photo credit (I had to start out with this picture because if I ever meet celebrities and ask them to take a pic with me like this, but them pointing and laughing at my fallen ice cream cone.)

In no particular order:

1. “Jizzing Manky Music” – Jemaine and Bret, in their fantastic and quick-witted between-song banter, told us a story that included them time-traveling to a party where a young David Bowie happened to be, and Bret proceeded to spit out so much music for David to listen to. Jemaine said it was amazing and just pouring out of him, like he was “jizzing music.”

2. “Take it off!” – A woman in the crowd screamed during a lull in banter, to which the guys replied that they thought she was at the wrong show, but ended up asking a stage hand to bring them jackets so they could put them on, then immediately take them off to her, and everyone’s, pleasure. I think alcohol may have been a factor.

3. “New Zealand National Symphony” – They made a big deal about how lucky they were to have their national symphony on loan to them for their tour, and when they brought them out – it was one man, a cellist. Apparently there were two others, a trumpet player and a guy who danced in the corner – but it seems the economy is rough all over and cuts had to be made. There were other talks about OMC’s song “How Bizarre” being the New Zealand national anthem, to which my friend began the song line for line. It was amazing. And bizarre.

4. “Freebird!” – Despite their band being very lighthearted and hilarious, Flight of the Conchords are great musicians. When “that guy” in the crowd yelled the ubiquitous song request, Jemaine delivered with his own version, questioning why a woman would want to get into a relationship with a bird. Bret would chime in with backup lyrics that added a fantastic comedic effect. But even better was their version of “When Doves Cry,” which (unfortunately for everyone) he stopped early, saying it would become “silly” to do a bunch of covers.

5. “Epileptic Dog REEEEMIIIIIX!” – When all else fails, if you forget the lyrics, always (and this goes for everyone), always have a techno remix in your back pocket.

There were so many great other things – “Business Time” and “Bowie” encore, whales using cell phones to call 9-1-1 (“your emergency is very soothing”), and in a big surprise, Arj Barker is a hilarious stand-up comedian. For serious, his bit about Pluto not being a planet is awesome!