The acclaimed stand-up comedian is in the country for his first local tour in almost a decade
No disrespect intended to the announced guests at yesterday's Comedy Lounge event at Perth's Charles Hotel, but it's safe to say that last night's attendees probably weren't expecting their $20 ticket to represent quite as much value as it ultimately did.
While the comedic talents of Matt Claybrooks, MC Dan Willis, Suns Of Fred, Lukey Bolland and the participants in 'Gong In 60 Seconds' are not remotely in dispute, last night's Comedy Lounge tickets became all the more worthwhile when internationally revered comedian Chris Rock rocked up for a quick set.
The acclaimed comedian is currently in the country for his first visit in almost a decade and, as The West Australian reports, the standard price for a ticket to one of his shows can go well past the $100 mark.
In fact, tickets to Rock's headline show tonight at Perth Arena are currently on sale for anywhere between $63.25 and $573.85 on the secondary market.
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So, to get a chance to be one of 170 people to witness Rock at a suburban Perth hotel as he tried out new material for a solid half-hour in a far more intimate setting than usual would have been a pretty damn special occasion indeed.
Comedy Lounge director John McAllister told The West Australian it was the first time he'd ever seen a comedian of Rock's calibre do such a thing — "We just don't put Comedy Lounge at the Charles Hotel in the same sentence as Chris Rock," he said — and that "For $20, [the crowd] got the best show of their entire lives".
Clearly not concerned about sharing a stage with Rock, UK-bred comedian Willis tweeted about the high-profile, very welcome gig-crasher late last night, describing the encounter as "a pleasure".
Suns Of Fred, too, posted about the experience on Instagram, while Bolland — who Perth Now reports had to follow the A-lister — said that Rock was "as nice as he is funny".
Chris Rock kicks off his Australian tour proper in Perth tonight; see theGuide for more details.
MCing tonight in Perth, just happened to get the pleasure of introducing Mr Chris Rock. Here's @SonsofFred photo bombing me. pic.twitter.com/H0Mlyki2zG
— Dan Willis (@danwillis007) June 22, 2017
They say "Never meet your heroes" tonight I got to meet one of the all time greatest comedians @chrisrock and he is as nice as he is funny! pic.twitter.com/MIRO8i6EaL
— Luke Bolland (@Lukey20) June 22, 2017