Special By By Michael Thomas Sep 19, 2014 in Entertainment Toronto - Partway through his act, Australian comic Tim Minchin said "This isn't actually comedy. This is like someone with an arts degree who never got to use it." Despite his insistence that his act wasn't comedy, he had a full audience roaring throughout. If Minchin was at all nervous about dusting off his old material, those nerves were likely allayed within seconds of his appearing on stage. It only took six words for him to get the audience cheering and clapping in excitement: "This is a song about prejudice." It was his famous song " Minchin has a particularly unique comedic style. His songs — and his stories in-between that give his songs context — start off with a verse or paragraph that sounds serious, before he puts a satirical spin on it and completely subverts the subject matter. For example, he told a story about how his older daughter is adopted, and told the audience of a seemingly controversial way to parent her, before his final, offhand remark turned the whole story on its head. He recounted later why he doesn't do as much material on religion anymore — he makes no secret about being an atheist — because of a meeting he had with a fan. The fan, a Christian, tried to convince him that not everything can have an explanation, and told a story about how his mother's potential eye disease had been cured by her church praying together simultaneously. Minchin turned the story into a song where he seemingly admits to being wrong about religion. Other songs included " "Dark Side" ended the act, and he immediately received a standing ovation. He came back out for one final song, and in truly unpredictable fashion, performed a song from an upcoming musical he's writing. It wasn't comedy, but that didn't stop the audience from being as appreciative as ever. He received yet another standing ovation after that. It was a momentous start for Minchin's show at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Thursday night was more momentous than advertised. As it turns out, he hasn't done live comedy in about two years. If last night's crowd was any indication, he didn't need to worry about shaking off the cobwebs. Minchin was almost uniformly at the top of his game, and even when he wasn't, the man is so likable that small flubs didn't detract from his songs. Tim Minchin is a man of numerous talents — he has a sharp ear for music, can hold his own telling stories between songs and also seems remarkably well-versed in current affairs. All of these talents were on full display for last night's show.If Minchin was at all nervous about dusting off his old material, those nerves were likely allayed within seconds of his appearing on stage. It only took six words for him to get the audience cheering and clapping in excitement: "This is a song about prejudice." It was his famous song " Prejudice ," and he dryly responded to the noise by saying "Your enthusiasm borders on the ironic."Minchin has a particularly unique comedic style. His songs — and his stories in-between that give his songs context — start off with a verse or paragraph that sounds serious, before he puts a satirical spin on it and completely subverts the subject matter.For example, he told a story about how his older daughter is adopted, and told the audience of a seemingly controversial way to parent her, before his final, offhand remark turned the whole story on its head. He recounted later why he doesn't do as much material on religion anymore — he makes no secret about being an atheist — because of a meeting he had with a fan.The fan, a Christian, tried to convince him that not everything can have an explanation, and told a story about how his mother's potential eye disease had been cured by her church praying together simultaneously. Minchin turned the story into a song where he seemingly admits to being wrong about religion.Other songs included " If I Didn't Have You ," in which he talks (somewhat) lovingly about his wife before it goes off on a tangent, and " Dark Side ," in which he at one point adopts the voice of either Eddie Vedder of Creed's Scott Stapp."Dark Side" ended the act, and he immediately received a standing ovation. He came back out for one final song, and in truly unpredictable fashion, performed a song from an upcoming musical he's writing. It wasn't comedy, but that didn't stop the audience from being as appreciative as ever. He received yet another standing ovation after that.It was a momentous start for JFL42 , Toronto's 10-day comedy festival. More about tim minchin, jfl42, Just for laughs More news from tim minchin jfl42 Just for laughs