The Bedroom Philosopher
The Toff in Town, Melbourne, 9 July 2009
The Toff in Town was a stark contrast to the blistering cold of a midwinter Melbourne - dimly lit, overly warm and buzzing with excitement.
The mainly seated crowd comprised of the indie, eccentric and left-of-the-middle contingent, all of whom would appear to be the "typical" Bedroom Philosopher fanbase.
MC Josh Earl (also Heazelwood's partner in crime for another side project of his) jumps on stage as the crowd appears restless, with The Bedroom Philosopher on stage later than originally planned, although one has a sneaking suspicion that this was entirely intentional to allow for another comedy break before - well - a comedic set.
Earl's brief moment of comedy ended as Justin Heazlewood (or, to the rest of us, The Bedroom Philosopher) emerged on stage complete with the Awkwardstra (his five-piece backing band), ranting and raving to the audience about the amazing sale they were having that evening.
The Bedroom Philosopher skates the line between sheer genius and utter madness, never veering too close to either description, yet dangling his talents delicately in front of both.
Both a visual and aural experience, The Bedroom Philosopher's self-deprecating humour often conflicts with his exaggerated facial expressions, adding to the never-ending stream of laughter. Heazelwood's impressive command of impersonations leaves the audience completely enthralled and eating out of his hand.
There is never a boring moment, not even in between songs, where Heazelwood hurls affectionate abuse on his backing band, at times confiscating instruments in order to ensure that he is the centre of attention.
Drawing from moments captured in his past catalogue of work, each and every song appears fresh, regardless of how many times one has been exposed to the recorded work.
Near the end of the set, Heazelwood ambles out into the crowd, acoustic guitar in hand and sings extravagantly to a select few in the audience, whose reactions vary from pride to flattered embarrassment.
For the encore, Heazelwood emerges clad in an orange fur gown, somewhat resembling a children's show character. To add to the insanity of it all, Earl joins the band on stage for the closing number, surreptitiously slotting himself into the backing choir before reappearing out in the audience as Heazelwood calls for a human pyramid to cap off a successful and memorable evening for all involved.
out of 5
