Saturday night wasn't the first time the Flight of the Conchords played in Milwaukee. No, the New Zealand comedy folk funk emo alt hip-hop soul act performed at the Riverside Theater almost exactly one year ago, and in fact, they played a 7 p.m. set just three hours before their 10 p.m. show at the Riverside.
But as great as the 2008 show was -- one of my favorite shows of the year, really -- Saturday's was even better. The duo took it up a notch this time around, though they freely and frequently admitted that the 7 and 10 p.m. shows were basically the same.
I find that a little hard to believe, since so much of FOTC's charm comes from its off-the-cuff banter and improv between songs. While drunken hecklers almost ruined the show last time, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement were completely prepared Saturday. The hecklers were toned down this year, but the duo handled them deftly, incorporating their lame yelps and incomprehensible babbling right into the show.
Musically, the pair sounded better than ever. While the second season of their HBO show is a little less hilarious than its rookie year, FOTC is now funkier and edgier. They opened with "Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor," an electronica tune that sounded better because, of course, the duo came out wearing cardboard robot costumes.
They followed with many of their better songs, though they naturally skewed toward more current material. They played "Hurt Feelings," the hilarious "The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room," and the tricky rap, "Mutha'uckas." They also got freaky with "I Told You I Was Freekie," and played one of my personal favorites, the sweet and funny "Carol Brown."
Eugene Mirman, who plays the landlord on "Flight of the Conchords," opened for the duo, and his stand-up routine was excellent. Check him out, if you get a chance, and remember that he's much funnier live than he is on those canned TV ads for 94.5 "Lake-FM."
Speaking of hilarious, kudos to "Tenacious NZ" for dropping in plenty of local and timely jokes, too, in their dry, wry style. In five minutes, they referenced the Safe House, the Violent Femmes and, of course, swine flu: "Swine flu is one of those issues / can we get the piggies some tissues," rapped Clement.
The group finished its encore with its most popular song, "Business Time," and left the sold-out crowd -- the second of the night -- giddy and exasperated.
McKenzie and Clement are great at what they do -- partly because they're hilarious, but also because they're skilled musicians and songwriters. Throw in a healthy mix of fast-paced banter, and "New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo accapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo" is better than ever.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
