AntiSocial Tap has made a home in the, now renamed, The Church Cinema, Bar & Café. Formed mostly by Otago Uni students, they have presented stand-up in various venues around Dunedin over the past two years or more. And perhaps this is why the presentation of this show is in some ways a disappointment. As with the Fresh Talent show earlier and the show which follows there is a lack of atmosphere that borders on lazy.

Our MC for the evening is Kathryn Hurst, who also MCs the earlier Fresh Talent show. Much of what I wrote in the other review stands here and I’ll leave it to you to read that for yourself. 

Our comedians de jour are Trubie-Dylan Smith, Sam Irwin, Rob McLellan Thom Adams: all AntiSocial Tap regulars. 

Trubie-Dylan Smith has a wonderful rapport with the audience. Lithe and smiley he vaults around like he’s at home and of Thursday drew a lot of laughs from a very sympathetic audience. He knows who is coming to these shows and targets the students with a pepper pot of capping style show humour.

Thom Adams had a less successful night here with the same ‘skipping stone’ delivery as in the Fresh Talent show. With his background in Zoology he has some great anthropomorphic-style insights and commentaries which, with a little work, could smooth out into a great routine. I find it a little difficult to keep up every now and then as within 40 seconds we range from dogs to Obama to…. well, lots of other things. Take your foot of the pedal boy and let us catch up. 

Rob McLellan is “the AntiSocial Tap 3 Minute Man” or something or other. (With Hurst’s delivery I wasn’t sure whether he drew a short straw or was being punished for some unknown infraction. Either way, he was so badly introduced it didn’t sound like a good thing). Rob is an interesting fellow, in direct contrast to all the other performers his delivery is slow, almost ponderous, as he meanders around the stage in direct discussion with the audience, inviting them to interact with him with some great gags.

Sam Irwin continues to impress with his ease onstage. He is engaging to watch and takes his time, riding the audience through to his punch-lines in his own time. While playing the guitar – or piano as he sees fit; wonderfully improvising (?) a song about how late he found out he was doing this gig – he tracks through lots of weird and wonderful thoughts on the world, managing to say hello to late comers too. He has a keen eye for a good line. 

It’s worth catching this show if you can – they are bright young things, and they should be taken better care of. 
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