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Justin Hamilton.
 "I started off in a duo call the Bunta Boys," recalls ex-pat Adelaidian, Justin Hamilton, "and we did a show at Boltz Cafe which used to be in Rundle Street, and we did a song where we crucified a paper mache pope on a cross and inside the stomach we stuck a bag full of meat. But we set it up about 11:30 during the day, and you know what the heat's like in Adelaide..."
He continues, laughing at the inevitable, "so by the time we got on stage that night and stabbed it all the meat had gone off and it had built up all this gas in there and meat and pig fat shot out and went all over the table at the front setting a candle on fire, and during all that the guy I performed with was doing all this feedback on his guitar and there was this guy yelling from the back, 'You'll burn in Hell,' and he was deadly serious... which if anything provided the perfect ending," he concludes, finally drawing a breath.
"That was my comedy beginnings and for all the gigs I've done since, I've got to be honest, that's one of my top three." That was back in 1997; since then Hamilton has enjoyed a steady ascent on the national comedy circuit, regularly appearing on ABC's 'Glass House', 'Rove [Live]', and Triple J. "Things have been good for a while and coming back to Adelaide has always been fun," he states. "The Fringe is by far the best festival in Australia and after three and a half weeks it just feels like you've been running non-stop for fifteen hours straight.
"I do stand up in the style of storytelling and that sort of thing," he proffers. "I do more of an overview of the world we live in because there's lots of weird things going on at the moment, so I just try to put a positive spin on things without getting too 'Christian' in the process. I'll be taking on things from the [Cronulla] race riots to the stresses of moving house," he informs me. "And oh, my show cameos five penguins, who for many, are the real stars."
During our chat there's a constant procession of topics, including a certain locally produced current affairs show and their audience grabbing headline stories; e.g. 'Adelaide's Drongo Drivers', 'The Romance Rogue' and, 'Shocking Shoppers'. "How about they do one on themselves," suggests Hamilton, "they could call it, 'Asinine Alliterations'." Then there's his own reluctance to come home to South Australia and use our politicians etc. for his personal comedic gain.
"About the only thing I'll get stuck into is Port Power, you know? And that because of being a long time Glenelg supporter, I'll support the Crows but there's just no way I can support the Power in the national competition because of too many tragic memories of being thrashed in the finals. All those years of when Graham Cornes was coaching and we had McDermott and also Peter Carey, before he started writing novels that is."
Which begs the question, what if Peter Carey the author ghost wrote Peter Carey the footballer's biography? "Well, that would definitely have to end up on Today Tonight," he responds, referring to the inclusive inanity of it all.
Steve Jones
 | Justin Hamilton presents 'Smash' from Thurs 23 Feb at the Rhino Room Comedy season, proudly presented by dB Magazine. |
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