Comedy Review - Phill Jupitus - Auckland - 1st May 2017

By Megan Blackwell

Artist: Phill Jupitus

Date / Venue: Monday May 1st, 2017 - Skycity Theatre, Auckland

Phill Jupitus - standup comedian and UK TV personality, best known for his work on panel shows Nevermind the Buzzcocks and QI.  Jupitus has been entertaining audiences since the mid 80s.  This was fairly reflective in the predominantly 50 plus, white male audience that packed out the theatre.  Clearly, an eager fan base to make this decent turn out for his first ever New Zealand show on a Monday night.  

The show was divided into two sets, the first half was poetry reminiscent of his early career.  These were delivered in a blue moo moo, a fashion nod to colleague Noel Fielding .  His rhymes and haikus covered his hate for Theresa May; a very human account of meeting Sir Paul McCartney; and Jeremy Clarkson’s amorous affections for cars.  While these left me a bit cold, hardcore fans absolutely loved his classic style.   The clever lyrics were recited from an iPad to near pin drop silence, followed by ripples of  laughter throughout crowd.  

For the second half Jupitus treated us to a costume change and played a song that cheekily took the piss out of Coldplay.  During this segment we really got to experience Jupitus’ standup - the frank and bewildered perspective of a 54 year old male Brit.  The psychotic protectiveness he has for his daughters was quite endearing; and  I found his comparison of raising boys to girls particularly hilarious.  

Jupitus’ material covered the cringey experience of a parent checking a 6 year old’s internet browsing history, and the sexual education he received in the 1970s.  Despite his show being mostly void of current topics it was full of relatable ramblings.  Jupitus ended the show on a surprisingly sentimental note, thanking his tour organisers and the audience.  He declared that despite the depressing post-Brexit reality we live in, our modest crowd on the other side of the world had restored his faith in humanity.  Probably the fuzziest closer to a comedy show ever, ngaw.