BILL BAILEY – DANDELION MIND

Now what do you get if you mix all together, a hippy, a roadie, a silly-Willy, and a rocker-Billy? Simple really – you get a hippy-roadie-silly-Willy-rocker-Billy! Say no more! Or alternatively, you could get Bill Bailey in this 60-minute stand-up performance recorded in 2010.


Bill Bailey: Dandelion Mind [Blu-ray]


THE STORY:
Following a flash of lights – a fan fare of music – and passing of wind – the West Country maestro himself, Bill Bailey, trundles onto a stage at the O2, in Dublin, to regale his audience in the only way he knows how – with a mixture of music and mirth.

Whimsically, Bill is aided in his performance with the use of three large visual projections, many different types of musical paraphernalia, plus his friend, Kevin Arnold, as well. Moreover, Bill’s creativity aides him also, giving him the ability to comment on such topics as – Irelands hate for the English – Girly music – Rap music – Shopping – Doubting Thomas and his hand in Christ’s wound – Surreal topics of tone – plus a number of other subjects that I can’t be bothered to mention at the moment.

Here is a select few of Bill’s quotes taken from this show:

• Every time I have see a historical building in Dublin, it is unfinished, and has a sign that reads ‘And then the English came and ruined it’.
• One thing you should never do whilst at a supermarket – gaze into the laser scanner.
• I know that I am getting older, because I have started to get the strange compulsion to garden.
• I thought of a slogan that the Ireland tourist board could use “Come to Ireland, it’s not Brazil, but it is not as shit as Greece”.
• More content is loaded onto YouTube in sixty days, than broadcast in America in sixty years – and most of that is of a cat trying to play the piano.
• I once went into a garden center and bought a plant, and the bloke who sold it to me said “That’s good, you now have something to stand next to”.
• I was horrified to find out that there were four Bill Baileys on Twitter, and all of them were having a much more interesting life than I was. 
• When Jennifer Anniston gets frustrated, she drives to her Beach House in Malibu and screams at the sea. When I get frustrated, I buy a bottle of Malibu and drink it at the park whilst screaming at the pigeons.

Now once Bill has finished saying all that he has to say, he concludes his performance with a poem, a video, and a grandstanding salute that is one-half Norman Wisdom, and one-half Stalin.

Viva La Bill Bailey revolution!!!! 

THE REVIEW:

OK, I have to admit, I am a bit pissed at the moment, whilst writing this review of ‘Bill Bailey – Dandelion Mind’. Listen, right, this is not an everyday occurrence for me. Today, however, I have had a rather strange day. Initially, I have had to walk for over two hours to get home because there were no busses. Then, my Goddaughter had a party and I had to play the part of ‘Uncle Monkey Face’ until she went to sleep. And on top of that, I thought that me being pissed would not hurt me watching Bill’s show.

Please note, I do not mean to imply that my mind has to be mush whilst watching Bill on stage – oh no. Rather, I like to think of Bill as avuncular figure, someone that I feel very comfortable watching because of his charming and rhythmical brand of humor.

Well, just gave a gander at some of the stuff that he does in this live stand-up performance. He analyses Rappers overt use of inane lyrics – he takes a pop at punk-rocker, John Lydon, for making an advert about butter – he pays homage to Gary Numans song ‘Cars’, by singing it in French whilst playing car horns – and he does his very own west country version of Lady Gaga’s ‘Poker Face’ as well. Here, have a look at this...

Heck, even if I was half-cut, I have to say that this did not hinder my enjoyment in watching ‘Bill Bailey – Dandelion Mind’ at all.

For a start, Bill is just very fun to watch – as you know that you are going to be in for a great time just by the way that he walks onto the stage. Next, I would have to say that no matter what Bill says, or whom he is commenting on, deep down you get the feeling that no malice is implied in his words – which is nice if you think about it. After that, the way that Bill amalgamates music and comedy together is pure genius – as I do not know of another performer who does this, except for Weird Al Yankovic. And finally, Bill brings a lot of himself to everything he says and does on stage – because you can see it in his content, you can see it in his passion, and you can see it in him.

OK, I know that could easily go on and praise Bill Bailey and his show in a way that a parishioner would worship his God -- but I won't --  no -- Bill would not want me to do that. So instead, I will just say that this performance is as good as Bill in ‘Tinselworm’, and then turn off my computer, have a last sip of my drink, and rest my Dandelion Mind. 

THE RATING: A