Tripod: Men of Substance

13 Jan 2013 - Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House

from 3pod.com.au

I hadn't been sure of what to expect actually - this was the first time I'd seen Tripod perform something closer to a comedy set, rather than their D&D musical 'Tripod versus the Dragon'. As we sat down in our great seats (third row, in the middle) my friends nodded approvingly, but joked that we didn't need this good a view as we'd had in my previous feat of excellent ticket karma that saw us admiring the um, talents of the bare-chested cast at Pirates of Penzance. 

"No shirtlessness here!" we chortled - then BAM! Tripod opened with pasty middle-aged beer guts for comedy. ;) It made me wonder what the 'substance' in their show title referred to. Thickening waistlines? or maybe the experience gained with age, after more than 15 years together as an act. They milked this for all it was worth throughout the show, memorably about Yon not changing in all that time ("He's like Benjamin Button - on pause!"). 

Other highlights in the compact show (a little over an hour) included the opening song, Adult Contemporary ("Haven't had a new musical experience since 1994!"); Close all the Local Pubs Down ("Let's move to where the music is - and stop it."); the tax song that becomes a Barry White parody to great effect (and was educational too!) and Yon's hilarious paen on looking back on your twenties with unrealistic fondness ("I think I would've remembered sacrificing a child..."). Oh, and encore song YouTube Party though my only complaint would be that there weren't enough references to cats. :)

In fact, this show felt like it made just for me and my friends - I mean, it featured stupid dancing, age anxiety, musical geekery and just plain geekery, things we're all extremely familiar with. Tripod even sang about Waiting for the Game to Load when we'd literally had a conversation about the days of cassette-loaded games before walking in. What were the chances of that?!

All in all, this show was terrific fun. It was a great showcase of their ability to knowingly and lovingly parody a wide range of musical genres. And apart from being good musicians with great harmonies, I appreciated how nicely constructed the set was, jokes upon jokes that set up for even bigger laughs later in the night. It left wishing for a longer show, more jokes, more songs...so here's to another 16 years!