Secret Conchords show packs tiny store (+photos, video)

CRAIG SIMCOX/Dominion Post

BUSINESS TIME: Flight of the Concords duo Brett McKenzie, left, and Jermaine Clements entertain a jam-packed Aro Video audience.

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The first post-Grammy award concert for New Zealand comedy duo Flight of the Conchords was a freebie show at a small Wellington video store that they tried hard to keep a secret.
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Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie entertained hundreds of people at the Aro Street Video Store this morning before signing DVDs and posing for photos.

They began their 15-minute performance with their normal dry humour.

"We headlined for Video Ezy back in the day," Clement said in his trademark flat monotone.

They both then pointed out where people could find different genre movies.

About 100 people crammed into the tiny store, with about twice that number standing outside listening to the show on speakers.

The comedians delighted the crowd by changing some lyrics of their songs and mentioning the video store and what good deals it had to offer.

Owner Andrew Armitage said that considering how popular the pair were they tried to limit crowd size by only advertising the show at 5pm yesterday on an email to their members.

Clement and McKenzie seemed at ease with their fans after the show, joking with them and posing for photos.

As well as DVDs of their Flight of the Conchords show, released today, they signed pretty much anything that was put in front of them including a suitcase, a pie and a guitar belonging to a German band.

The band, Kernspaltung, then responded by singing an impromptu thank you song - in a style reminiscent of the Conchords.

Also in the store today was Loren Horsley, who starred opposite Clement in Taika Waititi's movie Eagle versus Shark, also released on DVD today.

Mr Armitage said he had organised the show a while ago with McKenzie, who was a member at the store, and was thrilled with the turnout.

He said it was a "striking coincidence" both movies were released on the same day.

"I'm so buzzed the stars were aligned," he said.

On Monday the Conchords won a grammy for their album The Distant Future in the best comedy album category.

It was just the latest in a string of successes for the pair whose show The Flight of the Conchords has won acclaim in the US when it was picked up by HBO last year.

The show focuses on Clement and McKenzie as struggling musicians with debatable talent trying to make a living in New York.

Last week the series was nominated for, but missed out on, three awards at the Writers Guild Awards for best comedy series, best new series, and best episodic comedy.

The pair are in Wellington at the moment working on the second Conchords series, which has been delayed due to the three-month-long screenwriters' strike.

-NZPA