The Ghostbusters turned 30 this week. I mean that classic 1980s film from Ivan Retiman and Slimer the ghost. To mark the occasion we turned up at the Counting Host, just above The Pear Tree, on West Nicholson Street for a stand-up routine from Des O’Gorman.
O’Gorman looks like Dr. Egon Spengler. Not the blonde Egon from the cartoon series but Harold Ramis’ Egon, with tall hair, cheekbones and glasses. The fact that the comedian turned up in full Ghostbuster costume helped hugely as well. I’m also pleased to say that the lid remained firmly on the bucket of ectoplasm he brought along.
The evening kicked off with Rik Carranza. This was a great warm up act and quickly got the room onside. Carranza can draw and combines this skill with comedy effectively. He’s convinced me that adding dinosaurs to some popular movie titles will work. I think Star Wars with Dinosaurs might actually happen.
It becomes quickly clear from Des O’Gorman’s routine that he is a tried and tested Ghostbuster fan. This is not a comedian leaping on the bandwagon. Sure, anyone can claim to be a fan but this was the very first public performance of “Still Ready to Believe You” and this would have been the night when his knowledge looked the most rusty. There was never any danger of a fumble.
That’s not to say you need to know Ghostbusters like an otaku in order to enjoy the gig. This is a stand up that draws on life experience as a kid growing up, that riffs off the audience and makes use of multimedia. It helps hugely if you know the movie, of course. It’s hard to imagine anyone who hated the movie would turn up a gig called “Still Ready to Believe You: Celebrating 30 years of Ghostbusters” but if that happens I doubt your opinion of the franchise will change.
I know the audience enjoyed the show. I’m not going to claim there was a huge crowd – I mean; who checks the Counting House for the possibly of Ghostbuster comedy? – but the very concept was enough to put bums on seats. It was a personal gig, the first outing and it felt almost like a private show but that’s a good thing. How do I know the audience enjoyed the show? It’s not just the vibe but that whoever it was behind me was an event organiser, who would occasionally whisper to his colleague about the show and confirm his intention to invite Des O’Gorman to come and participate at his event.
I enjoyed celebrating 30 years of the Ghostbusters with true fan O’Gorman. I hope he’s able to get the show on the road or fight for some festival space. It deserves to be run again.
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Steve says
Well worth the walk out to the Citrus Club. An excellent tribute to the Ghostbusters franchise and to Harold Ramis. If you know the Ghostbusters movies or even remember the old 80s cartoon, it’s well worth taking one hour out of your day and immerse yourself in the ectoplasmic geek world of positron gliders and slime blowers with Des O’Gorman