Mike O'Donovan – Original Review
Note: This review is from 2008
Review by Steve Bennett
Newish act Mike O’Donovan isn’t a musical comic, per se, but he does strum his guitar distractedly as he cracks his jokes – as Demetri Martin might do – with an occasional toot on the mouth organ braced around his neck, thrown in for good measure.The melodic plucking certainly adds an hypnotic atmosphere to the set, instilling a sense of class and maturity – even if O’Donovan’s material isn’t in former Perrier-winner Martin’s league. Rather than dazzling, distinctive one-liners atop this bed of mood music, we’re offered more routine fare.
Straightforward ideas about the perils of predictive text while communicating with your parents, or his baldness being mistakenly considered a sign that he’s gay would appear mundane without the soundtrack. And being driven by the relaxed rhythm of the music means that the laughs are kept a fair distance apart.
Yet some of the rest of this Australian-born comic’s material does raise a laugh, usually when there’s a twist of bad taste to the punchline, and he radiates a classy, unhurried confidence that stands him in fine stead. But he can’t quite raise his game above the quietly enjoyable to fully nail the chuckles.
Review date: 27 Mar 2008
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
