Mat & Faron – Original Review
Note: This review is from 2008
Review by Steve Bennett
If there’s one thing sure to make the cynical comedy fan wary, it’s a guitar; that faithful prop that guarantees applause no matter how weak the lyrics it accompanies. So the guard is already up when Mat and Faron take to the stage.Luckily, though, this pair are very easy to warm to, despite their shabby, dishevelled appearance. Mathew Reed has oodles of cheekily salacious Mackem charm; while Faron Smith has the awkward, morose sidekick role down to a T.
When it comes to the songs, it’s true that much of the material wouldn’t stand up in stand-up. Supposedly post-ironic ditties about women and the Irish, for instance, tend just to repeat the same old stereotypes, while their opener, about Mat being a seedy rent boy, is a fairly standard catalogue of exaggerated depravity.
But the tracks are elevated by both the duo’s showmanship, and their musicianship. That prostitution song wouldn’t be out of place on a NME-tipped indie band’s album, or at least on their MySpace site.
It is, in short, a set that’s often very well executed with a vibrant, often unexpected, physicality and a very easy banter. Some set pieces are wobblier, and it would be nice to see them apply their strange likeability to some more inventive material. But a good, bankable routine nonetheless.
Review date: 2 Jul 2008
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
