Review: The Sammy J Songbook

Minus his purple puppet friend Randy, Sammy J still delivered. The lithe comedian was full of panache in his one hour slot of mostly satirical commentary with nothing skinny on humour. From womb jokes, to bagging politicians, a female ninja, genitalia and our circumventing of the glorious f-word, the night was ridiculously fun. The show began with an absurd musical score about the possibility of a female ninja in the crowd, shortly followed by a break up song caused by a conversation around sport. Subsequently, another piece highlighted the overt reality that most of us “nerds” don’t actually care about sports, therefore not fulfilling the sport-mad Aussie stereotype. Episodic in nature, the conclusion of most songs were dotted with improvised skits. Later he admitted to his hilariously tragic one-time appearance on a cruise ship, where he was requested to perform a song and wasn’t invited back. Though he failed on the cruise ship, he still performed it for us. This song was Keep it clean and perhaps the audience’s favourite of the evening. The most bawdy and smutty of the songbook, Sammy J made convincing arguments to defend the use of the f-word. His audacious backward singing in one song and impressive skill on the piano throughout also could not be faulted. The show came to a natural close with It’s Time to Go. Left wanting more, the audience departed with aching stomach muscles and gleeful smiles. A phenomenal performance, The Sammy J Songbook impressed the audience in all its hilarity. Hopefully he’ll come back soon. With or without Randy. 4 Stars The Sammy J Songbook took place on 18 and 19 June at the Space Theatre as part of the 2016 Adelaide Cabaret Festival.