[2012061] Guilt Ridden Sociopath
Byron Bertram @ Gluttony – LoFi
10:45pm, Tue 28 Feb 2012
After having one attempt to see Byron Bertram perform stymied due to cancellation (I’d been the only pre-sale that evening, and the show had been cancelled well before starting time), I had one last timeslot in which to see Guilt Ridden Sociopath. But, despite throwing the doors open to artists, there was only a small crowd that assembled – a dozen people, tops.
Initially, it seems like Bertram is The Real Deal. He’s projecting a lot of energy and, while his jokes weren’t all hitting the mark, the speed of their delivery meant that something was going to make you laugh. The scattershot effect. There’s a lot of self-deprecation – directed at both himself and his Canadian brethren – and some familiar (to me) references to OCD traits that made me smile in painful recognition.
But then I noticed that Bertram was constantly checking his notebook and returning to material about Australian accents. And that’s a fine tactic – though hardly original – but it helps if you can make your parody funny. And then came the bitchy material about women… and I started feeling a little uncomfortable.
Maybe it’s because I’d just seen a bloody brilliant bit of theatre featuring four strong female roles, but when Bertram started trotting out hot chick / fat chick comparisons, I decided that the fine line between wry commentary and outright sexism had been crossed. The “high-five” bit – overused to the point of embarrassment for the women who sat in the front row – sealed it… and then came the borderline racism.
Look, I’m sure Bertram can entertain a crowd of drunk men with no problems, and I’m pretty sure I saw him perform a short set at a Rhino Room session one night that was a taut collection of quality gags. His raw affability is certainly enough to keep some punters happy, despite the lack of comedic payoff. This night, though? One hour of material that distinctly irked me? Really quite disappointing.