Matt Elsbury: Advice You Shouldn't Need

Note: This review is from 2010

Review by Steve Bennett

Matt Elsbury offers an hour of solid, if unspectacular club stand-up, which may be just the ticket for festival-goers seeking a more identifiable ‘observation-punchline’ formula in a sea of storytelling whimsy.

Formula is the word, though, as his Advice You Shouldn’t Need sometimes comes in the form of ridiculous safety labels on household – or even military – products. Elsewhere, he wishes that in place of a GPS he had an LPS, life positioning system, that gave out tips on where he’s going wrong, usually in relationships. He also compares the American show Cops with a less thrilling UK version, ponders his own klutzy ineptitude, and throws in a few topical one-liners.

No new ground is being broken here, and Elsbury gets dangerously close to being hack at times, but usually manages to skirt that damning charge by producing a witty turn of phrase to give a twist to the easy observations.

Though clearly suffering the effects of food poisoning, the red-eyed 38-year-old performs with accurate professionalism, with each punchline being delivered with impact. A couple of his yarns take place on cruise ships, and he certainly has the safe pair of hands and easy-to-grasp material needed to entertain the broad audiences that such gigs demand.

His gimmick of using an iPod to garnish some gags with musical flourishes is, however, a prop he shouldn’t need, as it detracts from stand-up that’s consistently amusing, if unadventurous. But it certainly doesn’t need such gimmicks.

Review date: 7 Apr 2010
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.