Chapelle's Show
Last week, I caught Dave Chapelle at the Punch Line comedy club in San Francisco. The shows were announced quietly a week ahead and sold out quickly. He played two shows a night for four nights. I tried getting tickets for one of the weekend shows, but those were gone instantly. I managed to snag a couple for his last show Tuesday night at 10pm. The Punch line is a tiny club, 250 capacity max. I had heard scalpers were getting $200 a pop.
It was probably the best live performance I'd ever been to.
My wife and I had dinner and got there early, around 8. So were first in line. There was already a half dozen people waiting in the stand-by line, despite the fact that the doorman said that only 5 people typically make it in. When the early show let out around ten, we were let into the club. We got seats at the stage. I'm talking close... see nostril hair close.
There were two opening comics and Dave didn't come on until around 11:15. He immediately jumped into a bit about his Comedy Central show and didn't let up all night. He started with his prepared set, lasting just over an hour. then he asked for audience ideas for material. He needed 15 more minutes for his upcoming Vegas show. He riffed for the rest of the night.
Sitting so close, we could see his mind working. You could tell he was hashing out material in his head, rolling it over and crafting it on the spot. He went on and on. When he was done, we checked the time: 1:45am.
Yes. Chapelle did 2 1/2 hours of new material and most of it killed. Better than any rock show, any symphony, any live performance I had ever seen.
----------------------------
At my company Halloween party, I was the most popular costume. I didn't wear one, but two people went as me.
I can't decide if that's good or bad.
It was probably the best live performance I'd ever been to.
My wife and I had dinner and got there early, around 8. So were first in line. There was already a half dozen people waiting in the stand-by line, despite the fact that the doorman said that only 5 people typically make it in. When the early show let out around ten, we were let into the club. We got seats at the stage. I'm talking close... see nostril hair close.
There were two opening comics and Dave didn't come on until around 11:15. He immediately jumped into a bit about his Comedy Central show and didn't let up all night. He started with his prepared set, lasting just over an hour. then he asked for audience ideas for material. He needed 15 more minutes for his upcoming Vegas show. He riffed for the rest of the night.
Sitting so close, we could see his mind working. You could tell he was hashing out material in his head, rolling it over and crafting it on the spot. He went on and on. When he was done, we checked the time: 1:45am.
Yes. Chapelle did 2 1/2 hours of new material and most of it killed. Better than any rock show, any symphony, any live performance I had ever seen.
----------------------------
At my company Halloween party, I was the most popular costume. I didn't wear one, but two people went as me.
I can't decide if that's good or bad.
posted by Ron Lim at 9:23 PM
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