V List – Best Show in Vegas – Absinthe

If you have read our recent review of Absinthe, you will know that there was never any doubt what our first V List entry would be for Best Show in Vegas.

In a city where everything has been done before, and numerous times, Absinthe manages to be refreshing, hilarious, awe-inspiring, and scandalous. Everything that so many other “safe” shows on the Strip fear to be.

Whilst much of the ribald comedic exchanges between Penny Pibbetts and the Gazillionaire are scripted to some degree (shhh!), they are written with such a verve and energy that the audience is dragged crashing through any boundaries and taboos before they’ve even realised it. There is a line in the sand that many comedians these days don’t dare to cross. They’ve not only crossed that line, they are so far into the lush tropical forest past the beach that they can’t even see the line. (with apologies to Dara O’Briain for repurposing that line)

Whilst the new tent was a necessity for several reasons (planning regs, health and safety and just sheer popularity), the only even slightly negative thing we can say about the show is that the pre-show beer garden used to be better.

The experience is made so much more intense by the proximity to the acts, the danger of catching the Gazillionaire’s eye and the unusual experience (in these health and safety-dominated days) of some of the show threatening to spin off the stage and smash into you, or fall from the wire above you and crush you.

Oh, and the Gazillionaire can smell fear. He will find your deepest darkest secret.

So we couldn’t think of a better category with which to relaunch the V List. Best Show In Vegas. Absinthe. Go see it. Sit at the front. Laugh for days afterwards as you remember some of the great lines. Then do what we did. Tell all your friends that they have to get their asses to Vegas to see this show.

More info on the show is here. The Gazillionaire and his assistant are both on twitter. Follow them here: The Gazillionaire, Penny Pibbets.