Axis Of Awesome: Infinity Rock Explosion - Fringe 2009
Live Review

The underappreciated, musically gifted Benny Davis, the dumb but loveable Lee Naimo and the Jack Blackalike (he knows) Jordan Raskopoulos make up the Australian comedy rock trio Axis of Awesome.

I have to admit to a sinking feeling when the trio take to the stage, with numerous and obvious Tenacious D comparisons running through my head. The opening number Infinity Rock Explosion does little to quell my fears that this is a cheaper Australian version of the movie-making American duo.

Not only did Axis of Awesome prove my initial assumptions wrong they really fucking rocked. This was a sublime hour of tremendous musical talent combined with incredibly intelligent and brilliant comedy writing. Straight stand-up meets sketch, meets character act, meets musical comedy and all of it done well. AOA have taken the tricks from all formats and melded them into a superbeast of high energy, high impact comedy.

There are callbacks not only in the material but also in the songs. Surprising Song appears three times and is simplistic, silly stuff. They are definitely formulaic, writing everyday lyrics to the tune of The Kings of Leon’s Sex On Fire, yet even when you know the formula and think you have worked out the joke, AOA still hit you with an unexpected and hilarious punchline.

The few love songs are equally impressive with only The Language Of Love falling short when the old Nazi joke is overplayed. All is forgiven when the already strained relationship between Benny and the other band members provides the opportunity for one of the best Jewish fractal-based jokes I reckon I will ever hear.

One of the many highlights was the nod to Jack Black and it was a real pleasure to see a comedy group acknowledge what could be considered a weak spot, answering the criticisms before they have been voiced and making a damn good show of it, too. I felt very firmly put in my place.

Each new song became my new favourite and I was convinced that they would not top the superhero based Skeleton Man song until they revive Birdplane from last year’s show, the well-deserved parody of the originally lyrically ludicrous Five For Fighting song Superman.

I was actually shocked when they produced something that I thought was very poor, with the first ever 3D song, which they touted as something special even before the show started, with the distribution of the obligatory glasses. I can only assume that the disappointment is meant to be the joke but how high do expectations really get on the back of some flimsy cardboard glasses? It’s a very flat section that they’d do well to remove especially as it is placed directly before the big finale, the YouTube smash 4 Chords, which proves all modern pop hits only utilise the same, well, four chords.

Sounds simple enough, I’ve seen numerous musical acts do similar especially when referencing Status Quo (thankfully one of the few bands not making an appearance in this particular medley) – but never to this extent or this well. There must be mre than 30 songs featured including local nods to Auld Lang Syne and Fringe absentee Tim Minchin as well as a reprise of Birdplane.

These guys will always be compared to Tenacious D, which sadly makes it unlikely that they will garner any kind of real commercial success. But judging by tonight’s ecstatic audience they should have no problem rocking on for many years to come.