Comedy in the C Key

The other day I watched a documentary about the comedic musician Tim Minchin. I had only seen snippets of Minchin's work and a few interviews in the past and hadn't to that point actually delved into his works. It was a pleasant and also rather sad experience.

There's no doubt that Tim Minchin has a magnificent grasp of what is required to make an audience laugh. His music is pleasant to the ear, well written and performed beautifully on piano. This provides a wonderful foundation to deliver the lyrical delights that would tickle the funnybone of most, if not all, people who are in possession of anything approaching a sense of humour. Yes, he dabbles in the crass subjects like most comedians of today, but he ensures that the material is always witty, clever, and slightly unpredictable. He is an immensely likeable performer on stage, with a haircut that wouldn't be out of place at a goth convention, black eyeliner to help the audience see his wonderfully timed facial expressions (clever!) and a slight confusion of his characters place in the world.

As I mentioned, this was all revealed in a documentary recently broadcast on the the ABC, and so Minchin's private life was also laid bare for us to see. And this is where things got rather emotional. During his time establishing himself as a performer, he and his wife experienced the heartbreak of a lost pregnancy. Surprisingly, the camera's still rolled on Minchin as he dealt with his grief from the UK where he was performing while his wife was in Australia. I do wonder just how he managed to get back on stage and create laughter and jollyness during a time of incredible sadness. Delightfully, the documentary ends with the couple eventually having the joy of a successful pregnancy. Very. Beautiful.

There is certainly more to the man than meets the eye and ear.

Todays shout out ofcourse goes to Tim Minchin. He makes you wish you had learnt how to play the piano.

Todays shout down goes to swine flu. Pigs arse to that I say.

"Piano Nerd", by Dan the VespaMan.

He twinkles the ivories
and sings his songs,
It's another packed crowd
amused by Tim's wrongs.

It's the hardest job
making people laugh,
But the rock 'n' roll nerd can do it
Not half !