Despite being named after an album by Godspeed You! Black Emperor, a band famed for its extravagant tendencies, John Robins’ show of the same name is comforting and familiar. Robins is a highly skilled raconteur, who comes across more as a friend who happens to own a microphone than a comic aiming to control an audience. His delivery reclassifies the audience as ‘dudes’ and ‘guys’. However, being nice isn’t always enough to compel the room, and his attempts to affirm a middle-ground perspective can sometimes be simply middling.Aside from some introductory anecdotes, the show is structured as a riposte to aggressively atheist comedians. Robins situates himself as an alternate perspective to the heavily religious – personified by his father – and those he feels are too self-interested in their attempts to ‘stick it to the man’. He comes across often as some kind of genial teacher – temperate and generous to the audience, and with a fantastic delivery reminiscent in parts of an older, mellowed Jonny Sweet. This is a launch-off point for some solid material – such as paralleling his father’s opinion of stand-up comedy with a recount of a nightmarish gig interrupted by a dildo-wielding hen night, and a well-aimed attack at Banksy’s anti-establishment ethos clashing with his financial viability. But at worst, his tone can jar without interesting material to back it up. An attack on Richard Dawkins’ atheism or self-styled ‘alternative’ personalities isn’t as innovative as he seems to think, and for all his charm and wide-eyed enthusiasm, his material can sometimes feel bland. His crusade against ‘divs’ of all categories is admirable, and he is so likable that the audience can happily go along with it, but his personality isn’t forceful enough to provide a fresh pair of eyes on the well-trodden topics he brings up.Robins’ superb delivery – where the word ‘spiffing’ can be used in a way that is utterly charming in its innocence – isn’t really allowed to soar owing to slightly clunky material. His closing note for the audience is ‘each to their own’, which would be fine if he hadn’t earlier stated to us the need for comedy to have a ‘strong message’. This point is debatable, but in any case it is a mark that Robins doesn’t always hit. However, there is no doubt that if Robins produces material that matches his tone for vitality and exuberance, then maybe next time he can create something truly spectacular.
