Continuing on my comedy tour of California, I saw Chris Rock tonight in Oakland. This time I was only a third wheel, so the comfort level was higher. Opening for the night was Mario Joyner, who I've seen at various times during my life...I actually couldn't believe he was still around and doing comedy.
Now, I've been a fan of Chris Rock for a while. I still think he's had the best opening monologues of anyone that's ever been on Saturday Night Live. I'm not sure what I expected from this show but I felt a bit let down. He was funny, though I found myself chuckling more than falling out of my seat with laughter.
Perhaps more interesting were the characters sitting around us. The guy to the right of me was quite odd. I don't think he even smiled the entire night. Most of the time, he sat with a death gaze on the stage, hands tightly gripped between his knees. I half expected him to pull out a knife or gun at any minute and take a hostage. I was going through in my head what could make someone go to a comedy show when they were so miserable. Maybe he'd just broken up with his girlfriend but didn't want to miss the show? No, he just had one seat. In any event, I felt a little uncomfortable sitting next to him and was happy when the show was over without incident.
That guy was in stark contrast to the guys behind us, who would start laughing at every joke before the punchline even got there. I couldn't decide if I thought they were high or drunk or both, but they laughed so loud and so often that you'd think they were saving up for this event to let it all out. Shelby and Court actually had to lean forward to protect their ears from the ferocious laughter assault.
Chris Rock, as usual, made some good points about politics and life. My favorite line from the night was, "George W. Bush messed up so bad that he made it hard for white men to run for president." The show was mostly made up of your typical comedy faire: sex, racism, and politics. Still, I was amazed as he talked for nearly two hours straight without a pause and without even having a drink onstage. I have a hard time speaking after about 15 minutes without having some water nearby, but two hours? Crazy. We definitely got our money's worth.
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