Firstly there’s dinner at the Pickled Pig (Barker said he’s keen to know if it’s as good as he’s been told), and then there’s the usual trip out to Tower Hill to see the wildlife (something he does every time he visits Warrnambool).

And, of course, he has an hour of stand-up to perform.

Titled Get In My Head, it’s the latest in a long line of shows Barker has toured around Australia.

“That’s really just a polite way of saying ‘come and listen to what I’ve been thinking about’,” he said of the title.

“Every show you go to, you’re getting in the comedian’s head and seeing the world through (their) eyes).

“It’s harder to find random things. It’s easier to talk about your experiences.

“Maybe it’s different for other comedians, but you don’t get handed ideas on a sliver platter.

“But that’s part of what makes stand-up so cool – that it looks effortless.

“You’re talking about socks and it’s hilarious, but each individual line, each observation … it’s the comedians job to make it look like you’re just thinking out loud.

“I’m not complaining. Most people reading this work harder than I do.” 

While it can be hard to explain to non-comedians how difficult it can be to come up with a fresh hour’s worth of hilarity each year, it’s a challenge that Barker tries to meet annually.

He mentions comedian Louis CK – who balances a TV show and stand-up – as someone he admires.

“I do respect and enjoy Louis CK’s material a lot,” Barker said.

“He works really hard to have new material – an hour a year – which is a lot.

“If you want a long interesting career you have to keep progressing and coming up with new stuff.

“If you stop trying to have new ideas and new material that’s the beginning of the end. It’s hard, it take discipline and it takes work.

“But there are multitudes of comedians I like. Nick Swardson, he’s a really nice guy. In this country, I like Hughesy, I like Lawrence Mooney and Greg Fleet.

“But one of the best I ever worked with was Mitch Hedberg – he was so original and cool. He’s one of my favourites of all time.” 

Barker has done a bit of TV work, most notably as Dave on the much-loved Flight Of The Conchords series, but it’s “not nearly enough”. 

“I’m working on a script for a TV show at the moment with a friend of mine,” he said. “Hopefully next time we’re talking it will be in production.”

Arj Barker performs at Warrnambool’s Lighthouse Theatre on Saturday at 8pm.