Editor’s Note: Derek Milroy, a Scot, says in his first column that he wants to see more of a mix of Vietnamese and international audiences at Ho Chi Minh City shows. Milroy, having lived in the city for three years, has started joining Scott Harris in writing stories regularly for us from this week.   

Ho Chi Minh City – I had the pleasure of being in the Hard Rock Café downtown last week to see the first American comedian strut his stuff in Vietnam.

I was intrigued beforehand on what the local-foreign mix would be and was hoping I would be pleasantly surprised with Joey Medina heading the bill. This was no average gag-man and he is one of the biggest names in comedy worldwide with a fascinating life to delve into for his sets.

The sell-out crowd was 99 per cent foreigners, the most white faces I have seen in Asia since I arrived six years ago from sunny Scotland. Okay, maybe the event was not publicized in the Vietnamese-language press, as it was obviously more geared to the expat community and travelers passing through, but it was quite disappointing.

Even Mr Medina himself commented to the audience that he was worried that his material would not be such a big hit with the Vietnamese people - but when he looked around the crowd he genuinely looked surprised. He had just come from Malaysia and Singapore which all had a decent mix according to him but he later told me he couldn’t believe that the crowd was all white. Of course being a western comedian he loves the fact that he can reach out to and try to entertain new markets and test his ability to make people laugh. He even singled out the sole black guy in the audience from the U.S. for some good-natured banter. Creeds, colors, religion and politics are key to most comedians’ material.

I do genuinely hate the fact that the expatriate community and the locals rarely interact in the cultural and entertainment hemispheres.

Four days before I was in the company of the white community in the Hard Rock, I managed to get into the grand final of celebrity TV show Guong Mat Than Quen where local singing stars dress up and sing like famous singers worldwide, a bit like the old U.K. TV show Stars In Your Eyes. I was there to cheer on my good friend Kyo York at a studio in District 4, the underdog against five Vietnamese stars – he did well to finish third behind Thuy Uyen and winner Khoi My.

It was the flip side of Medina’s gig with 99 per cent Vietnamese who are normally a friendlier bunch than the cool and guarded westerners and this crowd should be like second nature to most expats who have a Vietnamese wife and family here if they do integrate at all.

Included in the judging panel was none other than Hoai Linh, who I find hysterical despite the fact I have never heard him speak or tell jokes in English and my Vietnamese listening skills are poor. It is just his face that makes you smile and you only have to look around the arena and at his fellow celebrities to see how funny he is and is arguably the most popular comedian in Vietnam.

Anyway back to Medina, for the Vietnamese readers’ sake here is a brief resume of his colorful life: The Bronx-born Puerto Rican was from the school of hard knocks growing up in a poor, single-parent family. A former lightweight contender in the boxing ring when he moved to Arizona and almost made it to the big time. Alas once he missed his title shot, he became a policeman because he thought ‘it would be kind of fun’. Next up was comedy, something he has been doing for two decades including some acting, directing and writing.

I have one wish that the next time that a big-name western comedian or singer comes to the city that there is more of a mix so that these talents can reach new eyes and ears. Medina admits this will definitely not be a one-off and the next time he returns, fingers crossed, it will go down well with Saigonese as well as its international guests. Medina himself said his main regret was that he brought his girlfriend along to Saigon as he was really smittened with the beautiful local girls - funny I have heard that story before.