Colin Lane in I'm Not Sure About The Music

By Kathryn Lynch
Exclusive Interview: Colin Lane

Colin Lane

It must be a daunting thing, after an extremely successful twenty year career alongside your best mate, to suddenly find yourself alone in a small room with an audience of 50 and a piano player.

And yet this is what Colin Lane is facing this week as he endeavours to venture in to world of cabaret at Melbourne's The Butterfly Club.

Colin Lane, one half of the Australian comedy duo Lano and Woodley, opened "I'm Not Sure about the Music" last night for an intimate audience by introducing himself from the lighting box before squeezing down the middle aisle to the front stage.

And what an opening!

It’s not every day a middle aged comedian sings The Veronicas Hook Me Up!

Lane's show follows a simple story - one about a man and the music.

He is searching for some sort of reasoning behind why he has suddenly lost "the music".

The venue is very quaint, a two story house that has had two bars installed, one upstairs and one downstairs.

The paintings on the wall and dolls on the bookshelf give The Butterfly Club a very homely feel. The show room is at the front of the house and is, as you might expect, a front bedroom transformed into a small theatre... disco ball included!

Lane's song choices ranged from Australian pop, to Elton John, to laid back swing - and his voice was surprisingly easy on the ear.

Mark Fitzgibbon on piano was a graceful touch to the stage otherwise bare stage. Fitzgibbon set the mood before the show and even had a few solo moments to show his talent on the piano, while Lane took time to refresh his palette.

Like Colin says "You can drink water all day long but you’ll still be thirsty the moment you step onto a stage and fill with nerves".

And nerves were definitely present.

I am not sure whether it was the intimate audience, a room that felt so small it was almost like a shoe box, the bright lights, opening night jitters, or the lack of having his sidekick - but there were moments Lane was visibly shaking in his boots.

If anything, that might have been the initial downfall of Lane's show, a mixture of nerves and a feeling that perhaps it was all actually too scripted.

At times he seemed to struggle with keeping to his plan and personally, it was during these times of comedic freedom from the script, Lane seemed to find a rhythm - far funnier when he was improvising or talking to the audience.

That said, opening night is always a daunting experience for anyone (seasoned veterans included) especially for a one man show.

Aside from stumbles, there are some real highlights here, a piece involving his inner monologue character (whom he has numerous conversations with during the show) a real highlight.

"I'm Not Sure About The Music" will have everyone laughing with Lane just as much as they did watching him in The Adventures of Lano and Woodley back in the day.

He certainly has the talent (and a killer voice - the cover of You Am I's Heavy Heart was just beautiful) to carry on his pursuit as a solo artist and we can only hope this is only the beginning of a new career path filled with success. 

"Colin Lane in I'm Not Sure About The Music"
When: April 1 – April 25 (performances Wednesday to Sunday)
Tickets: $27 full, $22 concession, $22 (Groups of 8 +), Previews $22
Where: The Butterfly Club (204 Bank Street, South Melbourne)
Bookings: www.thebutterflyclub.com