...And Something Silly

Ok, a quick story:

Yesterday I went to an open mic afternoon in Ormond which is like forty minutes away from the CBD by train (COMMITMENT) and had a five minute spot. It went pretty well – did some new material which worked nicely and felt pretty confident after 6mins, 30 seconds. At this open mic though there was a guy doing his first ever standup spot and we got chatting for a sec. He was pretty cool... understandably nervous and chatty, and generally asking me about comedy and how you can get spots and rah rah rah... and then he let slip one fact that, while interesting, I'm still not completely sure about. Like, it's clearly true... but I don't know how I feel about this. The dude was Dave Hughes' nephew.

So ok... he told me it, and he was like, “I'm not going to tell people this, I don't want it to get out”... or something along those lines. Well sorry dude, but if you just told me, a comedian that you have known for literally ten minutes, at your first ever comedy gig... I'm pretty sure the secret's out. I mean I'm not even really implying that I'm going to tell anyone (I'm not going to delude myself and believe that local comedians are reading this blog) it's just that if you were ready to tell me... after ten minutes... fuck man you might as well have spent your afternoon dialling random numbers out of the phonebook... but anyway, he asked me to keep him anonymous, so I guess I will.

After his set, which was pretty good, Daniel Maundrell stayed for a little before bailing and taking half the crowd with him after the first bracket. I wondered to myself what his motive was behind telling me that his uncle is the one and only Dave Hughes. I wondered what he expected this to mean for him and his comedy career... and I wondered what expectations he had for himself in comedy, and whether they would be shaped by having an uncle who has, at times, graced the pinnacle of Australian standup. Regardless of whether or not the comedy community likes or dislikes Dave Hughes for his commercial work and perceived 'dumbed-down' style, he is a phenomenal performer... definitely better than the vast majority of the people who criticize him. I plan on watching with great interest, and a fair amount of thinly-veiled scepticism, as his nephew embarks into the treacherous waters of the Melbourne comedy scene. Eyes out lil' buddy... you have rough times ahead.

Peace, Taco.