Tim Vine - Sunset Milk Idiot

UK comic stalwart Tim Vine is a cornerstone of his unique brand of one-liner comedy, one of the hardest working jokesters on the scene. His jokes often number in the hundreds over the course of a one-hour show. Armed with a slew of homemade props, a bevy of non-sequitur songs, and a cheeky wink or two at a confused audience, Vine takes his crowd on a nonsensical journey into the mind of a bonafide weirdo.

What’s certainly not up for debate is Vine’s skill in the craft – each gag is executed with silly perfection. The question lies not in the quality, but in the quantity of the performance. The comic's barrage of jokes is relentless as he quips through an immeasurable number of exhaustive and often exhausting puns. Vine knows he is a divisive comic, cheekily checking his own watch throughout the set and knowingly nodding at the cross-armed punters in the crowd. However, even this clever self-awareness is mined just a few too many times, and while done intentionally, the joke loses traction quickly.

Ultimately, Vine is his trademark self, unapologetically doing what he loves to do. The peaks of his performance come through in the moments where the crowd try to get ahead of him before the punchline – though they never can. These moments show off just how clever this type of comedy can be, and why so many others fail to do it well. He’s a comic that requires some prior research before seeing – can an audience member handle a whole hour of Vine-ian buffoonery? At the end of the day, Sunset Milk Idiot is the embarrassing dad of the comedy festival: a bit tiresome, very lame, but also rather lovable.