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Live stream from Sydney, available onlineIf the performer gets in the way of himself and his impressive lyrical skills, the best of him still shines through in a fine set
Reactions to Tim Minchin have always been extreme: you either find him brilliant, or pompous, or infuriatingly mannered. Or all three in 80 minutes flat, in the case of this live stream from Sydney, where Minchin and band performed his new album Apart Together in its entirety. But if it sometimes feels that Minchin can’t stop getting in the way of his own best qualities, those qualities (the loveliness of many of the songs, the arch wordplay, the decency of the man) leave the more lasting impression.
Directed by Gary Deans, the whole broadcast looks gorgeous, bathed in blue and amber, the cameras up close and personal with Minchin, his band – and guest star Ben Folds. The show has much in common with last year’s large-scale world-touring set. But those three hours have been pared down, the old comedy favourites excised and only Minchin’s new (largely non-comic) numbers intact. They make little effort to be relatable: they describe our host’s globally successful life and no one else’s. Several are set in airports or on planes; two are about staying faithful to his wife in the face of extreme temptation. Continue reading...