Comedian Daniel Muggleton eyes Newcastle Comedy Club on his White & Wrong tour

"Hey Jimmy, how are you? I'm in Byron, I've got a coffee, the sun's out, everything's good."

Muggleton, a well-oiled machine known for wearing his red Adidas tracksuit onstage, has been plying his trade for 10 years now. He's got 12,000 instagram followers and his own stand-up special on a streaming network. Fans even wear tracksuits to his shows.

He's the middle of a run of shows in his White & Wrong tour that began in Queensland and will take him into December with shows in four more states.

This run of shows in regional venues, does that keep you grounded?

I don't know if grounded is the right word. It's definitely interesting. I've done this show in all major Australian capital cities, and then London and Edinburgh, like Fringe and stuff. This is all relatable, people getting on board, people know what I'm talking about. Then you have people regionally who say, we don't care about that at all. Whereas, the through line of the fertility, trying to have a kid and all that kind of stuff is definitely, people are like 'we got that sex, we got that, we're not virgins, we got it'. But yeah, we talk about more political stuff maybe, or convincing them on different areas of political stuff, that's been interesting. I have this line about people say in Australia there's a lot of Asian people here, and I'm always like, 'well for a country in Asia, not that many', and in Edinburgh and the UK, people are like, 'yeah, that's a very obvious thing to say'. Whereas in Australia people are like 'what do you mean? That's not where we are'. It's weird they have a different sense of Australia's position on a map than Australia does, for example. Things like that are fascinating.

Do vary the show, based on the audience?

It's funny because you get like different people coming to these shows. I know that's hardly a groundbreaking observation, but last night, I had a guy who was a bush-doof deejay bring like 20 mates to a show in Byron. And that gives the show such a different feel, to playing the usual hipster yuppie douchebags that come to my shows.

This guy was the most supportive person in a crowd I've ever seen. I'm talking like pointing at me, like at least 20 times, saying yes, during the show. I felt like I was preaching, it was crazy.

Do you mix it up when that happens?

Of course, you'd be insane not to. When something like that is happening during a show, and you're just plowing on with whatever you have planned, that's crazy. That's the whole point of comedy being a live art.

What got you into this game?

Initially, a guy at uni told me I should try it. Cause I was in law school, comparatively, I was quite funny. I kind of just kept going with it. I never planned to do it full-time. But other things just kept dropping away... I don't know how to get out, that's what I'm saying. What would happen? How do I just do something else? Like, 'what were doing previously?' I was like, professionally, saying phrases that would get me fired from any respectable job. That was it. And their all recorded by the way, next to my name. You can find them. You know what I mean. How does that work? I don't think I can just go back into something normal now. Like elevate into a more bizarre form of entertainment or employment, maybe like a mercenary or something. Somewhere you can head into if you've been a comedian previously.

Do you crave bigger crowds?

There are definitely bigger crowds. I think there is a point where the crowds are too big, like I don't know if you've seen comedy in an arena. It's just not suited to that size, you know. I think it's kind of impossible. There are people who are brilliant, like Jim Jefferies. He can make big, big space seem quite intimate. Still that 300-400 seater, that's the sweet spot, I reckon.

The cool thing about this tour is doing a bunch of different spaces, a bunch of different sizes, a bunch of different locations. Like in the last three shows I've done a performing arts centre in the Gold Coast, where people were way more drunk than I thought they'd be at a performing arts centre, and then a live music venue in Maroochydore, like a rock bar, where Wolfmother had done a pop up show three days before, a completely different energy again, and last night I did the Byron Bay bowls club. Doing all those different spaces gives the show a different character, like different people are going to turn up... it's very satisfying.

In Newcastle you are playing the comedy club?

Newcastle Comedy Club is great. I'm a huge fan. It's a nice size, just under a hundred which is absolutely rad. Super intimate. Comedy savvy audience, you know. Which will be a nice change of pace from the bowls club, cause it's a comedy club set up for comedy.

You say comedy-savvy audience. Is that harder? Or more satisfying?

I wouldn't say its more demanding, or more satisfying. It's they kind of understand. UK audiences are more comedian savvy than Australia... It doesn't mean they are funnier. They've been to more live comedy, so they know their role. In UK, they go on a regular basis, it's part of the culture. They might go once a month, where Australians go twice a year.

So it's like watching the big leagues, going to see a professional?

One thing that's well known in the AFL - I'm a Sydney Swans fan in the AFL. All the Melbourne clubs make fun of us because whenever anyone gets tackled, we yell 'ball', which means they're holding the ball. But like, even when they're not holding the ball, when anyone gets tackled, we yell it, because most Sydney fans aren't as familiar the with rules of the AFL as a Melbourne AFL fan. It's the same with comedy. Some people understand, they get it, they know what you need to do your job, and how to participate in an energetic way that helps the show as opposed to just particularly in the show trying to help the show, but actually, just derailing it. Bless them for having the best of intentions, but the outcome is sometimes a bit, a bit not grand. That's what I mean by a comedy-savvy audience. These people get me.

Profanity. Is it a tool, or a natural conversation?

I'm a little bit sweary, I always have been. Australians in general are quite sweary. I perform overseas. Wow, we really slip it in. I think it's creative. You can't print this, but I think the Australian use of the word c - - t is more creative than any other country. Like in America, they really back off on it because they think it has something to do with women. Where in Australia, it isn't at all. With my comedy, to not swear would be unnatural. I am trying to be as close to myself as I can up there. So, yes. It's funny, sometimes you do a corporate gig and you can't swear, and you do walk off and it's kind of like, 'oh, man, that was weird, like I was giving a speech or something'. But I've done toasts at weddings, and like Seinfeld will tell you, you can't swear when giving a toast. I can do it. It's just that like, it's emphasis. Like the idea of profanity is still a term like it used to be, is absurd. There is more swearing, like purple language is not swear words any more. Slurs have taken the place of that.

How does road life suit you in terms of habits?

I'm always the late guy. That guy you're waiting for in every social situation.

The one thing on the road, I've had to reverse that completely. I've had to be organised, to be on time. The only qualification is turn up. Like if you're on stage, nobody can complain. Well, he's here, he tried. So I have to be on that.

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