Bailey's musical cream

Bill Bailey got off to a stuttering start at tonight's "Tinselworm" gig at the State Theatre. His delivery was kinda rambling and the gags, while nutty, weren't uproarious. (Admittedly, I've been spoilt by the stand-up of Ricky Gervais, Daniel Kitson and Ross Noble.) It was only when he integrated instruments - guitars plus various effects pedals, keyboards with loadsa samples, theremin, bouzouki and didgeridoo - that I was glad I'd gone to the trouble of seeing him live. Who else could turn the title song from "Friends" into a criticism of Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina? Or an Oz news theme into a rave anthem? The emo parody about the barista self-harming with his coffee machine was also a cracker. I was so impressed I bought the program. It's full of BB weirdness and came with a plectrum, four badges (right on!) and a CD single - the "Hokey Cokey" done in German, in the style of Kraftwerk.