Review: Dave Chapppelle Live at The New Parish

It was another around the block line at Oakland's The New Parish to see the most regular famous person of our generation. The skateboarding, bart-commuting, aloof, shit-talking Dave Chappelle was in The Town again–his second home it seems.

Just last year he camped out at The New Parish for a couple weeks doing two shows a night till 4am, weekend or not. He did a few bits, but mostly just riffed off the audience, gave love, talked shit, rubbed the legs of beautiful women, played the piano, super-manned invisible hoes, chain-smoked, philosophized on the meaning of life and sipped coffee until we all fell asleep.

If my description doesn’t make it clear, it was awesome. I went twice during that run in fact. And due to his improvisational prowess, I saw two very different shows. I cashed out, laughed out loud and struggled not to pass out at work the next day. It was totally worth it.

This time around, skater and guitarist Tony Guerrero lead off the evening by playing amplified latin country blues while the audience waited. Then, after a few tunes, Dave hit the stage “dressed like an athletic dyke” (his words), and started the evening by bringing up the lighthearted topic of male-on-male rape, at the expense of a table full of dudes. He explored the lack of male rape hotlines, white people’s proclivity to call the police for such an (and any) affront, versus black people’s probable decision to revenge rape the perpetrator instead, and finally the Bosnians use of rape as a successful torture tactic.  It may seem like a painful way to start a date, but as Chappelle said, “There’s a real way to look at things, and then there is the funny way.” Chappelle’s way is definitely the funny way.

"Have you ever been to China? (to audience member) So you've seen the Great Wall then? It is a great wall. In fact, they say it's the only man made thing you can see from space, and though I can't verify it, I believe it. It's just crazy to me though, because I didn't think they had Mexicans like that. (laughter). Now of course I'm not suggesting that Mexicans built the Great Wall. That would be ridiculous! I just didn't know that they had Mexicans to keep out! That's a very advanced concept." -Dave Chappelle

He had more prepared bits this go around than he did for last years run, but he also freestyled with ease as he worked the crowd. Perhaps his greatest gift is his ability to arrive at a prepared bit in an interactive roundabout way that seems completely off the top. I only picked up on this by seeing several of his shows and noting a few repeat jokes. His delivery does not tend to tip his hand however, and his routes to the jokes vary, often using the audience as a vehicle.

The audience is his favorite muse. Last night’s star of the early show was an Indian woman named Albihna who he revisited often, using her as a gateway to access a host of topics and channel a little flirtation. Then, to end the show, he had her come on stage to hug his leg as he pretended to be a ‘70s pimp riding on a speed boat, with Tony Guerrero playing blaxploitation riffs in the back ground.

It was the perfect way to end a raucous evening that was more of an experience than a comedy show. Dave’s pursuit of the ultimate cosmic joke, his random stories and his hysterical ad-libs paint a stark contrast to most comedians pre-packaged conveyor belts of random jokes half-heartedly strung together. Dave’s act is more of a conversation than a routine, and all in attendance were honored and giddy to be a part of it.  As one of the guys I met at my table said before the show, “Some people want to see the second coming of Jesus, I just want to see Dave Chappelle.” Amen.