Comedy - The Australian Way October 2012 - Qantas

talkabout comedy
Jokers in the wild
As the Just For Laughs comedy festival returns to Sydney, Brendan Shanahan
looks at the role of the internet in boosting the careers of budding comedians.
Bo Burnham
photography: corbis australia
october 2012 QANTAS 135

comedy talkabout
English comedian
Russell Kane at last
year’s Just For Laughs
in Montreal
“the way the
internet works is,
the cream and scum
rise to the top. people
always want to see
something great...
or terrible”
If
stand-up comedy in the internet age is anything to go
by, then the art form hasn’t changed much – most jokes
are still about the differences between men and
women, other ethnic groups and how my mother
wished I’d become a doctor. Our access to comedy,
however, has changed radically. A YouTube video that
goes viral has become the gold strike of the 21st century, creating a
new breed of comedy star.
Whether it’s an otherwise forgettable comedian such as Judson
Laipply, who will be forever known as the Evolution Of Dance guy,
or a DIY wunderkind such as Bo Burnham, discovered at 17 via
YouTube and now with his own MTV show, the internet has opened
up a world of possibilities for comedians and audiences. But is instant
online success necessarily good for a long-term career; and, more to
the point, does it make for better comedy?
This month, Sydney hosts its second Just For Laughs. Founded in
1983 in Montreal, it is now the world’s biggest international comedy
festival and has been franchised across the globe. Andy Nulman
was the event’s co-founder and is now its director of festivals and
television. As well as being a major comedy promoter, Nulman is a
new-media pioneer – his festival website, hahaha.com, was one of
the first comedy sites online and he has made a fortune from a mobile
content business, selling ringtones, videos, games and apps.
With knuckles of glittering rings, an excitable manner and a
passing resemblance to Dustin Hoffman, Nulman brings a touch of
PT Barnum to his role. Indeed, he is probably as well-known for his
flamboyant style – clothing sponsors are listed on his website – as
for his outspoken opinions. An evangelist for the role of new media
in entertainment, Nulman is unambiguous when asked if aspiring
comedians can now bypass the club circuit for immediate fame.
“One thousand per cent,” he says. “If you do something of value,
then people will spread it. But you have to create something of value.”
He is dismissive of those comedians who promote themselves on
Facebook by offering to donate a dollar to charity for each fan who
“likes” them. “People see through it. The way the internet works is,
the cream and the scum will always rise to the top. People will always
want to see something great, or something terrible.”
Asked to nominate any pitfalls to online promotion, Nulman says
there aren’t any. However, not everyone has such a cut-and-dried
view of the medium’s utility. James Smith is an Australian stand-up
comedian who has lived and worked in New York since 2003.
A hard-gigging performer with a tough, sardonic style that plays
well with crowds in his adopted city, he’s probably best known for
his role on Flight Of The Conchords as Maxwell, the smug, partyloving
Australian diplomat and nemesis of the hapless band
manager Murray from the New Zealand Embassy.
“The only reason I would ever have anything online is if someone
wanted to book me for a function,” says Smith. “To book you, they
have to see a clean set. But I hate people watching me online. To my
mind it’s like listening to a rap album with no cursing. It’s just
sanitised and uninteresting.”
Along with his fear of not being seen at his best, Smith has other,
more quantifiable objections to posting his routines online – repeating
material. “It works the opposite for us [comedians] than for
photography: maxime cÔtÉ
136 QANTAS october 2012

Noel Fielding
The Axis
of Awesome
musicians – people want to hear the same hits over and over again,
but they always want new jokes. Louis CK, probably the world’s most
prolific comedian, said, ‘They’ll come and see you once, but if it’s the
same stuff they heard on the DVD, they’ll never come again.’”
When these reservations are put to Nulman, he is characteristically
blunt. “Guess what? While you were trying not to give material
away, somebody was going ahead and secretly taping it, and they’ll
put it up anyway. The people worried about giving material away
shouldn’t be, because no-one cares about them. Once you become
even a minor celebrity, people are watching your every move. Every
time someone falls on their arse in a concert, thousands of mobile
phones capture the moment.”
Nulman’s point was well illustrated during last year’s Just For
Laughs debut in Sydney. Louis CK is probably the biggest name in
American stand-up, but is almost unknown in Australia. Despite
this, his shows sold out before he even got on the plane – online clips
and DVDs were enough to ensure him a rabid fan base in an unlikely
corner of the world, a fact that seemed to
bemuse the comedian when he turned up
for his Opera House gig and ruminated
on the bizarre nature of world fame.
One act that can attest to both the
power and perils of publicity in the virtual
age are Australia’s The Axis of Awesome.
A four-minute video of their live performance
of the musical parody Four Chords
now has almost 20 million hits, making
them, arguably, Australia’s most famous
recent comedy export.
The Axis of Awesome emerged from
Sydney’s theatre sports and improv
scene. Eventually the group was invited
to perform at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe
Festival. On the final night of their show,
a producer from BBC Radio saw them,
bought their self-released album and, at
the end of the year, played Four Chords
on DJ Scott Mills’ high-rated drivetime
show. “From there, it just snowballed,”
says Lee Naimo, the group’s guitarist.
The band made a YouTube video, which quickly garnered 1.5
million hits. But it wasn’t until a fan posted a TV clip of their performance
at the Melbourne Comedy Festival that things really took off.
In a month it had several million hits and by the time they went back
to Edinburgh they were selling out the city’s biggest venues. In early
2011 they completed a seven-month American tour. In the latter part
of the year they played 6000-seat theatres across the UK.
The “overnight” fame attained by The Axis of Awesome is something
of an illusion – the group had been gigging and recording for
some time before Four Chords went viral. Naimo says that although
the exposure has allowed them to tour the world, it has also forced
them to fight the perception of being a flash-in-the-pan internet
novelty act – even Nulman seems unaware of the group’s other work.
When asked whether fame has been a double-edged sword, Naimo
is brutally frank. “Absolutely. Four Chords has been great to us, but
I like to think people who look up our stuff on YouTube will think
more of us than just [being] a one-hit wonder.”
noel fielding photography: eric myre; the axis of awesome: getty images
138 QANTAS october 2012

