Steele Saunders - Comedian

Melbourne, Australia, 3/26/2008 by Doosie Morris

Steele Saunders is a well known man in the Australian skateboard scene. Apart from having skated for a few decades now, Saunders also runs the successful Spire Distribution Company in Melbourne. Other than being a business man and a hard nut to crack with his double varial flips during games of SKATE, he is also a stand-up comedian and right now he has a show on at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Tacky made the trek to check it out and we were mighty impressed.

On Thursday evening, after a very cordial invitation from the man himself, Tacky headed down to The FAD Gallery in Melbourne to observe the comedic stylings of Steele Saunders. A long time friend of the Aussie skate scene Steele has taken his notoriously lippy and smart arse remarks outta the skate park and on to the stage this year with his debut appearance at The Melbourne Comedy Festival.

The Melbourne Comedy festival is an institution in our city so thank fuck there's finally a comedian on the bill who can make a joke including skaters, not just at their expense. This bloke reps the skate world but was easy on the baggy jean puns, a wise omission from any routine in my books.

I was a little hesitant to attend at first, mostly because stand-up comedy routines terrify me. It's possible to clap convincingly for shitty bands, but an iota of awkwardness can be detected in even the most well rehearsed chuckle. I avoid seeing comedians for this reason, the cringe factor that is so often present at these smaller shows makes me literally feel nauseous. Luckily for me and for Steele there was not a moment of seat shuffling or coughing all night. From the moment we entered the haphazardly decorated venue things were relaxed and Steele's strong stage presence had the crowd on lock from the get go.

Arriving on 'stage', he immediately kicked over the entire front row of seats and declared those in the second row "a bunch of pussies". After this gutsy and unexpected opening the stage was set, both figuratively and literally.

Ridicule was the order of the day and Steele was taking no prisoners, he even put himself in the firing line of his own relentless piss taking. His girlfriend copped it, Chapel Street copped it, McDonald's copped it, Wild boar Monthly copped it. I could barely contain myself when Steele turned upon himself to regale us with a tale involving; an infamous Melbourne Hardcore party, a bottle of scotch, Tony Hawk, and some serious teen bravado. The tragic outcome of this combination was perverse, bizarre and nothing short of side splitting. This was of course just one of many hilarities he served up with his booming voice and natural style, but of course I don't want to give away too much. You will have to see for yourself.

Big ups to Steele for a stellar performance on his opening night, Tacky really had a good laugh. If you happen to be in Melbourne town over the next 3 weeks be sure to head down and take a peep. $15 for 40 minutes of gags, bargain!

Details can be found on his site:
www.steelesaunders.com