It’s not that often you go to a stand-up gig and the comedian has flown in as the only passenger on a private jet just to be with his audience. Michael Bowley’s Incomplet is an unashamedly, unfinished eclectic collection of thoughts and experiences of a comedian 12 years, 3 months and 13 days in the making.

The show is super educational, particularly for the internationals in the room. Bowley explains the four different types of “mate”, which means I now have to go over the last eight months in my head to see if anyone has referred to me as “your mate”. There are also top tips about how to be socially responsible/morally reprehensible depending on whether or not you’re ok with using a credit card the late former tenant of your house has been approved for.

Someone sat next to me described Bowley as “a real cutie”, and he definitely comes across as this nice guy. This makes his occasional moments of dark humour all the more funny. These little surprises create a great balance in the show.

There are times where Bowley seems to forget where he is in the set; he repeats a couple of linesquite a few times to get him back into the swing of things which can break up the flow a   little. But it is the end of the comedy fest, and he did go to crazy lengths to get to Melbourne this evening, so we can probably forgive him that

It’s only on a rare occasions where you get an encore at the comedy fest, but it is definitely worth sticking around for Bowley’s blooper reel. Jokes he thought were hilarious at 3am, but didn’t stand up in the cold light of day. They are all pure cheese and the perfect way to end the gig. Bowley could definitely have a future in one liners if ever wants to expand his comedy repertoire.

Rating  ★★★★

– Joanna Trainor

Joanna is a Journalism student on exchange from London, currently studying at RMIT. Having missed Edfringe last year she is absolutely loving being around Melbourne for the Comedy Fest. She can often be found singing too many show tunes, and drinking all the coffee. Follow her on Twitter, @mintpixeljo, for more stagey ramblings.

When: Until 17th April, 10pm

Where: The Downstairs Lounge @ The Swanston Hotel

The start of Evan Hocking’s stand up comedy show kicks off with a theme song, the Belinda Carlisle classic ‘Heaven is a Place On Earth’– cleverly dubbed over the top so that she’s singing ‘Evan is a Place on Earth’ – he cheekily announces that this is so that we can have that song stuck in our head for weeks, and the truth… it works.

Evan’s show is true Australian ‘bloke’ humour. Short snippets of his life, tales of weddings he’s been to, trips he’s been on, his lovely-sounding, almost-doctor girlfriend and his time as a pool cleaner in Port Douglas – typical stories of a 30-something year old guy with a dry, hilarious and lighthearted outlook of life.

Evan includes a tiny bit of audience interaction in his show, but it’s not obnoxious and off putting like some shows, it’s just… good true blue fun. A funny guy with an entertaining story to tell, Evan is a Place on Earth is showing as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in The Downstairs Lounge @ The Grand Mercure until 17 April, and, at the 8.30pm time slot is a fantastic show to grab after dinner and before drinks on the heaving Swanston Street precinct for an awesome night out.

When: Until 17th April

Where: The Downstairs Lounge @ The Grand Mercure

Visit the website here.

There were canapés, there were drinks and there were three awesome comedians; The Swanston Hotel put on the perfect night at their downstairs lounge at this year’s comedy fest.

MC Mike Klimczak runs the venue and has just casually invited three of his comedian friends down to help him out for the evening; it’s difficult not to be jealous that he’s got these three acts in his phonebook. But the whole evening does have this lovely laid back feel to it; it’s their last day off before the final week of the fest, the calm before the storm perhaps! Either way the atmosphere is great for a night of chilled comedy.

Claire Hooper has just had her second baby, is doing a solo show at MICF and came along on the 11^th; she’s an all-round superwoman. The whole set feels like she’s just riffing off of what the audience give her. Hooper’s maternal instincts kick in when she spots a 14 year old girl in the second row with her parents. Her Mum looked particularly pleased, when Hooper explains how she should wait to have kids, and you could physically see her Dad tense up when Hooper moves onto if it did happen. It’s one lucky audience that get to catch a comedian so talented that she can improvise and move seamlessly between jokes.

Both Jacques Barrett and Michael Bowley are on at the Downstairs Lounge until the 17^th April, and these little snippets were great promos for their solo shows, so look out for the full reviews over the next couple of days. Between them they have parents with impressive taunts, disturbing home schools, and a detailed knowledge of airports that only a touring comedian could have. Makes for a brilliant evening all round!

 – Joanna Trainor

Joanna is a Journalism student on exchange from London, currently studying at RMIT. Having missed Edfringe last year she is absolutely loving being around Melbourne for the Comedy Fest. She can often be found singing too many show tunes, and drinking all the coffee. Follow her on Twitter, @mintpixeljo, for more stagey ramblings.

Visit the MICF website here.