Arj Barker’s show at the NZ Comedy Festival is called Get In My Head. It’s a politely demanding order which speaks to the Californian’s ability to mould his audience into submission.
The one heckler in Friday night’s demure 7pm crowd was well and truly sassed, but with a good dose of seriousness -- Barker explaining he was not at all impressed his timing had been messed with.
He got plenty of comedic mileage out of said heckler though, with subsequent references receiving some of the biggest laughs of the night.
But anyway, once we’ve settled down, what do we find inside Barker’s head?
Let’s see… Gen Y problems, mock outrage, penis jokes. Pithy one-liners, ambling buildups, running gags.
In other words, plenty of fodder for an hour’s light entertainment.
Get In My Head is really about getting in our heads too. Barker’s raging against the things we all love to hate makes him instantly relatable: children on aeroplanes, selfie sticks, aging, Auckland’s never-ending roadworks.
There’s a good dose of nostalgia for the hedonistic 1970s, despite neither the target audience nor the comedian himself having been old enough to truly take advantage of the decade.
Barker also throws in some quite literal toilet humour. He converses with his genitals; they talk back! And wait until you hear the one about the amazing motherf*****.
I particularly enjoyed the one-liners sprinkled throughout the set, which injected some much-needed bursts of energy into some of the more rambling anecdotes with lukewarm payoffs. It was a shame a few fumbled deliveries dented the momentum at times too.
Arj Barker’s head is an eclectic place to wander around in. It might give you giggles rather than belly laughs, but you’ll be glad to bump into plenty of things you recognise.
Arj Barker’s Get In My Head is part of the 2016 New Zealand Comedy Festival.
Newshub.
