[2014055] The Bedroom Philosopher
The Bedroom Philosopher @ Garden of Unearthly Delights – Paradiso Spiegeltent
7:00pm, Mon 24 Feb 2014
The Bedroom Philosopher (Justin Heazlewood) is one of those acts who I always seemed to put an inquisitive “maybe” asterisk next to in the Guide whenever I see the name; but a few acquaintances have raved to me about Heazlewood’s act in the recent past, so – with his only Fringe show on an otherwise relatively quiet Monday night – I thought I’d finally see what all the fuss was about.
But here’s the thing: The Bedroom Philosopher is very much geared towards the hipster demographic: for hipsters, by a hipster.
And I’m not a hipster.
But a lot of the audience were, and they lapped up his dry and self-deprecating wit like manna from heaven. But his jangly songs only caught my musical ear when his band – The Awkwardstra – rocked it up a bit. His humour didn’t connect with me at all (his book readings less so), and the occasionally stop/start ramshackle mess of a song killed any momentum that may have been built up. And then there was the closing bracket of songs about cats… with Heazlewood dressed in a cat suit.
And I just sat there wondering whether this was supposed to be entertainment, or mere fan-service.
Look, I’ll not deny that most of the audience appeared to be having a great time at this show… but I suspect they either had a wealth of Bedroom Philosopher knowledge, or were just easily entertained. Sure, I cracked a smile a few times, but much of the content was just so unidentifiable to me that I just felt… well, lost. A fish out of water.
I should not have attended this show.
(55) The Bedroom Philosopher: Hipster comedy songs that are mostly lost on me. Plus… cats. #ff2014 #ADLfringe
— Pete Muller (@festivalfreakAU) February 24, 2014