STEVE HUGHES | LIVE REVIEW
The Glee Club, Cardiff Bay, Wed 7 Nov
For a self defined conspiracy ‘realist’ I was sucked into Steve Hughes rhetoric even quicker than I thought, with a set that resembled a comedic rant more than stand-up act.
Hughes’ show While Its Still Legal, the title itself a little hint of Hughes’ thoughts on political correctness, cover topics as varied as health, race, drugs and much more as he talks us through his dark, honest and hilarious mind.
The fine support act Sully O’Sullivan, who must be commended for having the guts to do a joke about enslaving the welsh in a Cardiff venue, provided the perfect segway to Steve’s show with the line “Have you ever spent 65 hours in a Nissan Micra with a conspiracy theorist?”
Often in the role of stand-up comedians do jokes and bits that get you on their side, more often or not you agree with them, this wasn’t necessarily the case for Hughes. This is, perhaps, what is most appealing about Hughes’ comedy. It doesn’t feel like he’s trying to get you to like him, or convince you to change your mind, he is simply talking about his funny observation of his own flavour of truth. From the very start of his set Hughes expresses his passion for honest comedy and he doesn’t shy away from that ideal at any point.
Known to have some controversial views there was bound to be one or two joke with a bit of a sour taste but this is something to be expected of the Aussie metal head, and overall the night was a great one. To round off the night Hughes ended with an impression of his girlfriend saying “Don’t say that on stage!”, which just goes to show that there isn’t anyone that Hughes isn’t willing to get on the wrong side of for the sake of comedy.
words: HEATHER ARNOLD