let's nude up and burn shit
In 1992 Dave Taranto extended the idea of his 3-RRR (and earlier 3-PBS) radio show about all things comedy, The Cheese Shop (so christened in honour of the classic Monty Python sketch), to a live format called, imaginatively, Stand Up at the Cheese Shop, later morphing into Cheese Shop Live. (Yes, Dave was a fiend for marketing... just watch him trying to sell those t-shirts in the clips...). Initially, Dave ran six week seasons of live shows but in later years he attempted to go almost every week of the year. The shows continued until 1999, culminating in a celebration of Dave's achievement called Cheese Shop 'Til You Drop, before his death in December of that year.
The Stand Up at the Cheese Shop and Cheese Shop Live shows helped maintain a reputation The Prince Patrick Hotel had developed in the late 1980s as a home for live comedy in Melbourne. The shows also gave Dave the chance to indulge himself by giving his favourite comedians a place to play and, along the way, creating one of the most highly regarded comedy rooms in the world.
Dave educated a generation of comedy lovers through his radio show and live work, simultaneously fostering the development of so many of Australia's best-known comedians. He eschewed such titles as 'guru of Melbourne comedy', preferring to see himself merely as a comedy fan who was mad enough to take his interest seriously. Seeking out innovative comedy and supporting good comedians was not so much a career as a vocation to Dave - a bizarre calling. Dave heard the call (or was it a groan?) and will always be remembered for his contribution to the strength of Melbourne's comedy community. The Taranto Show is my small tribute to him. It is a way I prefer to remember Dave: in motion - on stage, fiddling with a mike stand, reading out something from the 20/20 column in the Herald Sun, trying to flog a t-shirt or introducing someone he was sure was going to mess with the audience's mind.
The Xmas Shows 1992-1998
The highlight of the comedy year for many punters was the Cheese Shop Xmas Show. The Xmas Show became something more than merely a comedy show, it was a cultural event for many Melburnians - often it was the only comedy event they would attend all year. Dave would routinely ask the crowd packing the Prince Pat for that one night in December "where the fuck have youse been all year?" before giving them a memorable night of great (often long) performances, every year adding a little something special.
Dave was an assiduous archivist and I recently inherited VHS recordings of Xmas Show performances from 1992 to 1998. Trawling through the footage, I have created highlights from each year as mini-movies for anyone interested to view them.
The focus is on Dave's bits as I don't have permission from performers, agents or managers to publish anyone else's work. Should that occur (feel free to contact me and provide such) I well may do so, but my focus is on paying tribute to the guy I used to find the scariest man in Melbourne comedy but who became part of my family through his relationship with my sister.
 
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LINKS
Cheese Shop Xmas Show 1992 Cheese Shop Xmas Show 1993
Cheese Shop Xmas Show 1994
Cheese Shop Xmas Show 1995
Cheese Shop Xmas Show 1996
Cheese Shop Xmas Show 1997
Cheese Shop Xmas Show 1998
Cheese Shop 'Til You Drop 1999
NB: The sound quality varies across these pieces of footage. My apologies for this, but the tapings were originally intended as records of the nights only. The VHS tapes were often old and recycled, in keeping with Dave's sense of economy. |