By Megan Blackwell

Artist / Show: Brendon Green - Eggs & Ham

Date / Venue: Sunday April 24th, 2016 - Montecristo Room, Auckland

I do so like green eggs and ham!

This was the first solo show I’ve been to this festival and I feel like I’m off to a good start.

The room felt intimate and cosy with Green casually playing his guitar as we took our seats. After the generic festival announcements he made a low tech reentrance to the stage. Green presented his show as a collection of stories centred around finding happiness in life. He took us through a myriad of topics from death to scented candles. Even with an existential and nihilistic focus his approach was both joyous and frank. Green’s performance was fresh and his material was well put together. The show came full circle and had some clever callbacks without feeling excessively polished. There were a couple of jokes in the mix that were probably more for him than us that warranted the single clap.

Something that stood out for me was as Green progressed through his anecdotes he maintained a connection with the audience. His confident and assertive presence could easily create a feeling of being lectured at. He avoided this trap by continuously interacting with individuals so there was a sense that he was talking with us and not at us. It takes skill and a fast wit to work an audience member’s sneeze into the overarching theme of the show. For his long time music comedy fans Green did include a small set on his guitar because who doesn’t like a sing-along?

As inspirational as a show about finding happiness in life sounds, Green gave me the impression that he finds happiness in creating small measures of vexation in those around him. In saying that, I do enjoy comedy that makes me laugh at depressing and real life situations. I came away from Eggs & Ham with the realisation that maybe I too am a happy nihilist.

Eggs & Ham runs from April 23 - May 14