17 October 2013 (released)
18 October 2013
Admittedly, I was looking forward to reviewing Kathy Griffin at The Palais in St Kilda. Although I wasn’t a fan from her Suddenly Susan days, Griffin grew on me over the years, and I always appreciated that she shoots straight from the hip. Nothing and no one is off-limits.
Griffin, 52, ran out onto the stage giving the crowd the finger on Thursday night. The energy was high and she received raucous applause throughout the evening. For two hours, Griffin went into a tirade about celebrities, giving the finger to Miley, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, the Kardashians, Rihanna, Oprah, and Britney just to name a few.
The brash comedian opened strongly with her quick witted, loud, and arrogant jibes. She crapped on iconic Melbourne landmarks such as Luna Park and The Palais, referring to it as a “barn by the ocean”, and continually made jokes about the hellish winds we had been experiencing in Melbourne. Some jokes landed, and some went nowhere, particularly her ramblings where she kept saying “remind me to tell you about (so and so) later.”
Griffin held my attention the opening hour, especially when she targeted Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. However, I must say lost me due to her haphazard delivery, and also the distracting habit of messing around with her notes, picking them up and putting them down time and time again.
Sure, she is offensive and gets walkouts, but that is a sign of an effective act. Audience members know what they are walking into with Griffin, and the onus is on them. This show is not for sensitive, conservative types, as nothing is sacred! Griffin’s strength is the fact that she does not care if she offends. Her honesty, whilst acidic at times, is quite refreshing.
The evening wore on a little too long and it was clear that Griffin exhausted all the material she had on Miley. Nonetheless, Griffin was hysterical at times with her quirky brand of humour. There is no denying that Griffin is entertaining and the laughs continued throughout evening.
