‘Dalton Whiskey – Cum Balloon’ // Bris Funny Fest

‘Dalton Whiskey – Cum Balloon’ was genuine. 

Comedian Dalton Whiskey’s latest show as part of Bris Funny Fest, ‘Cum Balloon’, was an absolute riot of an evening. A member of Based Comedy, Dalton has been around the Brisbane comedy scene for five years. ‘Cum Balloon’, a truly clever yet ridiculous piece, was performed at the fantastic Heya Bar and has set the bar high for Whiskey’s career.

Taking to the stage, and beginning his set with a big mouthful of… well … ‘Cum Balloon’ had the audience in stitches from the outset. Whiskey was quick to get the audience on his side, making them feel as though he was their old high school mate from the first quip. It takes a truly skilled comedian to take a room of strangers and make them all feel like they have known each other for years.

Not only was Whiskey able to get the audience on side but his stunts and gaffs were very cleverly crafted. He kept a similar tone through his comedic bits, telling us stories and scenarios from his life often resulting in himself being the butt of the jokes.

While Whiskey maintained the common comedian trope of exaggerated stories from his own life, he interspersed this with asides of what had “truthfully” happened. Obviously without legitimately revealing identities of people.

For example, he told a story about someone from his high school who he wanted to exact vengeance on at their ten-year school reunion. Whiskey built this story with a mixture of jokes at his own expense and clever story-telling, creating a narrative where he defeats his foe in the end. Following this, he “revealed” to the audience that the reunion had already happened and the guy didn’t even show up.

Through simply this story Whiskey had the audience in the palm of his hand both with a sound mix of improbably elaborative comedic script and truthful scenarios. Using the truth to subvert the expectation of the audience and almost null the story they just nearly split their sides laughing at was a genius move by Whiskey.

Dotted throughout the set were a series of stunts, all linking to the ‘Cum Balloon’ theme. Once again riffing on the theme of gags set up by Whiskey that were then popped to reveal the truth behind the curtain. This kept any walls down the ‘comedian/audience’ relationship and further endeared him to the audience.

The biggest moment of them all was Whiskey physically putting himself inside a giant balloon, blown up by a friend. The layers in this gag are what made it so incredibly clever, and hilarious. Not only was there raucous laughter at someone physically being inside a balloon but the second the mic was passed through to him and he began talking as though the balloon was nothing the audience was completely sold. Even after a few quips when the balloon ultimately popped, the audience was so invested in the world of ‘Cum Balloon’ to care. If Whiskey hadn’t won them over from the first remark, he definitely had them after that.

For an audience seeking a night of craven, inappropriate storytelling, Dalton Whiskey is proving himself a comedian that is hard to look past. He presents a singular look at the world that is wonderfully identifiable, and ‘Cum Balloon’ captures that spectacularly. 

Dalton Whiskey performed as part of the 2019 Bris Funny Fest. For more information about the comedian, visit Facebook – Dalton Whiskey, Comedian.