Following an abrupt departure from his wildly popular (and still widely quoted) sketch show, stand-up/actor Dave Chappelle has managed to maintain a relatively low profile. Though he’s opted to stay out of the spotlight, he still does badass things like decide, on a whim, to ride his motorcycle across the country for a secret run of shows. Earlier this week, with less than 24 hours notice, Chappelle scheduled and sold out Austin’s 1,200-seat Paramount Theater. It was a rare opportunity to witness the emotional and intellectual growth of a legendary act, but unfortunately, the audience was mostly there to see the Prince-mocking Half Baked star’s greatest hits. When the toned-down comic who took the stage wasn’t quite what they expected, the show became less of a performance and more an awkward back and forth between Chappelle and the crowd. Understandably, people were pissed, and in the days since, there’s been a lot of blame placed on the audience, the venue, Austin in general and Chappelle himself, but the bottom line is, it’s been nearly a decade since we’ve seen much of Chappelle, and things have changed:
You SHOULD Expect
— Secondhand smoke (the comic burned through half a pack before tossing the rest, one by one, into the crowd.)
— To learn a lot about the front row (at one point, Chappelle glanced down at an audience member and just asked, “What’s your deal?â€)
— Some long pauses (and there’s nothing wrong with that.)
You SHOULDN’T Expect
— To see Ashy Larry (or Rick James, or any other relic from that era.)
— To get away with recording the show (your phone will end up onstage, with your last Siri search played back.)
— To actually get thrown out if you get rowdy — the comic was the first to admit he was grateful for the sidetracking, since he had “about four minutes of material.â€
For more on the “disaster,†here’s my detailed account of what went down.