It always bodes well when a performer can get a crowd laughing while delivering the standard message about cell phones and video recorders. Ross Macleod does just this, serenading his audience with a well-crafted little song outlining possible repercussions for non-compliance in this matter.

With everyone still chortling, our attention is then drawn to a pin board replete with words in yellow and green. It seems that the audience can choose the show’s running order. Yellow is for stories and jokes. Green is for songs.

I am immediately impressed by Macleod’s witty use of language and relaxed performance style. He is a great storyteller and a more than adequate guitar player. It makes no difference whether he’s expounding about a super rake or the experience of being dead. There is this consistent ability to uncover the humour in any subject. 

It’s equally enjoyable to find that the words on his board confound audience expectations, with seemingly innocuous topics transformed in surprising ways. Bob becomes the subject of a story not about Bob. The three little pigs get a Macleod makeover. Everyday kitchen utensils are used in new and creative ways. 

This all makes for a great performance experience. How wonderful to have a revenge song with the catchy line, “I still miss you but my aim is getting better.” There’s also a very clever story about a door which is modelled on Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven.

My overall favourite, however, has to be his Ballad of an Irish Folk Song because, as he points out, if you’re in one of these, “life is going to be hell.”

Throw in an assortment of jokes, including a reappearing giraffe and this is perfect entertainment in the perfect venue. 

There’s still one more performance of his show on 29 September. Check it out. 

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