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 (Universal)
Live ‘n patchy surrealist comedy from cult sensations
Although live performance was where Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding aka The Mighty Boosh established and honed their alternate comedy world, they’ve always been at their most effective in the controlled chaos of their triumphant television show. Throwing their anarchic and surrealist comedy scenarios (with songs) into “structured” half-hour blocks has often been the best way to take the pair, not to mention the array of supporting characters from childlike and manic zookeeper Bob Fossil, to the double act of enchanter Naboo and talking gorilla Bollo. Their last live DVD (the appropriately titled The Mighty Boosh Live) was a frequently hilarious if rather rambling affair, regurgitating many established jokes and held back by some rather sloppy flat spots. The latest DVD commits the same crimes, but like its also patchy predecessor, is not without its charms. The format of the performance is different this time, starting with an intro by main characters, the glamorous androgyne Vincent Noir (Fielding) and the corduroy-clad jazz geek Howard Moon (Barratt). The first half is then made up of skits featuring favourite characters, including the ever-popular Bob Fossil (Rich Fulcher) who goes for easy laughs with his “dance master class” – it’s kinda funny but kinda obvious at the same time, and Fulcher’s shouts and grimaces are becoming a tad repetitive (though he does redeem himself later with bizarre Lithuanian stand-up comic Krakow and some sex-charged bingo calling from the promiscuous Eleanor complete with Princess Margaret scarf and sunglasses). The usual faces proceed to appear, including a gangsta styled Naboo and Bollo (whose new invention “the Frisbee clock” is a quite amusing concept), the pink tentacled head Tony Harrison and predatory Cockney psychopath The Hitcher, who ends the first half with a live version of Eels with The Boosh Band providing the music (including Barratt on lead guitar). The second half is a supposedly serious eco-aware post-apocalyptic theatre piece written by Howard that inevitably gets sabotaged by Vincent who introduces a more bizarre than funny new character, the angelic fashion figure Sunflash whose accent is a blend of Chinese and Chav (which he believes is the way people will talk in the future). Sunflash’s sidekick is the pleasure robot Booblay (Fulcher) who has an extendable mechanical penis – do you need to even ask if he protrudes said appendage? As face of fictitious fashion designer Jean-Claude Jacquettie, Vince infuriates Howard by plugging his new sponsor at every opportunity. There’s laughs to be had, but a tad too much déjà vu. At the end of the performance, the cast and The Boosh Band perform some of the TV show’s most popular songs, including a “crimp medley”, Nanageddon and I Took A Shit On Your Mum, though this portion is actually quite good, the rock band format combined with the cast in “nana-drag” conceivably at home in one of those New York drag rock & roll clubs that launched the likes of Jake Shears and John Cameron Mitchell. All in all, quite fun, but I’d prefer they stop fannying about and get to work on Series Four.
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MATT THROWER
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