Steve Poltz: I Love My Job – Adelaide Fringe Review

Church of the Trinity, Wed 7 Mar. [MUSIC/ACOUSTIC – USA] Steve Poltz bounds out onto the Trinity stage and greets his audience with his usual wide eyes and a smile that approaches craziness. He begins his set with the wistful Ten Chances and then follows with an improvised looped piece, dedicated to an audience member who has beaten serious illness and is here celebrating her 70th birthday. The first half of the show has Poltz talking as much as he plays. It doesn’t matter because he is equally entertaining at both. Poltz talks about a great range of things, jumping from topic to topic and back again; his own family’s health battles, tales of misspent youth and senior citizens’ drug experimentation. Holliston Street, an oldie, continues the themes of family, love and the fleeting nature of existence. He finishes the first set with the rousing Folksinger. Every word is true, people… Poltz kicks off part two with Shine On, the title track from his forthcoming album. Now Nashville-based, he shows off his bluegrass chops with Over the Top For You. His vocal processor and looping station combine to create an amazingly entertaining song on the spot, and Hey God I'll Trade You Donald Trump For Leonard Cohen again shows that Poltz can make a point while making you laugh. Even when he is performing something that is leaning towards wistful, Poltz is only seconds away from another moment of comedy gold. If he wasn’t doing this for a living, a career in stand-up seems like a pretty safe bet. After running overtime by 45 minutes (nobody is bothered) Poltz finishes with another singalong, I Want All My Friends To Be Happy, which has him racing around the packed house bring manic joy to all. No-one else on earth does what Steve Poltz does. By his own admission, he has the best job in the world. 4.5 stars David Robinson #ADLFringe