Review: Gareth Reynolds at The Rechabite
LegendGary: Gareth Reynolds Live! at The Rechabite
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Whip-smart crowd work, engaging anecdotes, hilarious new bits—all went pretty much as expected from world-class comedian, actor, writer, improviser, and podcaster Gareth Reynolds at The Rechabite for his LegendGary stand-up tour of Australia. That is to say, excellently.
Perhaps the only real surprise of the night was that Reynolds was not met with the usual chants of “Gary, Gary, Gary!” as he came on stage. While Reynolds usually handles the many unwanted nicknames bestowed upon him with grace and only token resistance, a suggestion by a punter in the crowd that he should lean into it even further and become “Gazza” seems to be where the comedian firmly and finally draws a line, though.
One couldn’t help but ponder whether the conspicuous lack of the ‘Gary’ chant from the crowd indicated just how beloved and respected Reynolds truly is here in Perth. (Seriously, listen to or watch any live performance from Reynolds, either solo or as co-host of The Dollop, it ALWAYS happens).
The Rechabite Hall was completely packed out, which was not missed by the performer either, who opened with comments on how thrilled he was that the sheer number of people in the audience made the horrendous journey over to Perth, AKA, the middle of nowhere, worth it. Regular calls of “We love you, Gareth” rang out from different parts of the crowd. Note: Not Gary, Gareth—which proves the sentiment is true.
And, of course, there is the other, more normal way to show one’s love for a stand-up comedian: people laughed their goddamn asses off. Reynolds absolutely owned the room. A really generous and often very genuine performer, with lots of crowd engagement and interaction, he even managed the unfortunately inevitable boisterous heckler (who was more like an overexcited drunken interrupter, really) like the pro that he is.
Reynolds’ mix of new material with clearly locally-inspired quips combined well with his crowd work, which is a true forte. As a lifelong improvisor, this is hardly surprising, and Reynolds really started fine-tuning his talent for off-the-cuff audience interactions during 2020 when he started a YouTube show, Ga’Riffs, where his audience could send in topics each week that he would just riff on for an hour. Often, the crowd work goes so well for the comedian that he barely gets through his material. This night was no exception, which really made for a community feel in the audience by the end that rarely develops in stand-up shows.
Well, that, and, goddamn, did he unearth some hilarious shit from the audience! Including a couple who were there with their daughter who met when the lad rolled his car on his 18th birthday—which he then did not get to attend himself due to said rolling of the car. And it gets worse! But it’s one of those things where you just had to be there.
Of course, there were plenty of tales about José, Reynolds’ cat, who is almost as famous as he is at this point. The audience was highly amused to discover that there had been a time when he and José even shared the same toilet! In a surprisingly heartwarming moment, Reynolds talked about an older dog that he fostered. His passion for animals is well known, but it was so utterly human to be privy to his love for the dearly departed doggy through the memories that he shared. Genuine, but still funny, and we were there for it. All the way.
Reynolds is so comfortable on stage it’s like he was born on it, and it has to be said that his Aussie accent these days is pretty damn shmicko, too. The Perth crowd surely felt lucky that he made the trip all the way over here, and hopefully he’ll be back. Truly a joy.
MELISSA KRUGER