MICF: Asaf Gerchak – The Only Happy Man in Sadtown | Melbourne comedy festival review by Steve Bennett
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MICF: Asaf Gerchak – The Only Happy Man in Sadtown

Note: This review is from 2018

Melbourne comedy festival review by Steve Bennett

After unfocussed opening act Amy Cunningham, who didn’t seem to know what she was doing, Canada’s Asaf Gerchak feels like a safe pair of hands. He talks with a fast, nervous energy, his voice at a slightly higher pitch to complete the effect of being speeded up, and firmly hits the beats you’d expect of an established pro.

Yet behind the sheen of professionalism, the material is patchy. He has a tendency to speak around his topics a lot, setting detailed scenes and sharing his thoughts and feelings - which is all very engaging, but doesn’t put much focus on the punchline. It’s a good job his delivery is fast, or these set-ups would take a mighty long time.

A good chunk at the start of the set is about the business of being a comedian, playing rooms such as this where noise bleeds in from outside, or about the faff of flyering. This may be the realities of his life on the road, but it’s very inward-looking without being revelatory.

The main thrust of his show, though, is how much people hate living in cities. Whether that is true may be moot, as you hear few Melburnites complaining of their lifestyle, but straw man argument or not, Gerchak suggets that the isolating effects of urban life can have their upsides, especially for a man who can suffer from feeling awkward in social situations. (I know, a comedian with this trait! Hold your gasps).

We keep getting glimpses of what he’s really feeling, from post-break-up loneliness to his relationship with his Mum, but they are never fully resolved.

On city life, he also has a bit of fluff about whether  public transport is a good thing or no, again a rather windy set-up to his best, if still over-written, tale about an incident on a train.

 Off-topic he spends quite a lot of time taking issue with the phrase ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’, but the point he’s making seems unconvincing and muddled. More like the first draft of trying to deconstruct the saying without landing on the gag.

Gerchak is not quite self-analytical enough to draw us into his world – after an hour it’s still not clear if his title is ironic or not – but nor is he gaggy enough for that shortfall not to matter. The upshot is an inconsequential hour – but nicely delivered.

Review date: 4 Apr 2018
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival

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