Post by Sandersgirls on Jan 24, 2010 18:45:22 GMT -5
The first time I heard anything about Neil Hamburger, was when a friend of mine, who is a Neil fan, insisted that I come to see Neil's show. It was at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne, Australia. That was 2007. We went to the show which is in a fairly large band-room, with a good-sized stage much like the venue seen in "The World's Funnyman" DVD. About 50 seats were provided, so we got to sit down... (other Neil gigs have been all standing). The opening act was a pianist with an old guy who sang REALLY dirty limericks and songs. He was very funny and the pianist looked like a head-mistress from a girls-school...I couldn't believe she was part of this filth, from the conservative way she looked and dressed. ...a sad foot-note is that the old guy died within a year. The next act was Dr El Suavo. ...He was okay, but to be honest...he's a LOT better now. Then Neil came on. ...I had NO idea what to expect. Just like on the DVD, he took a VERY long time to get to his first joke...but from then on, my memory of the night was just my friend and I on these orange plastic chairs, rocking backward and forward, gasping for air, trying to breath between the constant laughter. It was the most I have ever laughed...and I have seen most of the great comedians over the past 25 years. Lee Evans (Something about Mary) was probably second best. Anyway, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers were playing the same night in Melbourne and Neil went on and on and on about them. It was soooo funny and sort of rude, because the Chilli Peppers were in town. He had a LOT of trouble balancing his drinks that night, the most difficulty I have seen him have with his drinks in any of the shows I've seen him do live, or on video. It was hilarious...and moist. His merchandise was on sale in a small, dark, dingey alcove, a few meters to the right of the stage...and he kept complaining about the merch stand and the conditions in the alcove. It was small and poorly lit...and the next time the merchandise was on sale in a better place...so maybe he was serious ?... It had been a long night and we didn't buy anything then, but I ordered both the live DVD's on Ebay the next day. Neil signed them for me a year later, which was great. He was very pleasant and patient with his fans.
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