the taranto show

Stand Up At The Cheese Shop Xmas Show #1 (1992)

As many people will remember, almost every Cheese Shop Xmas Show began with Dave Taranto asking the crowd packed into the Prince Patrick Hotel "Where the fuck have you been all year?" Yes, Dave's commitment to the Cheese Shop Live concept meant many long, cold nights at the Pat, trying to make a show with a scant set list and an even scanter audience. But Xmas time saw his labour bear fruit as Dave could present his loyal audience with a show of seasoned performers - the 'creme de la creme', as he jokingly put it, of Melbourne comedy.

In the 1992 Stand Up At The Cheese Shop Xmas Show, the first, Dave attempted to introduce the idea of 'self-compering brackets', a notion requiring one performer to introduce the next once he or she had finished their bit. This disappeared by the following year - I don't think Dave could stand being away from the audience for too long. 1992 was also the year of THE JOKE. Dave was excited to have actually written one, and here it is, recorded for posterity.

The big news at the time was the imminent separation of Charles and Diana, but the scourge of (small-l) liberal-minded Victorian thinkers - and a gift to comedians - was the 'reign' of Premier Jeff Kennett. One of the pieces of footage available to view below mentions another product for sale apart from Dave's ubiquitous t-shirts: pairs of undies manufactured by Anthony Morgan with an image of Kennett on the inside so, to use Morgan's words, "it doesn't matter if you shit yourself..." It is not known how many sold.