Joseph Moore has many role models, and almost all of them seem to be hip hop stars (with the exception of Matthew Fox). That means people who wear big, shiny pieces of jewellery and talk about bitches a lot. Based on this, the feminist in me immediately jumps to the conclusion that Joseph is potentially a bit of a dick, but fortunately the feminist in me is wrong.

His show, aptly named Dope Ass Jokes, proved to me that he's super likeable and almost obnoxiously inoffensive (how is that even possible?). He makes a point of NOT BEING RACIST or sexist, which, three weeks into the Comedy Festival, is quite refreshing. He's self-deprecating. He's even self-deprecating about being self-deprecating. I felt that I spent the whole hour laughing with him rather than at him, because Joseph is very good at laughing at himself.

This is his first hour-length show, but it doesn't feel like it. It was so polished that I, despite not knowing Joseph Moore at all, experienced unexpected feelings of pride at the end of it - like a mum or a best friend, or a creepy (unintentionally condescending) stranger who's now writing about her weird feelings of pride on the internet. I don't know how he made me feel that way, but he's obviously very clever.

Dope Ass Jokes is about Joseph's life long pursuit of hip hop stardom, which began when he was a teen in a hip hop group with his friends (one of whom called himself, Sure-T, as in shorty, but also as a play on Sure Thing. Heh.)

Joseph Moore's hip hop name was Pawk. Yes. I'll leave it to him to explain why.

Years ago, Pawk (young Joseph) filled a journal with songs and rhymes and now Joseph (old Pawk) is finally able to bring them to life over the course of a very funny hour. I actually think he should be a hip hop star, I'd buy his music and I don't even like hip hop. His version of the Fish & Chip song is particularly amazing.

This show isn't purely about hip hop though, it's a little bit philosophical too. It's also about the existential crisis Joseph went through when his opinions about the world/the TV show Lost were shattered by a few careless words from a role model he ran into once in a strip club. Dope Ass Jokes was even a little heart warming, and when it was over I thought quite seriously about buying a Doctor Who figurine - because Joseph somehow managed to make that okay for me.

Everyone is saying that the calibre of this year's Billy T Nominees is incredible. After seeing Dope Ass Jokes, I'd have to agree. There are only two more chances to see his show, so please go! This a serious recommendation.

Joseph Moore is not just a comedian – he is a rapper, a DJ, a song writer, a Lost fan, 1/16th Maori and not racist.

In an intimate show at The Classic Studio, Moore's Dope Ass Jokes show had the audience relating easily to his stories of childhood, misfortune and celebrity obsessions.

It is awesome when comedians really think outside the square and find a way to make their shows unique and memorable, which is just what Moore did.

His anecdotes and jokes were illustrated and enhanced by sound effects, music and some hilarious photos on a projector screen.

Despite Moore claiming that he couldn't sing or dance, his rapping skills are actually pretty dope, although the only way to describe the lyrics of his raps is suitably immature.
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It was clever the way Moore kept some running themes throughout his set, with surprise linkages cropping up when they were least expected.

His jokes started out quite tame, then eventually became quite risqué and borderline too far, but still had the audience in stitches.

Moore also regularly mocked himself, and appeared to force himself to go through with some rather less-than-politically-correct gags.

Topics covered included Kiwi culture, growing up the early 2000s and bees.

His casual yet entertaining and organised style was enjoyable to watch, and it was nice to be at a show where the audience didn't need to participate and could just sit back, relax and laugh.

Joseph Moore is performing as part of the 2013 New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

This week the full programme of the NZ International Comedy Festival 2013 was released and in celebration we were treated to one hell of  a showcase introducing this years Billy T nominees at Billy T James, Q Theatre. Rose Matafeo , Eli Matthewson, Pax, Tom Furniss and Joseph Moore each gave us a ten minute peek of their upcoming shows.

New Zealand Comedy Trust created the annual Billy T Award to support up-and-coming comedians and take their comedy career to the next level.

These final five nominees for the 2013 Billy T Award were selected on their proven comedic ability, talent, dedication, current form and potential, and will be judged on all aspects of their 2013 NZ International Comedy Festival show.

The night was hosted by Steve Wrigley and Ben Hurley whose well honed banter warmed up the audience and got us in the festival mood.

With the daunting task of being first up was Pax,  but this energetic comedian had brilliant material that made for a more than great start to the show. He’s a confident stand-up, and totally belongs behind a microphone as he confronted the audience with race, sex and uncontrollable accents!

