The Flight of the Conchords: In full flight

And that’s not all they plan to do.

Bret McKenzie – who makes up one half of the hugely successful musical comedy act alongside Jemaine Clement – says Australians can also expect an apology.

As fans of the acclaimed HBO comedy series

‘‘I think in the States we’ve helped give people an idea of what New Zealanders are like but I think we maybe made Australia look quite bad, which we will be apologising for on this tour,’’ McKenzie says with a laugh.

‘‘Americans really connected with the Australia-New Zealand rivalry because there’s a similar relationship between America and Canada.

‘‘Americans often come up to me and say ‘Do New Zealanders really hate Australians?’ and I’m like ‘Noooo, it was just a joke’.’’

It would seem Australians have forgiven the duo. Rumours of a possible tour began circling online last month and one fan responded with the comment: ‘‘I think I just made a mess of my pants.’’

‘‘It’s causing quite a stir,’’ McKenzie says with a laugh. ‘‘That’s a strange effect to have on people. I’m not sure that’s a good quality.

‘‘It wouldn’t be much use if you were a superhero.’’

The popularity of the Flight of the Conchords has soared since they debuted on US screens in 2007, winning over fans around the world with their brand of musical comedy.

The critics rate it, too.

The series, which ran for two seasons, earned 10 Emmy Award nominations including outstanding comedy series and outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for Clement’s role. Fans have petitioned for a third series but McKenzie, 35, and Clement, 38, say there are no plans for another.

What it does mean is they have time to get back on stage doing what they love best.

‘‘I really love touring just because it’s a lot more fun having the audience there because you get that immediate response and you can try out new jokes each night and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t matter,’’ McKenzie says.

‘‘It’s a time where you can develop new ideas.

‘‘It’s taken us a long time to organise this tour but we’ve finally co-ordinated schedules.’’

In New Zealand they are home-town heroes, jokingly referred to as ‘‘cultural ambassadors’’ for a country that – at least to American audiences – was best known as ‘‘that place where they filmed

Before coming to Australia, McKenzie and Clement play their first shows on home soil since 2009.

Fans camped out for 15 hours to buy tickets and most of the 13-date tour – which wraps up with two concerts at Auckland’s Vector Arena – has sold out.

‘‘Like Australia, we haven’t played in New Zealand for a long time,’’ McKenzie says.

‘‘The reaction has been amazing. People have been lining up and camping out overnight to get tickets.’’

It’s the type of thing usually reserved for rock bands. McKenzie and Clement started out as a band, not a musical comedy act, when they met at the University of Wellington in 1998.

McKenzie studied music and English (‘‘I was doing a comedy music degree,’’ he jokes) but both dropped out to concentrate on the band.

‘‘My first impression of Jemaine ... well, I remember his funny walk,’’ McKenzie says.

‘‘We did a theatre show together and that was how we met. We started off just trying to be a band but that ended up being ridiculous.

‘‘A lot of our influences are not actually comedy musicians. They’re more non-comedy musicians like Leonard Cohen and Beck. His song Debra was a big influence for me.

‘‘A lot of musicians have a really great sense of humour and I guess we just pushed the humour to the forefront. We started touring comedy clubs so we’d write songs that had a lot of jokes in them.’’

New Zealand’s self-proclaimed ‘‘fourth most popular folk-parody duo’’ started out performing in Wellington, making the trip across the Tasman to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2003 and to Edinburgh Fringe in 2002 and 2003.

In 2004 they were commissioned to make a six-part radio series for BBC Radio 2.

That same year an HBO talent scout spotted the pair performing in Montreal and invited them to the US to discuss a television show.

They shot a one-off pilot in New York that was picked up and paired them with writer and director James Bobin, who previously worked with Sacha Baron Cohen on

McKenzie says neither had ever considered television.

‘‘Not at all,’’ he says.

‘‘It was challenging for the American networks because we had toured the live show and once they saw the live show, it was hard for them to imagine what a TV show would be.

‘‘That’s when we started working with James Bobin and he helped us navigate that transition from a live act – from a band – to put that into the context of the sitcom world.’’

They haven’t always had such good fortune.

