Another Dunedin comic makes it big, and in front of a capacity crowd, Jesse Griffin’s loveable cowboy wowed them. Jesse was one of a posse of Dunedin talent that went through Allen Hall Theatre at one of its most prolific and talented times. He moved onto fame and work with ‘The Four Noels’ in Australia and continues his success with Wilson Dixon.

Wilson has been making appearances on television and Griffin can be seen popping up on 7 Days, but this is the first time Dunedin audiences has seen Griffin perform since 1994. And what a wonderful return it is. The moment Wilson walks in there is a cheer from the crowd, while the door almost knocks of his hat – somehow extremely fitting both for the character and the comedy to come.

Wilson comes from Cripple Creek and this show is his American Dream, in the form of a road trip. This trip is like once of those journey on-the-road songs, telling us the tale of Ol’ Wilson when he went on his journey, his tale, his life, and his return to Cripple Creek somewhat wiser.

Of course his trip – which is regaled in an understated way (his voice and patter remind me of the best of Conway Twitty) – is peppered with country / western songs (that also appear on his many gloriously ironically titled albums). Each song isdelivered with a laid back tone that allows sly irony and Wilson times his delivery so that each gem gets its deserved laugh. He is a master of rhyme, assonance, and fitting horrendous amounts of syllables into a line and still making it work.

Observational comedy seems to have had its day in the sun and this year sees the rise of language comedy, with most of the shows I’ve seen using pun and literalness as sources of humour. Perhaps 7 Days has something to do with this. Griffin’s Dixon beats them all hands down – his laconic energy sitting right with us as both we and he look at the absurdities of language and what phrases are actually saying. And this is where the naivety of a simple country boy proves the best vehicle for this kind of humour.

Dixon also has his own well-fuelled supply of absurdity. It is a measure of the performer and the work gone into the show that once Andrew the horse comes on the scene somehow it all seems totally acceptable. Let alone his major partner who accompanies him on the dream trip.

Jesse Griffin early on displays two great attributes for performance: he knows where to pitch it and he is a really nice guy in the best sense of the word. On stage he is open and endearing (as he is off stage!) and with a simple shrug, look, gesture can suggest visible worlds and experiences. A hand gesture easily relays not only Andrew’s tail but Andrew’s state of mind in all its complexity, and all with a roar of laughter from the audience.

His lyrics and patter slip in some wonderfully sly politics that belie his ‘redneck’ virtues – “I don’t mind gays… some of my best friends don’t mind gays either.” I know it’s usually heresy to include a punchline in a review but there are so many punchlines in the 90 minutes he’s onstage that I’m sure he won’t mind. Speaking of which, I swear I was only sitting there for 30 minutes; the flow of the show and the continuous laughs make the time fly by.

I was pleasantly surprised by the mass turn out of Dunedinites to the Glenroy Auditorium and asked a couple of mates how they heard about it. Most either remember Jesse or had a flatemate who had a CD or had heard/seen him on TV. And it’s great to see another Allen Hall alumni as his manager (Hilary Coe, nee McMillan, up until recently Director of the NZ Comedy Fest and at Comedy Central TV). His performance talent matched with her producing talent make a formidable team.

A marvellous, fully developed and loveable character by a great performer, this show is fantastic. I hope it’s not another decade or so before he’s back.
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You’d have a tough job making a capacity concert-chamber roar with virtually continuous laughter look as effortless as Wilson Dixon does. With his Stetson and amber shades, his redneck drawl is so authentic it almost sounds fake, like his ponytail, and if he was any more relaxed he probably wouldn’t have got out of bed.

Fidgeting incessantly with his guitar throughout the set as he rambles about the recent developments in his failed marriage and the soul-searching journey that ensued, he occasionally picks up the tempo to play us a song from one of his numerous alleged albums or EPs, using some – or even all – of four requisite country & western chords: C, F, D and/or G. 

Like all true country stars, Wilson talks and sings about everyday issues we all have to deal with sometimes, like taking an extended road trip from Colorado to Nashville with your dog named Biscuit who gets lost when it’s his turn to drive; stuff like that which everyone can relate to…

Being from Midwest farm country it’s inevitable Dixon has an affinity of sorts with animals; as well as Biscuit there’s his dysfunctional relationship with his vindictive horse Andrew. He also takes particular delight in deconstructing metaphors, and brings it all together with an musical number deconstructing animal-based metaphors and similes, from ‘getting on my goat’ to ‘useless as tits on a bull’. 

The laconic, pokerfaced and irrepressibly laid-back Dixon is a popular festival favourite these days, and rightly so. 

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From the minute he strolls on stage sporting aviators, a Stetson hat, and strumming away on his ole gee-tar you can tell that Wilson Dixon is one laid-back comedy cowboy.

His down-home-country-style set is a mix of song and story with a deadpan delivery and wry humour that have the audience consistently giggling, if not guffawing.

All the humour is based on the principle of taking things literally – he takes a phrase such as ‘a rolling stone gathers no moss’ and subjects it to vigorous scrutiny – drawing out all the comedic implications and throwing in a touch of the absurd for good measure.

The songs are amusing and the guitar underneath the banter helps keep up the pace as he strums his way through the jokes. This combats the understated style of the comedy.

A lot of the time Dixon doesn’t make much of the gags themselves, but just dangles them out there. At one point there is an actual literal punchline, but he doesn’t hit us with it, and last night it took the audience some moments to find the laugh.

As far as character stand-up goes this man is a talented actor. Wilson Dixon comes from Cripple Creek, Colorado, USA. Jesse Griffin comes from Dunedin, Otago, NZ. I went to school with his sister. Would it have been as funny if I hadn’t known who he was? I don’t think so. There is a certain satisfaction in seeing a job done well.

Speaking of, there is a great horse impersonation. I won’t give it away as you should go and see the show, but it is a pretty good horse. 
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The American dream was tarnished before the crowd even got inside the venue and it had nothing to do with Wilson Dixon.

About 100 would-be chucklers were left waiting on the footpath for almost 30 minutes as another comic finished his set and the crowd filed out.

"It doesn’t exactly put you in a humorous mood," replied a woman waiting in line.

It led to Dixon taking the stage about 15 minutes late, dressed in his trademark cowboy hat, shirt and jeans, and trusty acoustic guitar.

His humour is a gentle brand of storytelling set in rural United States, interspersed with songs that illustrate his yarns – like Flight of the Conchords on chill-pills.

When his wordplay hits the mark – and his entire routine banks on it – the laughter flows.

For example, he said when the cops say "reach for the sky" they aren’t extolling you to reach your full potential.

His song names have great titles, too, with the pick of them being It Is a Banana In My Pocket But I Am Happy To See You.

It tells the tale of being locked in a bar overnight. When rescued in the morning, after drinking a bottle of industrial cleaner, he is wearing nothing but underwear fashioned from artificial fruit.

The gags were always clever during the long-haired lanky-Yank’s 70-minute set, but for some in the audience that wasn’t enough as they sat stoney-faced. That would be because of Dixon’s deadpan delivery and his comic timing, which at times challenges audience members to use their respective top two inches to get a joke.

Dixon delivers a show with enough humour to give the grey matter, and laughing gear, a good workout – but you may have to be prepared to wait outside on the footpath for the privilege.
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