While picking up my tickets at The Forum box office I overheard the venue staff trying their best to explain, not so much even sell, tonight’s performance to a walk-in backpacker couple. “Um, it’s comedy?” was pretty much the extent of pitch. I’m not sure what the result turned out to be. But I can’t imagine that an outsider going in blind to a Tim and Eric live performance would be in for an enjoyable night. I, on the other hand, did have an enjoyable night.
DJ Douggpound, aka Awesome Show editor Doug Lussenhop warmed up the fairly well-populated Forum (this Sunday performance followed on from a packed-out Saturday show). Combining ample mixing skills and some well-timed comedic beats, Douggpound put the school in session for his repertoire of sex positions – most notably the elusive “ass-to-dad”. Plus one involving stretching a used prophylactic from your teeth and plucking it to play the Seinfeld slap-bass theme. Nice.
For the uninitiated, there really isn’t an adequate way to describe Tim and Eric in words. Safe to say the vast majority of those in attendance tonight were card-carrying devotees
The performance was an even split between live performances, well-loved clips, a tailored prerecorded Dr Steve Brule greeting, clips which technically shouldn’t have been seen in Australia (you could sense some disappointment when Tim received a roar of approval upon asking during the encore if we had seen the clips from Check It Out season two and Billion Dollar Movie, as is his justifiable disdain for piracy).
With the familiarity of the clips came the sense that we were getting ripped off to an extent. Still, I probably laughed as hard as ever at the crowd-selected “Ooh mama” sketch as it played on the Forum screen.
Spagett made a welcome appearance, the Kid Break kids ran through a tasty medley – with Eric goading Tim into revealing his bloody nips after he apparently missed his cue. Tim also managed to forget the lyrics outright in a few instances.
There was plenty of obscene pandering to Australian stereotypes, which worked for the most part, but failed to hold it together for a bizarre (even by their standards) didgeridoo showdown.
While it wasn’t a traditional show, it wasn’t necessarily a good show. It was an outlet for fans to heap worship, and dollars, at their idols. And it that sense, it was a vital and perfunctory ceremony for Tim and Eric to reap what they had sown with their oeuvre. And us fans were more than happy to give back.
BY LACHLAN KANONIUK
