On Wednesday, April 11, Australian comedian Tim Minchin traveled to the Lobero Theatre to entertain his fans with musical comedy. Minchin brought his signature mane of red hair, dark eye makeup, his piano and red wine to the theater, as well as his impressive talent for music and making people laugh.

During the performance, Minchin played comedic songs for the audience followed by interludes telling short, funny anecdotes, usually about himself or his family. He would then take a swig of red wine and go back to the piano for another song. The major themes of Minchin’s performance were boobs, religion, boobs, society and boobs.

Minchin started his set by singing about a rock ‘n’ roll nerd. The song appeared to be a semi-autobiographical account of Minchin wishing to be a rock god, only to have the vicious enemy of “reality” block his dream.

One highlight of the show was a vulgar attack on the Pope and his protection of pedophiles within the church. The song had a curse-word-per-second ratio that rivaled George Carlin. Another memorable moment was a new song about prejudice that managed to offend every single race on planet Earth. Minchin pulled a magical comedy trick at the end to bring the audience back on his side.

Minchin, who grew up in Perth, Australia, started performing comedy in 2002, but his breakout was not until the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where he won the award for best newcomer. The best way to describe his comedy is a satirical style involving wordplay and social criticism. Minchin’s singing voice is also quite impressive, especially compared to other musical comedians, and his skills on the piano indicate formal training.

Many people in the audience were familiar with Minchin’s repertoire of songs and kept screaming requests. Minchin ignored most of the these, except a random rendition of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” He mentioned that he had recently stopped playing “Dark Side,” a signature track from his first album, to the dismay of the audience. Minchin focused on his more recent material, which was brand new to much of the audience.

Minchin returned for an encore during which he repeatedly stated that an encore is his personal time to do whatever he wants to do. After walking around the stage, Minchin sat at his piano one final time to play a song from the musical “Matilda,” based

off of the famous Roald Dahl children’s book, for which he wrote the music and lyrics. There was no humor in the song; instead, it further showcased Minchin’s musical abilities. The audience left the theater excited after 90 minutes of laughs, hysterical songs and genuinely savvy musicianship.

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