Unfamiliar with, but keen to see Neel Kolhatkar at GPAC recently, I left the wife and kid behind to have a laugh with the old man, hoping to be offended. Ultimately, I’m sure a few of the patrons were offended in this sensitive world we live in, but me, nah (then again, I am very rarely offended).
After Arj Barker and Josh Wade the preceding two nights, the crowd was a little light on, but enough to maintain a good vibe. And after a brief warm up act, Neel was on stage and was straight into it. Jokes about his Indian heritage appealing to ladies, social media, pot, every day crap and a bit more Indian themed comedy to ensure he didn’t just take the piss out of the crowd, but himself to.
As I hoped, a bit of crowd banter was on offer, and a young fella behind me had the nous (or lack of) to pipe up when a question was thrown out to the crowd. He did not win the battle, and by the end of the evening had been dubbed ‘the wanker’ by another fine man in the row behind me, therefore being dubbed ‘the wanker’ by Neel as well. I could not help but pipe up when the right question was asked, and a bit of fun was had between us as I revealed I was there to review him.
While he lost my attention for a couple of minutes at one point, I found him to be confident, funny (as you would hope for first and foremost) and generally kept it at a good level with very few dull moments. A couple more big belly laughs, a bit more offensive material and this man will have a solid career in comedy.
Where: Geelong Performing Arts Centre (GPAC)
When: Saturday September 2
Reviewed By Glenn Lynch
