Flight of the Conchords cranked out two über sold-out shows at GW’s Lisner Auditorium Friday night. I was lucky enough to get in to the earlier of the two shows to drool over my favorite Hiphopopotamus and snap some of the worst pictures I’ve ever snapped at a show (ridiculous photo rules? Check!).
Regardless, Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement delivered a funny and uplifting set of classics for the giggly crowd. The audience participated eagerly throughout the evening, yelling out song requests and references from the show. Often the Conchords obliged, and politely played just what the audience wanted to hear.
Despite the packed room, the guys carried off their usual absurdist dweeb-folk shtick, toying throughout the show about the fact that they had just one guitar pick between the two of them. At the end of the show, McKenzie threw the pick out to the audience and then scampered back for it. Lisner was alive with laughter through the entire set, as favorites like “Business Time” and “Albi” starred in between endlessly witty banter. As an added plus, Arj Barker surprised the crowd and popped out for 20 minutes of foul-mouthed, sharp stand-up tinged with his notorious slacker drawl.
Though when a fan asked where Murray was, and the crowd held its collective breath, Clement replied: “We get that question every night. We like to tell people he’s fictional. Like Pegasus.”
