Dave Williams.
 Upon my summary of the 2004 Adelaide Fringe Festival I reflected on how many amazing acts of all genres had literally whizzed passed my senses over that three week period. Among the many stand-up comic acts I'd frequented was one relatively low-key performer who I enjoyed so much that I pledged to corner him for an interview should he return for the 2006 event; something that was highly likely to happen seeing as the wildly imaginative Dave Williams is originally from this fair city.
I've little doubt that Williams has trouble trying to be funny - he just naturally is. He's impossible to pin down to any one topic and occasionally saying things he shouldn't, we start off with him more interested in what brand of batteries I use in my recorder.
"That's the sweetest man," he bleats, "do you know what? I've just called my new band that, Eveready Super Heavy Duty, and triple A's, they're the best sort," he affirms.
"Um, the opportunities kept on coming and I was seen by the right people," he reflects on the past few years of his working life, "and fortunately I've since always gotten a lot of work. It's hard to explain really because I'm no good at schmoozing, in fact if I meet someone who I think could advance my career I tend to clam up a bit. But thankfully that's where a deal like the Fringe really helps because you get to showcase your skills. It's not so much about schmoozing but more about what you do on stage and I'm not there to try and change people.
"Like, I don't want people to walk away thinking that they should be nicer to their cat or maybe they should communicate with their partners more, who cares about that? I hate those things and I just want to have fun. I do a lot of similar festivals around the world and also the club circuits, particularly in the UK, which is good when you earn pounds over there and then come home and you're like a millionaire.
"But honestly, I'd rather live in Australia and be a bit 'povvo' than live in London and do well. I love working here and I love the audiences because the worst thing that could happen is someone might say something that's heaps funnier than you, and that's pretty devastating but that's what Australian audiences are like.
"My new show is essentially about the seven deadly sins," he tells me, "so at the end of every sin there'll be some improv and a bit of audience participation as well. I essentially explore the seven deadly sins and I go through each of them and tell why they're not that deadly after all, and why you should indulge in all of them at least once in your life because they all feel really good when you do.
"It also explores a life without consequence," he explains further, "so it's different to all the other shows I've done because it's about a particular topic instead of skipping willy-nilly from subject to subject. And there's a lot of Adelaide stuff in there as well. Adelaide is a very unique town, which is sometimes not so good and sometimes really funny. Like, what a great man Colonel Light was. Everyone says he's pointing to where the city should be planted but I don't know man, there's something sinister about that statue. Maybe he's pointing to the real location of the Beaumont children."
Remember, this is coming from a man who earlier informed me that micro-waved earwax is, "the stinkiest thing in the universe."
Steve Jones
 | Dave Williams performs Not Part of the Master Plan at BIN 273, Rundle Street, from March 7 -19 |
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