Love him or hate him, Amos Gill will make you sit up and listen to what he has to say. In his new Adelaide Fringe show, *The Pale, Stale, Straight, White Male*, he uses an Advertiser newspaper headline to express his feelings on the trouble he got into last year as well as other thoughts on today's world. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about this 2024 Adelaide Fringe incident, but Gill definitely has not. In a show spanning a hilarious eighty minutes or so, we hear his opinions on anyone and everything. "I'm here to offend everyone!" he proudly exclaims. "It's what I do!"
Amos Gill is a big enough stand-up star that he has his own warm-up act these days. Corey White came onto the stage and, much like Gill, didn't hold back on his thoughts or feelings about life, relationships, and the state of the world. He's someone I'd look out for in future Fringe lineups, but I could have done without him asking if we had any MAGA supporters in the audience. With a quarter of the crowd cheering, it left me wondering why we, as Australians, want to affiliate ourselves with American ideals and agendas. This was also brought up later by Amos Gill himself when he took the stage, noting that we're losing our Australian culture and values. It's why I love watching Amos Gill perform. Behind the blokey, Aussie exterior, and whether you like what he's saying or not, everything he talks about has a tinge of truth to it. Straight white males, Welcome to Country, the Adelaide Fringe, Baby Boomers, and his own mates all receive a tongue-lashing with a hilarious bent in a way that only Gill can deliver. He's an 'equal opportunity offender' and even makes himself the butt of his jokes at times.
If you don't get too caught up in the gruff exterior, you'll see that Amos Gill is one of the most gifted and clever comedians we have in Australia right now. His shows have form, structure, and, most importantly, great punchlines (with emphasis on "punch"). One of the main reasons I attend his shows every year is to watch people squirm in their seats. It's uncomfortable comedy at its finest, and you may not like it, but that's what he does.
***** Five Stars