As a Kiwi who is now resident in Santa Barbara, seeing the Conchords was an excellent excuse to get along to the SB Bowl for the first time. The crowd was made up largely of eager Uni students and 30 - 40 somethings. Arj Barker did a great job of warming up the crowd on a unusally cold friday and had the locals humming for more by the time he'd finished his set.
FOTC got their show started with the crack-up robot sing-a-long and 'Too many dicks on the dance floor'. A few tunes later, Bret mentioned how the brisk weather had taken him by surprise, (for sunny California). Shortly afterwards someone tossed a blanket up onto the stage for him, which he promptly wrapped around himself and the crowd roared their approval. Noticeable back up in the cheap seats, was how familiar the locals were with the lyrics and the song recognition, (everytime), after just a few notes of each ditty.
The Chords have built up a loyal following in the States from their HBO series and their laid back kiwi take on life goes down hilariously with Californians. Many of the SB concert-goers around me were thoroughly enjoying the show and cracking up when they weren't bellowing out the choruses. The boys struck up a good rapport early on in the show and it only got better as the night went on.
There were shouts from the punters for 'business time' and 'most beautiful girl' but the hecklers were held at bay with some sharp wit from Germaine. The Chords stuck to their format which had the mob drooling for more and chuckling away the whole night. Highlights at the Bowl were; the 'blanket' wrap reaction, business time, (when it finally came), sitting amongst the SB crowd and cracking up alongside them,the Bowie tribute, hearing a couple of Kiwi accents on the PA system and walking out afterwards listening to the hardcase reviews from the SB public on their way home.
How did FOTC do at the SB Bowl?.... like i said earlier,....they cracked it.