One of the first things that Phil Wang says on stage is that reviewers
always describe his comedy style as 'assured.' (Wang is assured). He then adds
that none of these reviewers seem to find his comedy 'funny' (Wang is funny).
Nothing will change the fact that Wang is a universally likeable character
Wang certainly creates a different on-stage persona to most other comedians; his laid back style lends itself well to the low-key material that he delivers. He also makes use of some meta-comedy which acknowledged the thinking behind some of the material. It was taken a little too far at times by talking about the type of comedian he was attempting to be rather than actually being that comedian.
Due to his relaxed attitude, the material requires a high density of gags. Certain sections contained just this, my absolute favourite being a clever idea in which Wang writes his own, overly-flattering future Guardian magazine interview. Though others also had hints of hilarity, these were sometimes limited to just glimpses that were neither large enough or sustained long enough to fill the whole section. If all of Wang's material had had such density and moments of sparkling sarcasm, his show would have been achingly funny.
In a commendable attempt to mix the show up, Wang used a loop pedal to create mini-songs and features. However, the material was not strong enough to warrant three separate loop-pedal sections and so it felt a little redundant.
Nothing will change the fact that Wang is a universally likeable character. His self-deprecation and gentle delivery was extremely endearing, I was just left wishing he could have made me laugh a little more. That being said, definitely go along to the show if you are looking for a standup who is different to most others. If you are tired of high-energy standup sets, Mellow Yellow should provide the refreshing change you are after.
