It’s not too often you get to say “well now that’s something I never thought I’d see”. I guess the last time was when Neutral Milk Hotel came to town, fulfilling many dreams of my high school years. And tonight was something of a similar feeling. Having never performed shows outside of North America before, comedian Dave Chappelle was like an illusive unicorn and/or wilderbeast (let’s make this sound more masculine) who Australians never thought they’d get to catch. But against all odds (and with the help of some hefty dollar signs), that moment has come, and the response from crowds has been nothing short of overwhelming.
Every show sold out in minutes, which might have surprised some who would have thought we’d all forgotten about him by now. After all, it was over ten years ago that we were all quoting “I’m Rick James Bitch!” at the top of our lungs, across school halls and Manning Bars. It’s something that can’t help but stick with you. Sure, we mightn’t watch the show anymore (well, at the very least I don’t), but the thought of reconnecting was a comedian who many of us thought was the funniest man on the planet for a while there, was just too good to pass up. And indeed, tens of thousands around the country agreed. Unless Monty Python come to town, it will surely be the most successful comedy tour of the year.
So the question is: was it worth the wait, commotion and the expense? Well this is where I start to get a little surprised at my experience tonight. I expected to, irrespective of the jokes, get all nostalgic and really focus my enjoyment of the evening on that. I hadn’t watched any of his stand up from more recent times, so I really didn’t know what to expect. What surprised me was that, in spite of all the hype and the years of success (followed by some years of solitude), Dave Chappelle is as traditional and as talented as a professional comedian as you’ll find. He doesn’t rely on gags or tricks or, indeed, nostalgia. He crafts a finely tuned insanely hysterical performance where jokes flow seemlessly from one to the next, a joke from the start of the night sets up one at the end of the night. And in the genius of it all, you don’t even notice. As he sits on the stage, chain smoking and playing with his baseball cap, you can’t sense the careful calculation that making it all look so easy…
I always knew he could deliver a punchline, but tonight as he weaved through pussy jokes, Paula Dean stories, Obama and Lil’ Wayne impressions, plus general comments on his celebrity life at home, Australia and all things… OK some more pussy jokes, but this time with some masterbation (as he pointed out himself, this shit is always funny!), there was something too genius to put words on. But what is clear is that Dave Chappelle is worth every cent, and it really does take seeing him live to realise this. Behind the guise of stoner films and successful TV shows is, at the end of the day, a really fucking great comedian.
One of my favourite quotes of the night though was actually something that probably didn’t illicit the biggest laugh: “Australia’s like what your parents tell you about hot oatmeal when you’re a kid. Stick to the sides and wait for the middle to cool down.” Genius.
Opening for Dave can’t be easy, but triple j’s Matt Okine did a great job and had the crowd laughing from start to finish. Living in Sydney, his banter was often fairly localised, and his focus tonight was on being a poor arts type amongst rich friends. Ah, that was maybe a little too close to home! Brilliant.
Dave is about to hit the stage for his second show of the night at the State Theatre in Sydney before doing it all over again tomorrow night. Details about the tour are at: http://www.livenation.com.au/artist/dave-chappelle-tickets. Pussy juice.