Rose Matafeo brought a change in pace with her more understated brand of comedy. Even her crowd hype had an ‘anticlimax’ as she monotoned through her self deprecating material. She is a bright funny stand-up and a great representative for young female comics and cat cardigans.

Tom Furniss finished up the second half by telling us that his good year has resulted in less material, leading him to read us the diary of 16 year old Gordon from 1984. This result is various boyhood stories culminating in the drawing lady parts. He’s a more surreal comedian with a clever set which may encourage some anarchic behaviour.

Starting the second half of the show was Joseph Moore who gave a slick and well rehearsed set with a hilarious insight to the effects of ‘that’ Countdown music. As an experienced actor and performer there was no hint of nerves in this polished performance. This will be Joseph’s first solo show where you can expect quick witted and silly observations.

Last up was Eli Mattewson, a butter wouldn’t melt looking guy with edgy material to make your mum blush. Fresh from a run at last years Edinburgh Fringe there’s a lot of buzz around him and he didn’t disappoint.  He’s a strong performer who revelled in the audiences enthusiasm. His risqué material may have shocked more as it comes from such a sweet looking young man. A strong comedy talent who will no doubt have many more tricks up his sleeve.

To close off the evening was  last years Billy T Winner, the wonderful Guy Williams. He really is a treasure of New Zealand comedy who tackled the silly and surreal in his calm and collected routine. He seems well and truly ready to pass on the baton to the next rising star as he has definitely earned his stripes.

This was an evening to be proud of as these young comedians who have shown that the high quality of our up-and-coming comedy talent is not to be ignored!

In his new show Dope Ass Jokes, Joseph Moore tries to figure out some of life toughest questions, such as what makes rappers cool.

At 24, Moore is a rising star nominated for the Bill T Award. His topics reflect his age. There are shout outs to Jingle All the Way and the softcore porn that once littered early morning SkyOne. Moore dedicates a lengthy chunk of his set to a breakdown of a primary school sing-a-long. This isn’t to say that Moore’s humour won’t appeal to all audiences, but children of the 90’s will get some added chuckles from his choice of subject matter.

All of these jokes come in the form of clever observations, the sort that feel immediately obvious in hindsight, with a healthy dose musical accompaniment.

Moore is a huge hip-hop fan (hence the show’s title), so expect a few raps set to slideshows. He manages to balance this so that there are not so many that it seems like a gimmick. If anything his use of multimedia makes perfect sense in context. A late return to an earlier joke could’ve never worked with an ordinary setup. Here, it brings the house down.

His willingness to embrace absurdity provides some surprising tangents, and his charming, slightly nervous stage persona makes Moore an easy guy to root for.

One to watch and a well deserved Billy T Nominee. A Dope Ass Show!

Joseph Moore is on stage less than five minutes and already he has defined the title and end-goal of his hour long show. He roughly describes the Hip-Hip adjective of “dope ass” as “really good”. And he lives up to that to the best of his ability.

He also states early that this is going to be “The Least Racist Show In The Comedy Festival”, and does his level best to stick to that promise.

As a performer, Moore is a tightly-wound ball of energy, prone to infrequent bursts of physicality. He has a clear crisp voice and knows how to hit a punch-line for maximum effect and when to pull back to let laughter transition an idea. His style is cool, but nerdy (even though he will vehemently deny it.) His story telling is episodic, but he brings it all neatly back together by the end with several points about his particular passions (especially, and unexpectedly, Matthew Fox from TV series Lost, Party of Five and Speed Racer).

I wasn't familiar with the “Fish 'n' Chips” song taught in many schools in the mid-90s that he spends a major part of the show dissecting (I'm not the target demographic here, who'd have thought it!), but I soon catch on and he breaks it down brilliantly for everyone.

We get to see inside the mind of 12 year old Moore when he introduces us to the musings of his rapper alias “Pawk” and he even treats us to some of his mad rhymes that have recently been dug up. Hilarious, awkward, angsty stuff. Especially great is the “too soon” 9/11 stylin's dropped not long after the dreadful day.

His supporting slides to illustrate are colourful, effective and perfectly timed against the pace of his spoken comedy. He seems concerned about drowning himself out with backing tracks for many of the numbers, but I feel he could have pumped this slightly to get the crowd even more worked up.

Was this a “dope ass” show? Absolutely! The least racist show in the comedy festival? This liberal didn't find much to get offended at, so probably. A great way to spend an hour out of your evening? Heck yes! Successes all round, I'd say!