A great concept and some genuine musical talent aren't enough to save Steve Pretty's show, says Emma McAlpine.
Steve Pretty has a heck of an anecdote to build his show on. After the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, he was announced as ‘Missing, Presumed Dead’ by the Daily Mail. His mortified friends and family organise a wake for him, and Pretty, who turns out to be absolutely fine, manages to make it home to attend it.
Having recently come across a compilation tape that a friend made for the wake, he decides to explore the lost art of the mixtape and remind us why music is so important. Delving into a trunk full of bizarre instruments he’s hoarded over the years, he performs his own live versions of the wake tape’s songs, alongside a recorded commentary explaining their significance.
There’s no denying Pretty’s musical talents. As well as synchronising harmonies with his own tape recording, he can transform seemingly unmusical household objects – including a water bottle, yellow teapot and a snorkel – into amusing sounding boards. He also has a knack for storytelling, as he demonstrates at the end of the show with a sparkling finale recounting some extraordinary (and surprisingly funny) details of his personal tsunami experience.
The main problem with the show is that we have to wait too long for a really comic section. While his inter-song banter produces some titters from the audience, there are too few jokes to induce any real belly laughs until the end. His attempt at getting us involved with a jovial song also falls flat, which to be fair, isn’t helped by a small lunchtime crowd. It’s frustrating because the show has all the makings of brilliance: there’s a unique premise, some impressive musical wizardry and an evident passion for his subject that fellow music lovers will appreciate. If the comedy was as consistently good as these elements, in the words of Charlie Sheen, he’d be ‘winning’.
Steve Pretty’s Musical Mixtape is at the Underbelly at 1:35pm until 28th August.
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