New Zealand may seem like just a stones throw across the Tasman but it’s far enough that New Zealand’s folk comedy duo Flight Of The Conchords have taken almost fifteen years to tour Australia. Finally the wait is over and this July will see the delightful duo grace our shores, and our stages, in a night of unbridled hilarity.
The Frontier Touring Company are bringing funny men Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, otherwise known as Flight Of The Conchords, to Australia for their first ever series of Australian headline shows, and they even seem to be hitting most areas which is great news for fans of the comedic duo.
Jemaine said of the announcement; “We are finally returning to Australia. Mostly to apologise.”
Flight Of The Conchords may not have done a headlining Australian tour but that doesn’t mean they haven’t become one of Australia’s favourite comedy and musical acts. Some of their best known tracks include ‘Carol Brown’, ‘Foux Da Fafa’ and ‘Epileptic Dogs’ and a whole host more.
The duo are New Zealand’s self-proclaimed ‘fourth most popular folk-parody duo’ and they make an art form out of musical comedy. Their live performances include appearances by many an instrument, some of which make me laugh at just the thought. The duo play the ukelele, toy piano, keytar, synth and a ‘1987 DG-20 Casio electric guitar set to mandolin’ to create the backing track to some of the most bizarre crowd singalongs heard on-stage, and to hear them described as bizarre is certainly not much of a surprise – it surprised me that they are actually described as the most bizarrely wonderful crowd singalongs.
Bret and Jemaine started out in stand up comedy and then created a radio series for BBC Radio 2 and then came the acclaimed HBO comedy series Flight Of The Conchords which thrust the duo into the global limelight. The series ran for two seasons, in which time they collected 10 Emmy nominations and a WGA nomination for Best Comedy Series.
The music of the Flight Of The Conchords played a large role in the success of their very popular self-titled series and was celebrated with two successful soundtracks; Flight Of The Conchords and I Told You I Was Freaky which is out now through Sub Pop. Tracks from these albums grabbed 6 spots in the Triple J Hottest 100 over two years, they included ‘Business Time’, ‘Hurt Feelings’ and ‘Too Many Dicks on the Dancefloor’.
It was over a decade ago that Flight Of The Conchords won Best Newcomer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and since then the duo have come a long way, and built quite a rapport with the limelight.
The big screen has recently been in the sights of both of these performers. Bret took on the role of Music Supervisor on The Muppets movie, and won the Best Original Song Oscar for the touching, and funny, Man or Muppet. The song was up against a track from Rio which is a movie that featured Bret’s musical other half and upcoming Men In Black III star Jemaine Clement.
It certainly seems to me like this tour may have been a long time coming but these guys are going to make up for it with a side splitting good night.
Audiences for this tour will witness (and possibly singalong to) the incredible songwriting, witty on stage banter and catchy melodies that will stay with you for days, and just the thought of the epic ‘Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros’ rap battle is enough to stay with me I think.
FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS
Frontier Members pre-sale via www.frontiertouring.com/fotc
4pm AEST Thu 12 April to 4pm AEST Fri 13 April
General public on sale from 9am local time, Tuesday 17 April
Thu 5 July – All Ages
Sydney Opera House NSW
sydneyoperahouse.com| Ph: (02) 9250 7777
Sat 7 July – All Ages
Brisbane Entertainment Centre QLD
ticketek.com.au │ 132 849
Tue 10 July – All Ages
Newcastle Entertainment Centre NSW
ticketek.com.au │132 849
Wed 11 July – All Ages
WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong NSW
ticketek.com.au │ 132 849
Fri 13 July – All Ages
Adelaide Entertainment Centre SA
ticketek.com.au │ 132 849
Sat 14 July – All Ages
The Plenary, Melbourne VIC
ticketmaster.com.au │ 136 100
Wed 18 July – All Ages
Challenge Stadium, Perth WA
ticketmaster.com.au │ 136 100
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