David O'Doherty - Ultrasound

How regular are David O’Doherty’s movements? It was exactly one year and a day since he last played the Regal, and veterans of his now annual antipodean pilgrimage knew exactly what to expect. 

His material was inspired and insightful, and as usual it was impossible to differentiate the prepared material from the ad-libs. But the pace, even by O’Doherty’s prodigious standards, was electric. Often veering off at extreme angles, the first quarter of an hour in particular was a veritable blitzkrieg of one-liners and abstract comedy bombs. It was during this segment that he revealed that he had a root canal that morning and may have been suffering from/inspired by his prescribed anti-pain medication. Whatever it was, it was working. 

The show rattled along at such a dangerously unpredictable velocity there was a feeling it could go anywhere. There were a few new songs, as ever hammered out on his plastic keyboard, impromptu requests for Radiohead numbers, which were more or less recognisable, and, as fans might expect, Life in all its desperate glory. But even by O’Doherty’s very high standards, this performance was a special one.