Russell Brand fails to impress
AS SOON AS Russell Brand took the National Arts Centre Southam Hall stage, he had the audience in stitches. With quips about Canadian culture and sexual innuendos, I was unabashedly in love with his style, and I swooned over his quirky British charm throughout the opening of his Messiah Complex World Tour show.
I originally wanted to see Russell Brand because he’s funny, loud, and controversial, as well as eloquent and intelligent. About 20 minutes in, all of these qualities shined through and I was intrigued by his thoughts on Western society’s attempts to find meaning in celebrity culture.
Brand raised some interesting points about the shameless misinformation released by the paparazzi. He touched on his well-known addictions and his public divorce from pop singer Katy Perry in a light and comedic fashion. He also discussed Gandhi, Malcolm X, Che Guevara, and Hitler—trying to establish parallels between the average person and these historical figures.
Though the beginning of the show was promising and his insights on the corruption of a capitalist society rang true to me, as the show progressed, he dove further and further into a pool of cheap, predictable sex jokes.
The ending disappointed me because Brand definitely made valid arguments but then ruined them completely with an over-the-top and unrelated conclusion about the importance of worshiping the vagina.
While he was down on his knees, comparing the sounds of men and women in bed, I wished I had left halfway through so that my impression of his intelligence and beliefs could have remained positive.
All in all, I would recommend the tour to those who follow Russell Brand strictly for his comedy, but would advise those looking for evidence of his intellect to sit this one out. Let’s just say—by the end—it wouldn’t likely be your brand of performance.
