Stephen K Amos – Gets Next To You!
Stephen K Amos @ Arts Theatre
4:00pm, Sun 16 Mar 2008
Given this is the fourth time I’d seen Stephen K Amos in four years, I could quite easily make this an especially short entry: something like “same old, same old – but still fucking brilliant.”
So I will.
But first I’ll mention – yet again – what an absolutely wonderful performer Amos is onstage. He roams the width of the stage with earnest purpose, but never gives the impression that he’s aggressive – which is a touch misleading, because if you’re his “mark” for the evening, you’re going to cop a metric fuckton of ribbing. But his abuse is so lighthearted and – above all – so funny that you’re almost jealous of that blushing recipient of Amos’ attention.
Notable aspects of this performance? Well, Mike the techie killed Amos’ sound (then lighting) after being ridiculed onstage… brilliant comic timing. And there was a brilliantly referential heckle that would only make sense if you were there (“you should’ve been a lawyer, mate”).
But other than that, all the rest was to be expected – from his love of the “Doors! Doors! Doors!” ad, to his usual “you can do anything” closing message, this was just your average Stephen K. Amos show. The thing is, his “average” is everyone else’s “exceptional.”