ANDREW FINEGAN SINGS SONGS FROM THE END OF THE WORLD La Bohème Until 23 Feb 2013 Review by Benjamin Orchard In this darkly comic instalment of La Boheme’s CabFringe program, Melbournite singer/songwriter/comedian/prophet-of-doom, Andrew Finegan, presents a series of original songs about the end of the world – speculating as to the form that the inevitable future apocalypse will take (“When Worlds Collide” style cosmic disaster? A “Night Of The Living Dead” zombie uprising? The reign of the Antichrist as foretold in the Book Of Revelation? A mass viral epidemic?), as well as ruminating on some near misses that humanity has endured in the past (such as The Black Death and The Great Flood). These songs typically take the form of softly eloquent and plaintive piano ballads, in much the same vein as Elton John or Billy Joel – with the humour derived from the contrast between the smoothly elegant compositions, which Finegan delivers with earnest, heartfelt sincerity and the bleakness of the lyrical content. Many of these songs come across as surreal rather than laugh-out-loud funny, and on several occasions Finegan invests such a depth of emotional commitment into his delivery of the material that it’s hard not to be drawn into the story (absurd as it may be) and start to actually care about the characters whose doomed lives he is chronicling. Particularly notable in this regard are two songs performed in the middle of the set. One of these, which I believe is called “Escape to the Helipad”, relates the blossoming love between two survivors of a zombie apocalypse, one of whom is eventually forced to kill the other when he discovers that his new girlfriend is infected. There is another song in which a man suffering from depression sings of his longing to be struck down by “Nibiru” – a cosmic cataclysm predicted by supposed alien abductee, Nancy Lieder, in which a planet sized object will pass by Earth causing radical pole shifts and wiping out most of humanity in the process. The “Nibiru” song especially transcends parody and establishes a very firm grip on the heartstrings. That said, there are many more overtly comic moments throughout the show which are sure to provoke hearty chuckles. This usually occurs whenever Finegan steps away from the piano and whips out his ukulele. The uke-highlights of the evening include a chipper, reggae style ditty about various infectious diseases (including The Black Death, Cholera, Influenza and Smallpox), as well as an axe-crazy ode to Suzanne Collins’ popular series of young adult novels, “The Hunger Games”. Though Finegan’s set consists mostly of original material, he throws in some bizarrely chosen covers as well... such as a medley of Europe’s “The Final Countdown”, Nicki Minaj’s “Starships”, David Bowie’s “Starman” and the Boublil/Schonberg show tune “Stars” (from “Les Misérables”), which blend together surprisingly well... and he cleverly incorporates Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” into a song about the entire female population of Earth being wiped out by a gender specific disease. Finegan’s stage patter between songs is less confident and assured than his musicianship. Some first night jitters were apparent, odd pauses in his speech, a lot of “ums” and “errs” in the lead up to his telling a joke. Hopefully these things are out of his system now, because he does have an amiable stage presence and his obvious “gee-whiz” enthusiasm for the topics he speaks of is infectious. Ultimately, this show will still be something of an acquired taste, and is not for the easily offended. Christian conservatives will probably not be amused by Finegan’s jocular take on so many of their core, fundamental beliefs. There will be others who consider death to be no laughing matter, period. Also, the show is full of subtle pop culture references, mostly to science fiction stories, which may fly over the head of the less geeky audience members. But for those looking to see something a bit out of the ordinary this Fringe, it’s worth taking the risk with Finegan and his quirkily apocalyptic musings. Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)