Comedy Festival 2018: Jimeoin has the audience roaring on cue in The Ridiculous ★★★½

NEVER mind the big picture, it’s the small stuff that has the house in hysterics as this aggro-free veteran proves why his brand is still so strong.

NOT a word has been uttered and already Jimeoin has his 850-strong throng doubling over their martinis and beers. Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff is belting out over the PA and Jimeoin is showing us his sexy-dance moves. It’s such a grabber there’s even a clap-along.

But enough with the prancing and down to business. Right from the get-go Jimeoin openly confronts the audience with his comedy agenda — namely, that he has none.

There’ll be no comments on society, no political observations or satire, no insights into big issues or opinions about public discourse. If you’ve come to the show thinking you’re going to leave a smarter person, he advises, you’ve come to the wrong gig.

Nobody tonight has come to the wrong gig.

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Since the late-1980s Jimeoin has been the king of spinning comedy gold out of life’s odd nuances and petty annoyances, his signature Irish lilt a guarantee that nobody sweats the small stuff as gleefully as he.

He kicks off with a house-pleasing bit about face pulling. It’s physical comedy at its most minimal, and it’s testament to Jimeoin’s adoring fanbase that he gets the huge response he does, even from the very back of the room.

Most of those packing out The Palms is noticeably middle-aged or older and they’re loving every utterance and observation about the minutiae of life. One gent, in particular, is in regular danger of snapping the back of his neck each time he lets out an appreciative howl.

Building his laughs slowly, Jimeoin rambles though bits about burping, the intricacies of nasal passages and the movement of fart clouds.

Jimeoin has the audience roaring on cue in The Ridiculous.

If people find some of the material in his lite and easy 90-minute (plus intermission) routine less than compelling, well, that’s OK with him.

As somebody committed to not causing offence, Jimeoin doesn’t take any offence if you happen to drift in and out of his set. He doesn’t care. You’ve already paid.

The audience roars again. And on cue.

For the second half Jimeoin adopts a vague format as he outlines the various trials of life that face us all: finding food; finding a partner; marriage; avoiding people you know while at the supermarket.

His cracks about dating in the Tinder age are all on point though it’s his reminiscence about driving trips in the pre-SatNav era that brings the house down. The mere mention of Melways rouses a collective drawing of breath as Jimeoin creates a wonderful word-picture about the travails of asking locals for directions.

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At this point in the show he’s built his rapport with the audience so much they respond en masse to every joke and gesture. His bits about shopping, plastic bags, white dog poo and the days when disciplining kids by smacking them was a collective effort all kill. Even his musical set with guitar and piano have a nice Pythoneque touch.

It’s the air of friendship Jimeoin exudes that envelopes the room. His humour is warm, relatable and inclusive, made all the more welcoming and easy to digest by his complete lack of anger.

It’s a quality that sets Jimeoin apart from most other “everyman” comedians and no doubt accounts for why the comfy chair he occupies at the top tier of the comedy pyramid is so secure.

Side note: sincere kudos to the venue staff for so cheerily sorting out a seating issue and for the place having such great air-conditioning; comedy festival reviewing involves being crammed into over-heated spaces and inhaling a lot of CO2.

Jimeoin, The Ridiculous

The Palms at Crown, level 3, 8 Whiteman St, Southbank, until April 20.

comedyfestival.com.au