Matt Welcome – Original Review

Note: This review is from 2004

Review by Steve Bennett

Newly returned to the circuit after a few years absence, the charismatic Welcome shows the confidence and ability of his experience every moment he's on stage.

His sublime material is impressively taut, with not a word or even a pause out of place in the torrent of comedy. Superficially, his is a conversational style, yet you're never more than 20 seconds from the next gag as finely-tuned lines stack up with ruthless efficiency.

So crisp and pithy are the sarcastic observations, they almost seem like a collection of quotations from the world's great wits; making ideas seem so obvious that you'd wonder why you'd never considered them before.

Welcome breaks the ice with what looks like a card trick, but the only magic he does is with his material; using misdirection of the verbal kind to increase the impact of his already-strong punchlines.

Once he's established his comic credentials beyond any doubt, he relaxes into his set and eases off the throttle a bit.
Then the quickfire lines subside into chattier territory where he can explore new, offbeat, ideas, such as a five-minute exploration of fluid dynamics and aerodynamics launched from the deconstruction of a Bette Midler song which is a lot better than you'd have any right to expect.

Welcome is, bluntly, one of the best comics you've never heard of.

Review date: 1 Mar 2004
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett

Live comedy picks

We see you are using AdBlocker software. Chortle relies on advertisers to fund this website so it’s free for you, so we would ask that you disable it for this site. Our ads are non-intrusive and relevant. Help keep Chortle viable.