Nikki Styles - 2013 NZICF Wellington Blogger

I was expecting a bit of an ab workout at First Laughs on Sunday night. What I wasn’t expecting was to have my voice start to sound like I was on helium from laughing so much. There was even some snorting laughing.

MC Jeremy Corbett was superb. His stories about relationships, hangovers and women wanting to have sex with him were original and brilliantly delivered. I wouldn’t sleep with him, but I will be keeping my eye on him and his comedy!

The First Laughs format was like speed dating, an opportunity for us to see a range of comedians performing during the festival and decide which ones we would like to see again and which ones we would cross the street to avoid.

My favourite of the night was James Nokise. I found myself almost at that snorting with laughter point that you can sometimes get to while listening to him. His story about how camp always beats gangster was sound advice and I’ll always remember it if I get confronted by gangsters.

Another key stand out for me was Wilson Dixon. I loved how he took the piss out of us Kiwis, our lights under cars and our sayings. I will always remember his joke about “touching things with a barge pole.” I hope he includes this in his show so you can all hear it as well and think about it each time you hear a kiwi say it.

Urzila Carlson is gorgeous. I’ve only seen her on 7 Days, but I was really impressed. She is so confident about herself and I love the way she makes jokes about being curvy and the South African/Kiwi relationship. Definitely want to see more of her.

I’ve followed Jarred Christmas on Twitter for a while, but this is the first time I’ve seen him and his cowboy jacket live. His story about the “shit storm” that happens when couples fight was spot. My friend was having “a boys are dumb” moment, so this was brilliant and really made us giggle. I’ll definitely be tweeting to him now.

I have a thing about original and new material. I find repeating jokes over and over again a real turn off. Same as bands doing a cover during a concert set. It’s just not my thing.

I’ve been to see Guy Williams a few times and have really enjoyed his shows in the past. Unfortunately I’ve heard his coke can maverick joke too many times now, so that turned me off the idea of going to his show.

Tom Gleeson told a story that I had also heard him say few times before, so unfortunately he’s off the list for a potential second date.

I found Steve Hughes off the mark as well. He made some good points about drugs, but he didn’t come across as a professional and he ran well over his six minute allocation.

Overall we have an amazing range of comedians here right now, I’m expecting to have a six pack of abs by the end of it.