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X-Press Magazine, July 26, 1990. By Michael Dwyer
The Doug Anthony All Stars, Sex and Violence, His Majesty's Theatre, Thursday July 19.
Pants came down, spittle flew, hecklers were forcibly removed… in short, more of the same from the Doug Anthony All Stars at His Majesty's Theatre last week.
The Dougies' third visit to Perth was marred by a certain predictability for those who witnessed the hysteria last time around, but the trio's Sex and Violence show rated high on the laughometer nonetheless.
DAAS entered to an hysterical reception, emptying dustbins over the stage and thereby announcing their intention to be somewhat cheeky and anarchic. And so this edition of Sex and Violence was. These boys are so confident with an audience it almost seemed they didn't bother scripting this one. Whether the apparent ad-libbing was genuine or not, the Dougies' banter had a more impromptu edge than usual and left little room for music, surprising given the success of their recently-released album.
Pee pee and bodily functions jokes were rife in the rapid fire of dark-bellied comedy. The high level of DAAS exposure of the past year has led to a certain amount of audience immunity, with the result of a noticeably more offensive edge to the humour. It's just not easy shocking a DAAS audience these days. Whether the world is ready for uterus jokes is a moot point, but at least the Dougies are asking the question.
A second by-product of the DAAS Immunity Factor is a notable increase in heckling from the gallery. It seems we're not so scared of them any more. This lent an added degree of anarchy to an already loosely-structured show.
Of course, there was the stock DAAS holding pattern to fall back on, the one where Tim is hilarious being alternately puerile and fascist, Richard gets hurt being the sensitive and insecure bard and Paul is just nasty. Judging by the wild reception, there is little sign of the trio's chemistry losing its potency.
In slightly staler maneuvers, one g-stringed chap in the front row was de-trousered for no apparent reason and the audience was divided into two halves and encouraged to spit at each other. Still a hoot, sure, but hardly the ground-breaking theatre that we have come to expect.
Yes, Paul McDermott, Richard Fidler and Tim Ferguson satisfied expectations in Perth last week. However, apart from a more battle-scarred appearance (Paul's jacket was a mess!), there was no evidence of the shift of emphasis heralded by the recently released Icon album. In writing and on record The All Stars are moving in intriguing directions, but live they're the same wacky, zany and terribly rude boys.
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