In Vancouver they played to an empty room in 2000 when a lone audience member (who they let in for free) left halfway through the show.

‘‘We’re lucky. We’ve have some really good shows and then some really bad shows,’’ McKenzie laughs.

‘‘I don’t know how many consecutively bad shows you’d have to have to make you stop, but I think it would be quite a few.

‘‘A lot of the material that’s in the TV show is based on our early touring experiences.’’

Set in New York City, Flight of the Conchords follows their pursuits as two clueless musicians who leave New Zealand for The Big Apple, trying – and failing – to break into the music business with the help of hapless band manager Murray (Rhys Darby) and lone fan, Mel (Kristen Schaal). Each episode features songs built into the storyline which are all equal parts silly and hilarious.

Musical talent means they can shift from ’80s electronic pop to Prince-style falsetto, parodying the sound of artists such as Pet Shop Boys, Barry White and Marvin Gaye on songs such as Business Time, Hurt Feelings, Inner City Pressure, Hiphopopotamus vs The Rhymenoceros and Mutha’uckas.

And then there’s Too Many Dicks on the Dancefloor – an ode to a nightclub in Canada where males outnumbered females.

The show’s songs featured on the albums

They have appeared on

So popular is the band it has played sell-out shows across the US, including a show at the legendary Hollywood Bowl.

‘‘That was our biggest show,’’ McKenzie says.

‘‘I think it was about 17,000 people and it’s an incredible feeling. When you come on stage and hear everyone clapping it sounds like an army coming over the hill.

‘‘It’s a wild experience being on stage in that situation especially for what we do because it’s sort of an ironic band, you know what I mean?

‘‘It’s a strange relationship between us and the audience because they’re partly there because they’re comedy fans but, ironically, they treat us like they would at a rock concert.’’

When they embark on the upcoming tour, fans can expect the multi-talented duo playing everything from ukulele, toy piano and keytar to synths and a ‘‘1987 Casio DG-20 electric guitar set to mandolin’’. McKenzie hinted at the possibility of new material.

‘‘We don’t have enough new songs to refuse to play our old songs so we’ll be playing songs from the TV show,’’ he says with a laugh. ‘‘Live, it’s all songs. We don’t do sketches, we don’t do scenes. You know, people might think we might have a band meeting on stage, which is a good idea, but we don’t do that. There’s no costumes or anything. It’s more like a music gig.’’

While their television characters have just one uber fan/stalker in Mel, McKenzie and Clement’s real fan base is huge.

‘‘I don’t know about Australia but touring the States and the UK we have a very committed fan base,’’ he says.

‘‘People who like us get really into it. In the States we’ve had a few people turn up dressed as robots like in the TV show. I think it was one of those costumes where they regretted it halfway through the concert.

‘‘Our fan base is pretty broad, too. One time at an airport, a really cute old couple in their late 70s came up to me, like, ‘Are you Conchordia?’. They were big fans. We also have fans who have showed up at different shows and travelled around.

‘‘Because we’ve got Mel the character they always joke that they’re like the real Mel.’’

And about that rumoured Flight of the Conchords movie? McKenzie says there are plans for a big screen version.

A new album isn’t on the cards yet, but we will see more of the pair – who split their time between Wellington and the US – in separate projects.

Clement has a bad-guy role in the third instalment of Men In Black.

Meanwhile, McKenzie, who recently won the Oscar for best original song for his composition Man Or Muppet from The Muppets, has a role in The Hobbit and the release of new film

‘‘I play a guy who accidentally kills a Norwegian backpacker and Hamish’s character helps me get rid of the body. It’s a very dark buddy comedy.

‘‘It’s great fun though. We had a good time ... well, I had a good time. I’m pretty sure he did too [laughs].

‘‘It was interesting because we’re both from comedy duos, so it was kind of good working with a new person when you’re used to working in a duo.

‘‘You have to work out your rhythms and your comedy pattern.’’

And as for Conchords?

‘‘We tend to do it in bursts. We do a tour and then take a break. I’m not sure what we’ll do next but I imagine working on the film idea will be next.’’

Flight of the Conchords perform at Newcastle Entertainment Centre on July 10. Tickets on sale through ticketek.com.au or 132 849.