Joe Mande doesn't want me to write this review. I'm leaving money on the table ($100USD!) to deliver what is apparently a uniquely Australian concept: the comedy review. Midway through his opening observations on Australian culture — a prerequisite for comedians visiting from the United States — Mande made an impassioned plea (and bribe) to any reviewers in The Toff crowd to not review his show. In the latter half of his set, after straying into humorous ISIS observations (Mande warned us beforehand this part can go either way with audiences, but it went down well with us), he asked once again. Sorry Mande, a job's a job.
The Parks And Recreation and Kroll Show alum's set — which touched on a wide range of local topics, from Tony Abbott to our nation's apparent milk addiction — deserves to be praised. Mande himself lamented that he would struggle to bring much of this material home after a particularly spirited bit surrounding the disappearance of former Australian Prime Minister Howard Holt. Other material included a childhood anecdote about irritable bowel syndrome, dick pics, his ethnic ambiguity, being introduced to new ways of smoking weed as an adult... all interspersed with appropriate sound effects courtesy of an iPad. Mande delivered it all with just the right balance of nonchalance and anxiety, confidence and self-deprecation, resulting in consistent giggles (and more than the occasional roar of laughter) from the crowd.
