The Canadian Club Winter Games Comedy Roadshow is produced by the same folk behind the NZ International Comedy Festival and is a perfect example of when you get the talent line-up right. The balance of comedic personalities on the bill allowed the audience to experience a variety of different approaches to stand-up which was a refreshing surprise as many similarly promoted shows have a tendency to end up as the poor child to TV3 favourite ‘7 Days’.

NZ Comedy Guild Best Male Comedian winner Brendhan Lovegrove hosted the evening effortlessly bookending each featured performer with the usual sure fire warm-up jokes including local punch-lines at the expense of Invercargill and Mosgiel. 

There was an even split between Australian and New Zealand headliners; from the Aussie corner Justin Hamilton made a big impression with his signature delivery of anecdotes which rely heavily on the musicality of storytelling.   He uses repetition to build a pattern and then break it with the punch line, a technique he knows just how far to push without becoming irritating. 

Fellow Australian Greg Fleet is described as a living comedy legend in his own country and his conversational comedy translated well in a Kiwi context. On this note, congratulations are in order as neither Hamilton nor Fleet drew on the typical Australia vs. New Zealand joke cannon. The rivalry didn’t come up, not even once. (Perhaps there were too many Kiwi’s in the room).

The true highlights on the night, however, came from New Zealander’s Gish and Simon McKinney.  

Music is Gish’s medium and although there were a couple of sound problems on the night, their tireless tour manager was able to step in with an extra mic and save the day. Then with the aid of his semi-acoustic guitar complete with ‘Department of Corrections’ strap, Gish proceeded to re-interpret some nostalgic chart favourites such as ‘Zombie’ from the Cranberries which became a song about hippies trying to hide a certain plant in their van from the police.

Again it was programming genius to close the not only the tour but the Dunedin show with Simon McKinney – a Dunedin lad himself who attended the iconic Otago Boys’ High School. You may recognise McKinney’s voice as the Channel Four voice over guy who reminds you of programme ratings and warnings. His ability to embody different characters from society purely through voice is quite remarkable and a real treat to see live.

The producing team behind the Canadian Club Winter Games Comedy Roadshow found a winning combination of both headliners and MC this year, long may it continue when the festival returns in 2012.  
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