Abandoman : Life + Rhymes (MICF)

Irish hip hop freestyle rap comedy duo (hot damn, another one?) Abandoman are a total eruption of impressive improv skills. The pairing of multi-instrumentalist Sam Wilson and MC extraordinaire Rob Broderick is a match made in b-boy heaven, the two working off each other like salt and pepper or, come to think of it, Salt-N-Pepa. Broderick has worked with a few accompanists over his years as Abandoman, but the Wilson/Broderick axis is the most well aligned the group has seen yet.

It comes as no surprise that the duo are amazing at what they do — if you've come all the way from Ireland to make up raps about horticulture on the spot, you better be bloody good at it. And while Broderick is front and centre, pulling all the moves while he raps, it's a total joy to observe Wilson do his thing. Armed with a beat maker on stage and a mini keyboard around his neck, Wilson is able to play brilliant melodies while also paying serious attention to Broderick, and joining the last word of each line like the brilliant hype man that he is. That level of detail and prediction is an astounding feat to bear witness to.

While Life + Rhymes is as impressive as it is entertaining, the truth is that the format just doesn't work well enough to be completely enthralling for a full hour. Be that as it may, Wilson and Broderick are a jaw-dropping combination of skills that two pasty Irish white boys should not naturally possess.

Abandoman presents Life + Rhymes till Apr 23 at The Famous Spiegeltent, part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.