Rolling Stone Article - July 5, 2007

HBO's Flight of the Conchords Makes Low-Fi Rock Funny
REBECCA DANAPosted Jul 05, 2007 2:53 PM



There's a song in the first episode of Flight of the Conchords, a new HBO show about aspiring folk rockers in New York, that captures the heat of courtship better than anything by Shakespeare or Barry White: A guy (thirtysomething, with deep social anxiety) sees a girl (blond) across the room and makes his approach. "You're so beautiful," he sings, "you could be a waitress." From there, the song builds ("You could be an air hostess in the Sixties. . . . a high-class prostitute . . . ") until its climax: "You're so beautiful/You could be a part-time model!/But you'd probably still have to keep your normal job." Then they make out.

That lyrical Don Juan is Jemaine Clement, 33, one half of Flight of the Conchords, a musical stand-up duo whose hilarious folk songs will likely turn it into the biggest thing out of New Zealand since the Lord of the Rings movies -- which makes Clement's partner, Bret McKenzie, 30, a little nervous. "I enjoy going out and not talking to strangers," he says. "It's OK if I'm drunk, but if I'm not, it's just embarrassing."

For years, Clement and McKenzie have performed their deadpan duets -- imagine if Ricky Gervais and Sarah Silverman started a band -- at festivals and in their hometown of Wellington, New Zealand. But on June 17th, when their show premieres on HBO, they'll finally get a chance to make it big in the States.

Flight of the Conchords, directed and co-written by Da Ali G Show's James Bobin, follows "Bret" and "Jemaine," two Kiwis with a stalkerish fan and a manager who can't get them a gig. Mostly, they sit around and sing about their problems. Comedian Todd Barry, who shows up in one episode, loves the Conchords for their sitcom-ready eccentricities. "I'll call one of them to hang out, and the other will show up," he says. Demetri Martin, a Daily Show contributor who also makes a cameo, predicts that their weirdness will be an asset. "[Conchords] will either be a cult hit or a regular hit," he says.

Clement is already tasting success. "Once a waitress recognized me and gave me free cake," he says.

Notes McKenzie, "That was when we really knew we'd made it."