- Culture
- 14 Jul 08
Jim Jeffries may be outrageously funny but to some people he’s just plain outrageous. He talks about the on-stage attack that made him a web sensation
If eight million people have seen you on the internet, you are either doing something very right or very, very wrong. Australian comedian Jim Jeffries, depending on your constitution, can fall into either category. In 2007, while performing in Manchester’s Comedy Store, an enraged punter (Irish unfortunately) took exception to some material and stormed the stage, punching Jeffries repeatedly.
“I managed to block the first one with my face,” he laughs, “then some audience members came to my rescue.”
The punches may have stung but the publicity didn’t hurt. Jim incorporated the incident into his subsequent show and sold out his 2007 Edinburgh run. This year his performance at the Udderbelly, entitled Hammered, will undoubtedly be just as successful. So what’s it like spending a month performing in Edinburgh? Is it as debauched as they say?
"I’m surprised nobody has died yet. You’ve got two choices, drink or abstain completely.”
I mention Johnny Vegas’s adage that ‘you should always be two pints behind your audience.’
“That’s probably a good call," says Jeffries. "The problem with Edinburgh is that you might have two or three gigs during the day and just when you’re relaxing with a couple of pints, you’ll get offered another gig, and you always take the job. Because of the nature of my act, I can’t really say no to someone who offers me a shot at the bar, can I?”
There’s certainly been no shortage of work offers recently. Jim's schedule has been packed but he still managed to entertain British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. How did that go?
“It was weird man. You’re sober, they’re sober and everyone has guns. They are all wearing bullet-proof vests as well, which is strange. I was given one but left it at the side of the stage before I went on. Bob Hope never wore one.”
How does Jim's family react to his material? Does he have any maiden aunts who need shielding?
“Oh God, yes. I try not to think about it but there’s plenty of stuff I wouldn’t want my mum to see. I often refer to ‘my friend’ who did all these terrible things, but of course it’s just me.”
As Jim is based in the UK, he doesn’t get back to Perth very often.
“There aren’t that many comedy clubs at home," he says. "It’s just not as big a scene as here. Probably because the weather is lovely, the food is great, and the people are pretty happy. You need proper rainy misery for a huge comedy scene to develop. I’ve played some great nights in Ireland though. One of the last ones I did in Dublin, I invited the audience for a drink with me and every single one of them followed me to the pub afterwards.”
Has he ever stiffed onstage?
“I’ve had some bad gigs, who hasn’t? The worst was when I ended up playing to a few hundred lesbians who decided to throw stuff at me. It got pretty ugly. Great gigs are just that, great. It gets hard to differentiate between them.”
And bad reviews?
“You’ll find enough of them if you trawl the internet far enough. I usually find they have quoted me and it’s stuff I don’t remember saying, like I’m crazy or a racist. Of course you’ll then find it was all written by some other comedian.”
On a final note, Jim rates George Carlin as one of his all time comedy heroes. Carlin passed away as this article was being written. He was 71 and still performing. His humour, like Jeffries’, was black and observed no boundaries. He didn’t believe in God and performed a show entitled Religion Is Bullshit. I’ll leave you with George Carlin’s definition of Frisbeetarianism – a parody of religion which he invented for a newspaper competition. He described it as ‘the belief that when a person dies, his soul gets flung onto a roof and just stays there.’
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Jim Jeffries plays the Laughter Lounges in Galway (July 9) and Dublin (10)