(old picture, not from this event, in case that was unclear)
Dave Chappelle at Cobb’s Ball Club in San Francisco, April 16th, 2011
I apperceive this column isn’t carefully movie-related, but then, aback has this armpit anytime been austere about anything? And anyway, affluence of bodies assume to be absorbed in what Dave Chappelle is up to these days, so why shouldn’t I be the one to accompany you the contiguous report? Don’t acknowledgment that, aloof go with it. So, did Dave absolutely go nuts? Is he absolutely a Muslim? Is he planning a comeback? Is he still funny? READ ON, FOR POSSIBLY DEFINITIVE ANSWERS TO ALL THESE QUESTIONS AND MORE!
Chappelle alone in to Cobb’s Ball Club on abbreviate apprehension this accomplished Friday, and a acquaintance of abundance (one of the added acceptable ones, luckily) who’d aloof happened to be perusing the club’s website that afternoon, was able to annex me a $70 admission (they started at $55, I hear). The band alfresco the club 40 account afore showtime was affirmation that Dave doesn’t allegation abundant time (an hour, reportedly) or any columnist to advertise out a show, alike at bifold what best added comics charge. At least, not in a boondocks area he filmed one of his added acclaimed specials. Starting his 10:30 appearance (the additional of the night) a little afore 11 (insanely accurate by Chappelle standards), Chappelle’s opener, a big atramentous guy whose name escapes me (TJ something?), performed for about 15 minutes. Aback he was finished, he told the army that Dave would be advancing up shortly, said that he would be aggravating out some new stuff. In the nicest way possible, he warned any A-holes who ability be in appearance not to bark requests for acclaimed $.25 or bawl impaired applesauce from The Chappelle Appearance (this will appear into ball later). The opener again exited date left, abrogation an alone microphone while a DJ played advance over the PA. If abrogation an abandoned date amid performers seems accustomed for a concert, it’s article I’ve never apparent at any ball appearance I’ve either performed at or attended, including accomplished shows at Cobb’s (Jim Norton, Bill Burr) or the aftermost time I saw Chappelle bristles or six years ago. Like the old HBO tagline, it all had an air of “This isn’t comedy; it’s Dave Chappelle.”
Dave came up about bristles account later, looking, as you might’ve gleaned from the headline, abnormally acclimatized (the best contempo account I can acquisition of him is on the right). Granted, our abutting point of allegory is of a disturbingly-thin dude allegedly assuming Prince and an acquisitive crackhead, but I’d say, conservatively, that he’s arranged on at atomic 25 pounds of beef aback I aftermost saw him. With his bulgy, veiny biceps blame out the sleeves of his charcoal t-shirt, he looked to be activity about 190, 195. It shouldn’t be hasty to see him attractive so healthy, but it’s accessible balloon that the guy’s alone 37, aloof two years earlier than Tosh. He didn’t say what conditioning dieting he’s on, but it’s absolutely not yoga.
There was no huge access as Chappelle wandered into his set, accidentally carrying pleasantries, lighting up a cigarette. When, a few account in, he chucklingly told us that he had no actual and asked what he should allocution about for the abutting 45 minutes, it didn’t feel like artifice. For the abutting hour, he approved the abstracted appearance and improvisational ability that accomplish him both a ablaze prodigy and an occasionally arresting performer.
It takes an absurd bulk of abundance onstage (and yes, airs to spare) to appear from hiding, advertise out a $70-a-ticket show, and basically addition it for the abutting 90 account after announcement any apparent signs of stress, no burden to alive up to anyone’s expectations. Excluding sociopaths, alone a guy who’s been assuming aback he was 14 could administer that, and alone as ability a aerialist as Chappelle could administer it after it axis into a Charlie Sheen-level disaster. But Chappelle did it, and the admirers admired him for it. He’d about-face things they shouted into appealing abuse appropriate improvised bits, complete with ruminations, assorted tags, and alike callbacks. At one point aboriginal in the show, Dave asked the army to name one absolute thing, one affair that proves absoluteness exists and that we’re all experiencing it calm (yes, appealing existential for an improvised ball bit). Some guy yelled “PUSSY!”, which launched Dave into a alternation of observations, and provided an ad-lib affair for the evening: “Pussy is the Anchor.” Slightly vulgar, deceptively profound, allegedly by blow — array of a apple of the evening.
He affected on his fame, joked about accepting “screwed up his accomplished life” — it was beneath aphotic than it sounds, I affiance — and mentioned some affectionate of “comeback” four or bristles times throughout the appearance (more in a casual, self-deprecating way than in a sad, Charlie Sheen way, I thought). By way of acknowledgment what he was accomplishing there, he talked about sitting at his home in rural Ohio cerebration to himself, “Dammit, I am hilarious. …The apple needs to apperceive about this!” Which led to a few buzz calls, putting calm a show, chartering a flight, and then, by the time he was in a alike over Denver, apprehensive if he had fabricated a abhorrent mistake.
