Flight of the Conchords’ return to the stage, after an eight-year hiatus, featured its rough patches. “We could have benefited from another week of rehearsal,” Jemaine Clement admitted wryly, somewhat late into the night of their final show at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. There were some awkward starts to songs, a few instances of forgotten lyrics, and Clement having to remind Bret McKenzie, at one point, which instrument he was meant to play next.
However, to put it bluntly: even Clement and McKenzie’s worst night on stage would be more entertaining than 95% of the other acts out there, minimum. And their Netflix Is a Joke Fest appearance on May 10th was the furthest thing from a disaster, thanks to their innate musical talent, the story-driven craft of their songwriting, and their ever-affable Kiwi charm, soaked in self-deprecation. The duo (with the occasional special guest) delivered a sweet and hilarious reminder of why they’ve been so missed, with plenty of favorites scattered throughout the night.
Clement and McKenzie covered the classics, opening with the dystopian track “Robots” — originally written in 2008, this rendition included some updated lyrics to reflect the rise of AI, and some very good Arnold Schwarzenegger and C-3PO impressions. Their remarkable, sometimes shocking talent for impressions rolled into the next song, “Frodo” — their humble submission for the soundtrack to the next Lord of the Rings movie (thanks to Andy Serkis, still a relevant bit).
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Because the show took place on Mother’s Day, McKenzie ended up improvising a little ditty in tribute to the moms in the crowd, which Clement called out as a less-than-elegant transition into their next song, “Father and Son” — one of several character-focused narratives from their repertoire. (The tech team had some real fun manipulating the video screens during this one, squeezing an increasingly smaller shot of McKenzie beside Clement.)
Between songs, the duo bantered a bit about the good and bad of Netflix, and McKenzie offered his insight into what grocery stores reveal about America: “You can’t get any help, but there’s a lot of security.” Clement immediately told McKenzie to be careful, noting that “ICE is going to get us — I’m already worried about how tan I got today.”
They also cheerfully admitted to being easily distracted by comments from the audience, creating a feedback loop that delayed the start of songs. It could have been annoying, except that they were so funny about it, an essential reminder of what’s so wonderful about live performance — not just the music, but the moments in between.
One longer “moment in between” came when Rhys Darby strutted onto stage as Murray the band manager, who called an emergency band meeting before launching into a bit that brought “Mel” (Kristen Schaal), the band’s biggest/only fan, up from the audience for a very awkward series of hugs. It was the most purely sketch-driven sequence of the night, the comedy otherwise driven by the music itself and Clement and McKenzie just being themselves.
There were plenty of longtime fans in the crowd, cheering when Clement asked how many people had been at the Greek when Flight of the Conchords played there in 2016. An audience member pointed out that the duo has more grey hair today — which left both men a bit taken aback — but then another person saved the moment by calling out that this just means they’re now “silver foxes.” Later, Clement was dubbed “sexy Einstein” — not an inaccurate comparison, thanks to his mustache. “Don’t start calling me that, Bret,” he begged his collaborator.
Despite their rustier moments, both band members showed off some remarkable skills musically, including Clement’s fingerpicking on guitar and McKenzie’s talent for keyboard. The sheer number of instruments they alternated between over the course of the night was impressive, even after they were joined on stage by regular touring companion Nigel Collins, aka The New Zealand Sympathy Orchestra, who covered cello, bass, percussion, and backup vocals. At one point, during the performance of “Seagull” (a more recent track, first performed in 2016), Clement was juggling a microphone, a guitar, and a flute.
By the end of the night, they’d covered their biggest hits to date — including a rendition of “Business Time” that featured some very appropriately sexy red lighting. Yes, it wasn’t a flawless night, but the flaws only added to the experience, creating a magical opportunity to reconnect with some of the best to ever make music funny. “We spent weeks getting ready for this, and this is what we achieved,” Clement said midway through the show. In many ways, it was more than enough.
Setlist:
Robots
Frodo
Mother’s Day Song (Live debut)
Father and Son
Mutha’uckas
The Most Beautiful Girl (in the Room)
Jenny
Hurt Feelings
Iain and Deanna
Bus Driver’s Song
Think About It
Carol Brown
We’re Both in Love With a Sexy Lady
Leggy Blonde (Snippet)
Seagull
Inner City Pressure
Business Time
Bowie
Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros