There was more laughter in the first half hour of Hugh Laurie's musical debut on New Zealand soil than at some comedy shows.
He charmed his way into audience hearts almost immediately with quick quips about tearing us away from the royal tour coverage ("We did ask if they would
like to come - they couldn't get a babysitter"), and tales about a previous Auckland visit.
He also thanked everyone for taking a punt on him and his musical endeavours. "Can you imagine if we were all sitting on a plane, and the captain came over the loud speaker saying, 'Welcome on board, everyone, hope you enjoy the flight. Until recently I was a dental hygienist, but I've always wanted to fly a plane, so thanks for giving me a go'? You'd be shocked."
But this dental hygienist clearly got his pilot's licence years ago, because he's one heck of an entertainer, and a surprisingly top-notch blues man. Even better in the flesh than he sounds on his albums (Let Them Talk, and Didn't It Rain), one might suggest.
He may be a white British actor with little to feel blue about (in fact, he seemed positively bursting with enthusiasm, jumping all over the stage with his long stretchy legs), but when he sits down to roll his way through old-time classics like Jelly Roll Morton's I Hate A Man Like You or Dr John's Wild Honey, you can't help but feel transported to New Orleans.
