, I have got absolutely no excuse.’ All that stuff that I’ve done over the last year, that’s completely gone and now I’m building up this new hour.”
There’s intrigue surrounding his new show, On Fire, for the simple fact that it’s been a time of great personal change for Cody. “When that last show happened, I had a girlfriend. I’ll have a wife by the time the festival starts. It’s the same person. It hasn’t been that quick of a turnaround,” he jokes.
As for what people can expect from the new show, Cody is confident it will be his strongest hour to date. “Any time there’s reviewers [in my shows], they all take different themes and things away. All I can say is, it’s as funny as I can be and it gets better each year.”
By Nick Mason
Venue: Melbourne Town Hall – Supper Room
Dates: Thursday March 30 – Sunday April 23 (bar Mondays)
Duration: 60 minutes
Tickets: $22 – $32
