Review by Steve Bennett

Newly returned to the circuit after a few years absence, the charismatic Welcome shows the confidence and ability of his experience every moment he's on stage.

His sublime material is impressively taut, with not a word or even a pause out of place in the torrent of comedy. Superficially, his is a conversational style, yet you're never more than 20 seconds from the next gag as finely-tuned lines stack up with ruthless efficiency.

So crisp and pithy are the sarcastic observations, they almost seem like a collection of quotations from the world's great wits; making ideas seem so obvious that you'd wonder why you'd never considered them before.

Welcome breaks the ice with what looks like a card trick, but the only magic he does is with his material; using misdirection of the verbal kind to increase the impact of his already-strong punchlines.

Once he's established his comic credentials beyond any doubt, he relaxes into his set and eases off the throttle a bit.
Then the quickfire lines subside into chattier territory where he can explore new, offbeat, ideas, such as a five-minute exploration of fluid dynamics and aerodynamics launched from the deconstruction of a Bette Midler song which is a lot better than you'd have any right to expect.

Welcome is, bluntly, one of the best comics you've never heard of.

Review date: 1 Mar 2004
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett