By Tom Decent
Of all the things that could go wrong in a comedy show; from stuffing up lines, to props falling over, to the audience not laughing, Reggie Watts' biggest concern is being able to find a hip sweater to wear.
"I just make sure I get to the show on time and do my thing," Watts says with striking aplomb.
Take it as it comes: Reggie Watts doesn’t like to be too organised for his shows.
Such a relaxed approach is far easier said than done. Watts, the kooky American with a seriously dense afro-beard grown out of pure "laziness", says all his shows are improvised and reckons he would get more nervous if he prepared something.
Watts is no ordinary comedian. His wit and natural humour provide the foundations of a show entwined with strange vocals and his trusty Line 6 DL4 modeller. He also has a loop machine which he uses to create catchy, on-the-run, acapella riffs.
A deliberate lack of planning means his shows can go off on any tangent, such as the time he began telling Canadians they were Americans.
"Recently I did a gig in Vancouver at the Vogue theatre," Watts explains from his pad in New York. "I wasn't really expecting to get such a strong reaction, but I was just telling them [the audience] that we're all Americans and they were really bummed by that. I said, well technically it's true because we're on a continent that's called America and I just tried to explain that the United States of America tries to hog the term America.
"There was a lot of booing and it was really funny. It was a little touchy for them, but at the same time, I think they are aware it's a comedy show and I'm just f----ing with them."
Watts returns to Sydney for the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in October and will also make the trip to Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
The 42-year-old dabbles in the complex art of situationism, which he describes as the idea of "provoking until the edge of violence." It leaves leaves the audience unsure of how to feel when Watts goes from a string of high-pitched notes over the top of some looping beatbox beats to speaking as if he is the CEO of a finance company in a matter of seconds. Go figure.
"It doesn't happen all the time in my gigs, but I do like to get to that edge because it's a fun place," Watts says. "You kind of pull the rug out and people realise there wasn't anything to it, it was just a bunch of words or concepts.
"They're all like: 'I don't how I feel now, I feel like I'm upset now, I don't know why I'm upset."'
After watching a 30-minute performance on YouTube, I too, was unsure how to feel. Watts' ramblings are extremely engaging because of their non-linear and abstract structure, but it is his catchy tunes brought on with the flick of a switch on his "baby" that have put audiences in stitches for the better part of two decades.
Because of the impromptu nature of his shows, and a freedom to do literally whatever he wants to, Watts likes to mess with the audience and have some fun.
"You can definitely stir people up," Watts says with a chuckle. "When I say 'you people' and start describing them, often when I'm doing that, I'm making up dumb bullshit anyway, so it doesn't really matter. It's made up information. Some people get angry but some people go along with it.
"I really enjoy performing in front of people, hearing and feeling their reactions. I like to think that I'm adding something positive or something interesting to talk about."
Reggie Watts
When Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, October 16-19, 9.15pm, Sydney Opera House
Tickets $54.90 plus booking fee, sydneyoperahouse.com
Show Endearingly strange beatbox comedy