This is going to hurt...

I never knew how intimidating some 800 odd university students could be until I had to share a confined space with them. That was my plight this Saturday night past. Feeling incongruous (I’ve never been to Uni, see). At odds with my surroundings as I navigated the hills and dales that led to the Wits Grand Hall in heels (what was I thinking?!) for the Make Me Maaf Comedy show.

To be very honest, I wasn’t expecting much. I’d seen the likes of Trevor Noah and Nik Rabinowitz a year ago at Bafunny. And those guys were a tough act to top.  

The crowd that had gathered outside probably represented half the slumou population at Wits. And more than 50% of them were male! Eish! Well I was here to enjoy myself and I would do it in spite of feeling like the last Dodo amid a flock of Guinea fowl.

The beginning was inauspicious. A portend, I feared. Some chick in a little red number with impossible stilettos er’ing and uhm’ing as she introduced the evening and told us about the charity we’d just supported. Did anyone get that? Cos I missed it somewhere between her er’s and uhms. Anyone who knows me knows that the one thing that gets to me when it comes to public speaking is someone who searches for words when they’re supposed to have a feast of them prepared and ready for serving.

Yes, I’m anal like that.

And then, like a breath of leather jacket and bow tie clad fresh air,  Deep Fried Man made his first appearance. Doing that signature ten past ten stance, he belted out a few nonsensical songs and got the show on the road.

Hmm, not bad I thought. As the evening progressed, he proved himself to be a worthy MC. 

I got to hear of  Laz Gola for the first time. He was so-so. I had a few good laughs (but my laughing shouldn’t be taken as any kind of measure of success since I laugh. A lot! Always!)

Knowing that he was the real Loyiso Gola’s brother didn’t make him funnier in any way.  I’m thinking with a few more gigs under his belt his act should smooth itself out and become a more seamless affair.

One of the people I was keen to see was my friend Aasia. And she didn’t disappoint. Unflinchingly honest. She was a treat. She fed us a dry sarcastic kind of humour. A brand I’m quite partial to.

 Conrad Koch is another comedian who deserves mention. He was easily the best act of the evening. Between his adopted alien of a child and Chester Missing he really brought the show to life. I’d definitely pay (not for a charity, mind) just to see him in action again.

Simmi Areff surprised me. I follow him on Twitter. And I wasn’t expected to laugh until I had tears in my eyes. But hey, guess what? I did. He was really good. Kudos.

The grand  Kaloo made his debut on the evening. It was a brave (read insane) effort . I hand him that. He got a few good laughs.  But he exceeded his allotted time, which inspired a few snide remarks from some quarters.

His detractors will be pleased to know that he remained within his allotted time when he got back into the saddle at Parkers – Monte Casino – last night You go Fareed!

Two acts that the show would have been better off without were Omer and 2Dogs. The latter was painful to watch. And no, I don’t think he’s a comedic genius. Just some gormless guy who’s delusional regarding his abilities. Yes, I know that’s harsh. I had a sense that the poor guy was being patronised in some way. And really just being made a g@t of. I could be wrong. There’s a first time for everything, after all.

As for Omer, I’m not being nasty, but I think he was redundant. One less Omer would have given us more time with the fantastic Rasdien.

It was my first time seeing Joey in action. And I was impressed. Laugh a minute, he was brilliant! He’s headed for great places.

To the organisers, Minhaj Jeenah (who came decked out like a small time producer – haha) et al, nice effort.

Next time warn us when an event is not going to be a mainstream one. I know of a few grandparents who felt even more awkward than I did.

Would I do it again? Probably not. But hey, at least when one of these guys makes it big I’ll be able to say: Ek was daar. Ek het hom gesien toe hy nog a laaitie was.


p.s. If I've pissed anyone off with this post, do Make Me Maaf!