laughing
all over
the world
If there’s one thing all comedians seem to agree on, it is that no
amount of internet can compete with the experience of live
performance, either for the comedian or the audience. Michael
Kvamme is a young American stand-up and the conceptual brain
behind one of the world’s biggest comedy websites, funnyordie.com.
Produced by a production company part-owned by comedy
superstar Will Ferrell, Funny Or Die is a platform for everyone in
comedy, from unknown stand-ups to the likes of Steve Martin.
Although Kvamme says that the internet now allows comedians
“to find their audience straight away”, he adds that even if they attain
instant stardom they will “eventually have to go through the same
struggle of learning how to put on a live show”.
The Axis of Awesome’s Lee Naimo also believes that there’s little
substitute for gigging to hone a performer’s skills.
“In this age, you’ve got to be careful of those acts that are just
internet acts. There’s really nothing that can compare to performing
live and earning your stripes. Last year we did a showcase in LA with
a large internet musical comedy act who have millions of
subscribers. Performing with them... they weren’t really a live act.
They basically sucked live. But these
guys are lucky enough to go back and
sit in front of their computers, make
heaps of clips and make money
from YouTube.” That said, he’s careful
Aziz Ansari; Bo
Burnham (inset)
Just For Laughs, Sydney
Opera House Oct 12-22.
Drew Carey, Adam Hills,
Noel Fielding & Rhys Darby.
jfl.sydneyoperahouse.com
For scale and atmosphere,
Just For Laughs Montreal
(hahaha.com) is the biggest
and best comedy festival in the
world. Despite having outlets in
Chicago, Toronto and Sydney, no
other venue can compete with
the festival’s home town: it’s not
just the scale of the event or the
big-name acts, it’s that summer
in Montreal is one big party.
This year’s local Just For Laughs
at Sydney Opera House kicks off
on October 12 with Aziz Ansari’s
Buried Alive show, followed by 22
gigs between October 18-22. Acts
include Noel Fielding and Rhys
Darby, with the centrepiece an
all-star comedy gala hosted by
Drew Carey on October 20
and Adam Hills the next night.
Other major comedy festivals
on the world calendar, or those
with a large comedy component,
include the Edinburgh Festival
Fringe (August 2-26, 2013;
edfringe.com) and Australia’s
own Melbourne International
Comedy Festival (March 27-April
21, 2013; comedyfestival.com.au).
For a great weekend without the
ticketing and accommodation
stress, consider the more
intimate The Cat Laughs festival
in Kilkenny, Ireland (May 30-June
3, 2013; thecatlaughs.com). It’s a
favourite with comedians for
its laid-back, intimate vibe and
high alcohol content.
In the competitive Los Angeles
stand-up scene, every day is a
comedy festival. The LA Comedy
Festival (October 12-18;
lacomedyfest.com) delivers
a fresh twist, with short film
screenings and a comedy
screenwriting competition.
For something a little
more homespun, Lucy Fest: The
Lucille Ball Festival Of Comedy
(lucycomedyfest.com) is held
every August in Lucille Ball’s
hometown of Jamestown, New
York, with well-known acts and
special events at the Lucy Desi
Center for Comedy.
not to be dismissive of those who have found fame or fortune online.
As far as Naimo is concerned, making a YouTube video is simply a
different skill set. Not so James Smith, who believes instant fame is
a false economy, robbing performers of valuable skills.
“I think the previous formula was better,” he says of the
pre-internet era. “It’s like a diamond – the only way you get really
good is by refinement. I know myself, I wanted to expedite
everything, cut every corner. But here I am, years later, and I realised
you had to do every step of the path to get where you are. It takes
ages to get good. And the best comedians, my heroes, know
that – their degree of discipline is unparalleled.”
Nulman, with his impresario’s eye for bums on seats, has, as
always, a more pragmatic view. “There are one-hit wonders all the
time,” he says. “There’s a lot to be said for having a deep and profound
body of work, but some people don’t. It’s better to have four minutes
of fame that gets you somewhere, than zero.”
c
aziz ansari photography: getty images; bo burnham: corbis australia
140 QANTAS october 2012