Emerging from Lewis Garnham’s Stream of Contentedness at the Oasis Comedy Club on Friday night—the sense of millennial nostalgia was palpable. Sitting in a darkened room, with a bunch of strangers all laughing at one charismatic guy’s musings about society, science, and socialisation—Garnham’s set had me feeling like I was in my best mate’s, mate’s, mate’s garage at 3am, with a cup of tea in one hand, a beer in the other, and the memories of a night we couldn’t face ending just yet. And it was good. So good.

Stream of Contentedness is a carefully curated stand-up set that provokes meaningful thought through shared laughter. It’s an experience that’s hard to come by in the days of a terrifying and desensitising 24/7 news cycle, and a relentless societal pressure to constantly evolve yet conform all at once.

Garnham might describe himself as “pretty broke at the moment,” but he’s certainly giving the poorly thought-out, shock-factor comedy tropes of the past a run for their money. In Garnham’s set, I felt safe, making the exposure of life’s ridiculousness all the more hilarious. He skilfully grounds outlandish ideas with relatable experience, keeping us hanging out for the next callback that’ll catch us off-guard yet tie it all together.

When I walked through Northbridge after the laughs were over, I came across a beat-up old Ute with two guys in the cabin who definitely did not look like they were authorised to be carting around the three commercial-sized yellow bins that were proudly but haphazardly strapped to the tray. Somehow, this felt like a serendipitous epilogue to the pretty faultless gig that was Stream of Contentedness. I couldn’t help but see a little magic in that image, and I have Lewis Garnham to thank for that.

If you’re lucky enough to catch the show this FRINGE WORLD season, you might just find some magic too.