Cori Gonzalez-Macuer is pokerfaced, vague and a bit nonchalant but by god, he’s funny.

There were no apparent opening night nerves for this seasoned Billy T award winner as he launched straight into his show with a PowerPoint presentation. I’m a bit partial to visual aids so I was already on Cori’s side and his graphs depicting ‘humour levels’ through the show and the content of it were highly amusing.

His self-deprecating style is in place straight away as he tells us to lower our expectations and warns us … [spoiler removed –ed]. And so we’re treated to the South American’s deadpan observations on the Sky Tower, spelling mistake dangers and the unnecessary use of LOL.

His gags about drinking games involving Hutt girls and the lack of sex education in his younger years are well-formed and elicit some of the biggest laughs of the night. His Rock 101 tutorial is straight-forward in what makes a good rock band and what doesn’t. His rather unhealthy love for teen pop idol Justin Bieber was a little more difficult to explain away but comic nonetheless.

Cori pulls out the guitar a couple of times in the show and confesses to only knowing three chords and the same tune. We forgive him though as the few ditties he serenades us with are hilarious – my favourite was the one where he’s stalking a girl, supposedly from Wellington (watch out ladies!).

This one hour of comedy is really a bunch of jokes strung together which Cori strives to relate to music (very loosely) but it’s a witty and sharp hour that’s over too soon. 

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Cori Gonzalez-Macuer’s poker face mixed with deadpan humour and his honest (at times almost too honest) casual, ‘in the moment’ style, is first-rate and strikes an audible chord with the hip young opening night audience (plus the not so hip, not so young reviewer).

Being my first descent into Auckland’s Comedy Underground, I am impressed with Cori’s pre show music (a great mix of fresh Kiwi hits), the funky grunge venue and the staff, who are cheerful and welcoming.

Cori kicks his hour into gear with a PowerPoint presentation, which becomes a highly entertaining visual aid. Tracking ‘humour levels’, ‘content’ and then presenting a series of humorous photos which show categorically how connected he is to the NZ music scene (and Justin Bieber), Cori takes care not to over-use this tool. The mix of PPP and traditional stand up is solid.

Regarding content, his remarks about Auckland’s Sky Tower, the hidden dangers of spelling mistakes, ‘buying’ a car, his new drinking game, texting while kissing, flowers and NZ customs, are all well formed gags. Though strung together, they feel a little detached. However, I have no doubt this disconnect will disappear now that opening night is successfully under his belt.

Early on in the evening we are told to lower our expectations as he is still coming out of low-point and onto the come back trail. Brave premise for a one-man show, but to Cori’s absolute credit, he makes it work extremely well, and the result is a very entertaining show.

In particular, the social commentary tagged to his Supre drinking game and spelling mistake gags, in my opinion, show Cori at his best. I suspect Cori doesn’t realise he is far funnier and more appealing to a wider audience when his irreverent chat is about more accessible material.

While his healthy dose of self-deprecation has comedy mileage, the self-confessed ‘crap song’ gag feels a bit one note by the time we get to the messy Lou Reid-esk song about his relationship break up. By contrast, I find his first song, ‘Life Could be Worse’, followed by the stalky song with the abrupt end, both very amusing.

The only other slight frustration I have is the lack of pay off after the booster seat set-up: how did a booster seat come to be in Cori’s bed?? This question still plagues me… It’s like leaving out the punch line.

But these are mere trifles. The guy not only looks like Cliff Curtis’ cute kid brother, he bloody funny. It’s a great show and well worth a look.

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