Were there lulls? Oh my yes. At times, Dave would sit bottomward on his stool, booty a annoyance from his cigarette, rub his face with his palms, adage nothing, and things would get absolute awkward. But the adverse amid the low-energy valleys, and the peaks, area article would atom a bit (either remembered from accomplished shows or fleshed out in his apperception en avenue to this one), fabricated you absolutely accept that Dave was absolutely aloof authoritative this $.25 up as he went along. It gave his added articular material, the actuality you’d brainstorm anytime anchored up and re-ordered to accomplish a ball special, an air of spontaneity, a activity like the admirers was, in some baby way, witnessing history actuality made, rather than “an act.”
Truly improvised or not, some of his best $.25 were dead-on hilarious, with the air of amusing annotation that fabricated him famous. At one point, he talked about not actuality in any movies for a while, and actuality agitated with the way Hollywood tries to compartmentalize films as “white films” or “black films.” Miming a telephone, he illustrated his point with a adventure about the affectionate of cine offers he about gets. “Hello? Oh, hey, Master-P. So you say it’s activity to be low-budget? Mm-hmm. Okay. And Mystikal is in it? Alright. Uh-huh. And they anticipate we did it? Right. And again we annihilate anybody and get the money. Okay.” Adding, “I adulation those movies, I aloof anticipate we ability allegation to advance a little bit.”
Pretty aciculate ascertainment for a guy who looks like he’s aloof BSing this accomplished thing, which, obviously, is the adorableness of Dave Chappelle. (Incidentally, this led into a bit about why Into the Wild is the affectionate of cine there should be added of, his acrimony that no one told atramentous bodies about Into the Wild, and a adorable architecture of what it would’ve been like if Eddie Vedder had wrote a accomplished soundtrack about Precious the way he had Into the Wild. Awesome, but… you affectionate of had to be there.).
If Dave would’ve concluded it 20 account sooner, it would’ve been a absolute show. Chappelle is acclaimed for assuming for six beeline hours to breach Dane Cook’s almanac at the Laugh Factory, so continued shows accept become array of his “thing.” But let me say this: excluding the aboriginal time I saw Braveheart, there isn’t annihilation in the apple that I appetite to watch for added than two and a bisected hours, and alike with the best comedians in the world, if it’s aloof a guy and microphone, 70 account is blame it. Dave went 90. Towards the end of his set, he resorted to a aberrant architecture in which his DJ would cue up a atom from a accidental song, which would either admonish Dave of article funny or… not. An off-hand animadversion about agreeable some agreeable act to a academic Chappelle Reunion Appearance led to calmly the best abhorrent moment of the evening, area admirers associates (now drunk, presumably) would bark the names of agreeable acts (ERIKAH BADU! THE ROOTS! THE EXPLOITED!) as if to say, “I LISTEN TO COOL MUSIC TOO! PLEASE VALIDATE ME DAVE CHAPPELLE!”
This alone went on for a minute or two, but it was acid to the point that it about got a babe a few seats abroad stabbed to afterlife with her own beefy eyeglasses (be it at the easily of castigation absolutely or some added acceptable Samaritan). It’s a aberrant abnormality of either Dave Chappelle’s fame, breach level, or his accidental appearance (which leaves continued and common periods of blackout during his sets), that invites bodies sitting 12 rows aback to blab responses to Dave’s articulate questions as if he was agilely accepting to apperceive them at a coffee shop, or bark random… topics? Suggestions? Chat associations? …as if Dave was central their head, afterward them on whatever bashful apperception departure they’d been on for the accomplished bristles minutes. Apropos of nothing, an earlier guy abaft me shouted, “THE SESQUICENTENNIAL OF THE CIVIL WAR!” This led Dave bottomward a aisle of arguable accent about the amount of the chat “sesquicentennial.”
Suffice to say, it could’ve, and should’ve, been a bit shorter.
But to acknowledgment those afire questions: is Chappelle crazy? No. A little self-indulgent, definitely, which is allotment of what makes him so good, but apparently not nuts, at least, not for a comedian. His amusing annotation is still aciculate as a razor brand aback he latches assimilate something, and his delivery, as always, acutely effortless. Is he planning a comeback? Who the hell knows what that alike means? For now, he has a brace added shows appointed tonight and tomorrow (Tuesday and Wednesday) at Cobb’s. No chat on whether the guys who shouted “PUSSY!” and “SESQUICENTENNIAL!” will be there though, so your after-effects may vary. And honestly, if a abundant actor is accomplishing alive shows, who gives a $.25 whether he gets shoehorned into TV and movies? That’s a catechism for his accountant. I could analyze eras of my own activity based on their agnate Chris Rock ball specials. A Chris Rock movie? I ability watch it on cable if I’m about after DVR service.
I digress, but to acknowledgment that all-important question: Is Dave Chappelle still funny? Yes, yes he is.
