They’re used to playing in stadiums with fireworks, glitter and dragon-eating cars, they explain at the start of the show, asking the audience to imagine that’s all going on.
It’s not unusual for comedians to grandstand like this. Early in his musical comedy career, Tim Minchin refused to play on any type of instrument except grand pianos. Teaching audiences to take you seriously will pay off.
So will musical skill and clever jokes, which The Axis of Awesome have in bucketloads. And so will plenty of rehearsal. There was no messing around with props or missing audio cues – everything was watertight. The Hi-Fi was packed and the audience cheered and screamed almost from the start.
Their creativity, enthusiasm and sharp observation make it hard to pick highlights from a show this good. But here’s a few: a spookily accurate boy band-style generic love song, an inflatable football mascot and some angry-sounding German lyrics. The show also featured a spot-on doof doof parody song, with the chorus asking onlookers if they could hear the music coming out of their car. Benny and Lee crouched down either side of Jordan and twirled patterned black umbrellas, making it look like they were the wheels of the car he was driving.
You might have heard of The Axis of Awesome from their song ‘4 Chords’ that did the rounds of the internet a little while ago. Just when it looks like they’re not going to sing it, they oblige. It’s as funny as ever and comes complete with fresh jokes about how it has become “that song from the internet”.
Be warned that there’s a Hitler joke and one song making fun of the Holy Ghost, if that’s a warning you need. But these are soon over.
The Axis of Awesome are clever, talented, hilarious and hard-working. Go and book your tickets.
