Miserable yet amusing, it only took a few minutes before Jack Dee’s sarcasm and deadpan expression had the sell-out crowd at Aberdeen’s Music Hall doubled over in belly laughs.
From climate activist Greta Thunberg and the royal family to Boris Johnson and NHS workers, nothing and nobody was off limits to Dee’s acerbic wit as he brought his Off The Telly tour to the Granite City as part of Aberdeen’s international comedy festival.
Not to mention any names or point any fingers but some big name comedians have a support act to fill up time and then only perform about an hours worth of stand-up themselves.
Not Dee though, oh no.
90 minutes of comedy gold
Sporting a second-hand grey checked suit, Dee spent 90 minutes – bar an interval – trying and failed not to trip over the mike as he delivered ironic punch line after ironic punch line.
Clearly resonating, the audience roared in unison when Dee spoke about his “joy” of having an empty nest with his wife Jane as their four children have grown up and moved out.
Going on to describe how he “culled” his children’s precious teddy bears left the crowd in stitches.
His thoughts on lockdown also hit people’s funny bones as he described his hatred of the different types and textures of hand sanitiser and how he had to give himself a good talking after watching “people folding up clothes” in the Netflix show Marie Kondo.
“Happy-go-lucky”
Aged 61 and with 36 years of stand-up experience under his belt, it came as no surprise when Dee shared a few hilarious anecdotes about old age.
Put it this way, I pity the poor news reporter who might have to interview Dee when he’s a centenarian.
Also if there were any couples in the audience wearing matching fleeces then I’m sure you’ll be having a wardrobe re-think pronto.
Tongue firmly in cheek as always, Dee described himself as “happy go lucky” before sharing all the things on his anti bucket list – think tattoos and hillwalking.
Peppered with one liners, Dee just kept bringing the laughs as he poked fun of BBC shows like The Antiques Roadshow and Who Do You Think You Are?
Paracetamol song
Without giving too much away, Dee’s quirky musical encore will undoubtedly mean that anyone who was in the audience will never look at a packet of paracetamol in the same light.
It was only when taking his final bow when Dee’s trademark poker face suddenly turned into a grin as he soaked up the sound of over 1,000 people whistling, clapping and cheering in deafeningly audible appreciation.
Dee might not be a big fan of flavoured gin – a fact he mentioned in the show – but judging by the good humoured crowd who spilled out of the concert hall and into the lively city centre streets, he certainly proved to be the perfect Saturday night tonic.
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