Olympia, DublinBret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, "formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo," seem to have taken superstardom in their stride. With a hit HBO TV series, two hit albums, and sellout tours around the world, Flight Of The Conchords are flying high, but at the first of their two Dublin shows, Bret and Jemaine seem to have their feet on the ground – and their asses on two very wobbly stools.
“This is the only thing I don’t like about Dublin,” deadpans Jemaine as he rocks precariously from side to side.
You could say Flight of the Conchordsare between two stools – too funny to be a straight-up rock band, too musical to be a serious stand-up comedy act.
“There’ll be songs, and some talking between songs, and, er, that’s it,” they warn us. For the loyal fans who have packed the Olympia, that’s more than enough.
No musical genre is safe from the pair’s spot-on parodies, but they’re at their best when making fun of the alpha-male attitudes of soul, funk and hip-hop.
Ladies Of The Worldgets more priapic – and preposterous – than Prince, Bret's falsetto and Jemaine's baritone executing a pincer movement on their multitudinous quarry; in contrast, Business Timeis a quickie bedtime story that's over in two minutes. The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)sees them damning a poor dame with faint praise, while Think About Ittakes Marvin Gaye's social conscience and drags it down an alley for a good kicking.
They switch to medieval madrigal mode for a new song about "wooing a lady", go a bit OK Computeron Robots, and then go completely Serge Gainsbourg for Foux Du Fafa, but they opt to do only one track, Demon Woman, from their new album, I Told You I Was Freaky. When they perform it, though, they rip their shirts and jeans off to reveal superhero glam sequins. So, some songs, some talking between songs, and one costume change. I knew fame would turn their heads.
