Dispatches from the Fury Road: Ballina
And just like that, it’s over.
Three weeks on the road has come to an end, and I find myself back at my desk in my apartment with that feeling like you just woke up from an incredibly detailed dream. I always feel like this at the end of a tour. The familiarity of home subtly overwhelms the recent experience, muddying the memories so I can’t pinpoint when certain events took place along the sacred MICF Roadshow timeline.
For example, I just spent two days in Ballina and already that feels like weeks ago. I do remember when we first arrived in town, it felt crisp in the way an autumn sun can define a day. By the end of the night I was searching my room for an extra blanket. Ballina acted as an airlock between the warmth of Queensland before having to experience the cold of Sydney. I can only imagine the shock my tour friends are experiencing flying further south to Melbourne.
There was a celebratory vibe for our final show that emanated from the audience. It was announced early that this was the last gig of the tour, and it really felt like they decided en masse to not only laugh, but also let us know how much they enjoyed all the routines. There were a lot of rounds of applause, which is always nice. I also heard one man’s laughter segue into severe coughing. Fingers crossed he made it home alright. I’m sure someone would have let me know by now if I accidentally murdered someone with a spooning routine.
I don’t think I met one person from the audience who didn’t state they were originally from Sydney, they loved living in Sydney, they moved there to have kids and buy a house, don’t tell anyone originally from Ballina they were originally from Sydney because there’s a divide, and then they’d finish with, “Did you like it here?” When I would answer that I did, there was a hint of scepticism, but what locals don’t understand is, when you tour you get the best of a town. Everyone coming together to see your show is a proper treat.
By the end of the night we all had little to say, and after one celebratory drink, it was off to bed before our flights today. Tours often end in a whimper, but this was more of an agreed, “It’s been great but it is time for sleeeeeep.”
We began the tour with Bonnie Tangey, Marcel Blanch-de Wilt, Anirban Dasgupta, and Alexandra Hudson onstage. Behind the scenes were our road manager Shannon Thiel and tech guru Anthony “Flashbang” Noack. After a week Anirban and Alexandra left us, and Nikki Britton and Patrick Golamco joined us. Every show was a banger, and it isn’t often you can say that. As a tour group we were very good at knowing how to spend time together, and also have our own space. That is also something you don’t say often on a tour.
I loved every gig and found being on the road where my one job was to focus on stand-up a real palette cleanser. My TV jobs are fun and challenging, but I’m constantly juggling other people’s moods, fears, anxieties, and projections. Sometimes they’re all wrapped up in the same person on the same day. I often return home an empty vessel with not much left to give. If you could see me shuffle about, I’m like a shade of a man, translucent and wispy.
I feel the opposite today. You’d think I’d be exhausted, and while the fatigue is definitely noticeable, it is more a physical reality. Intellectually and emotionally I feel charged up, ready to go. Now the goal is to hold onto that vibe for as long as possible, use it to the fuel the upcoming days, and roll into the next phase of the year.
For now, my lounge is beckoning me, and with that I bid adieu to the 2024 MICF Roadshow.
Justin Hamilton
Surry Hills
12th of May, 2024