If comedy is the new rock 'n' roll then folk is clearly the new comedy. Two impressive Fringe shows have opted to lampoon the world of beards and leaving old Durham town. There is Folk As F**k and, on the same page in the programme, High On Folk, featuring New Zealand duo Flight Of The Conchords.
The Kiwi combo's assault on this muchmocked genre is the festival's cult hit. Bret and Jemaine's lo-fi pastoral ditties about robots and racist dragons are sung so quietly the audience has to sit in hushed reverence to appreciate them. There is the constant danger that if one laughs too loud one will miss the next winsome couplet.
Each successive spoof is executed exquisitely. By rights, Tolkien should be a comedic no-go area by now, but (Frodo) Don't Wear The Ring is both sardonic and silly. Their mixing of chunky sweaters and hip-hop to create gangsta folk - keeping it real ale? - is hardly trailblazing, but hilarious.
Behind the music there is also an undertow of Spinal Tappish tension. Jemaine possibly loves Bret, while Bret has eyes only for a dancing flower.
There is a melancholy edge, too. As one lyric has it: "I'm not crying, it's just been raining on my face." Musical parody can be a lucrative business. Weird Al Yankovic and Liam Lynch have even taken send-up into the charts. Flight Of The Conchords hardly innovate, but they certainly cover old ground with fearsomely funny accuracy.
Until 25 August. Box office: 0131 226 2151.
