By Peter Maddern
It is always a challenge for a reviewer at this time of year to come from a master of his craft to witness another just starting out without descending into disdain. Mine started last evening with American maestro Arj Barker and finished with Amos Gill but there was little risk of being anything other than pleasantly entertained by the local boy.
I had previously seen him two years ago in concert with Moataz and I was keen to see how the young buck was progressing, now on his own. By all measures most assuredly.
Like Arj, Gill eschews the usual stand up material of old girlfriends and crappy house mates and humiliating some punter in the front row for the shirt he is wearing because it seems he has a life beyond sitting around coffee shops with others who know little better. Still, at 21 it is hardly to be expected that he has enjoyed the full gamut of life’s experiences but his tales of the misery of 21st birthday parties, the dismay at encountering old school mates, pranks that went bad and the joys of being a salesman for Foxtel were all good fun.
His show had a nice structure to it with his self deprecating humour endearing and when the Amos jaw gets pointed at you, there is no stopping it.
For those who want to brag about ‘being there before he got famous’, your venture this Fringe may well end with Amos Gill – young, bright, engaging with a worldly view that will only increasingly delight as time goes on.
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