Thanks to Time Out KL (TOKL), I won a pair of tickets to (finally) watch an instalment of Kings & Queen of Comedy Asia on their Twitter feed two days before. Because of the time crunch (couldn't ask them to courier/post even if I wanted to), I had to personally go down to the TOKL office at Menara Ambank (short walk from the KLCC LRT station) the day before to collect them.
I know of the show from previous years, but I had never been because the tickets are just too bloody expensive for my taste (and also never got comped). This is the first time (that I know of) it being held at Istana Budaya (IB). Because the tickets are free, I also had lowered expectations of the seats - IB's nosebleed seats on the upper circle. And they were also not sequentially numbered. Not that it mattered much.
Having haven't been back to Istana Budaya for a few years now, I had to deal with the dress code (smart casual - no torn jeans or slippers, etc). Oh bollocks. But I dealt with it.
After waiting a nail-biting couple of hours for friend to battle bad heavy downpour traffic jam to get home so we can go together, I got us there just before 8.30 p.m. (slow, but at least we were moving) and were seated long before the house lights went dark. It's rare times like this I appreciate that live performances in Malaysia don't start at 8.30 p.m. on the dot (but rather, more like 8.45 p.m. soonest).
Audience fluffer/host Jon Atherton: I've seen the name for years, but had never seen the guy perform before. He's funny because he's been in Asia so long, he knows what we respond to. He did his 15 minute set and then some in between acts.
Imran Yusuf: Not bad.
Kumar: Finally got to see the guy after years of seeing him on TV and what not. A bit mumbly at times, but otherwise I totally get why he's The Little Red Dot's top comedian(ne?). When we first heard the revving noise of a motorcycle, I thought it was fake until an actual Harley came roaring on stage, with Kumar riding behind another dude.
Because the show is three hours long, there was a 15 minute intermission. We took this time to refresh ourselves with beverages (because it's the National Theatre, no booze sold on site, but the food and drink selection sold there was a bit ridiculous) and decided to move to the expensive seating downstairs. (It wasn't a full house).
I know of the show from previous years, but I had never been because the tickets are just too bloody expensive for my taste (and also never got comped). This is the first time (that I know of) it being held at Istana Budaya (IB). Because the tickets are free, I also had lowered expectations of the seats - IB's nosebleed seats on the upper circle. And they were also not sequentially numbered. Not that it mattered much.
Having haven't been back to Istana Budaya for a few years now, I had to deal with the dress code (smart casual - no torn jeans or slippers, etc). Oh bollocks. But I dealt with it.
After waiting a nail-biting couple of hours for friend to battle bad heavy downpour traffic jam to get home so we can go together, I got us there just before 8.30 p.m. (slow, but at least we were moving) and were seated long before the house lights went dark. It's rare times like this I appreciate that live performances in Malaysia don't start at 8.30 p.m. on the dot (but rather, more like 8.45 p.m. soonest).
Audience fluffer/host Jon Atherton: I've seen the name for years, but had never seen the guy perform before. He's funny because he's been in Asia so long, he knows what we respond to. He did his 15 minute set and then some in between acts.
Imran Yusuf: Not bad.
Kumar: Finally got to see the guy after years of seeing him on TV and what not. A bit mumbly at times, but otherwise I totally get why he's The Little Red Dot's top comedian(ne?). When we first heard the revving noise of a motorcycle, I thought it was fake until an actual Harley came roaring on stage, with Kumar riding behind another dude.
Because the show is three hours long, there was a 15 minute intermission. We took this time to refresh ourselves with beverages (because it's the National Theatre, no booze sold on site, but the food and drink selection sold there was a bit ridiculous) and decided to move to the expensive seating downstairs. (It wasn't a full house).
Second half was Sheng Wang and Danny Bhoy. Sheng kicked his set off with his bit about using cotton buds to clean out the ears - a pretty Asian behaviour. But I personally find Asian people with (American) southern accents a bit jarring (look up Henry Cho on YouTube). Had no idea that Danny was supposed to be the headliner, but at least now I know. His entrance was a little slow because he got the stage rise option and it was moving a little too slowly, haha.
Perhaps I should mention that I had been pretty stone faced up to this point. I laughed but they were shallow and cheap laughs. Danny made me laugh tears, which is not a bad thing. Show finished close to midnight, and there was a meet and greet session for people who wanted to interact with the performers. Me? Couldn't be arsed.
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