I am a huge fan of stand-up comedy. I feel that there aren't too many forms of entertainment out there that are as difficult and nerve-racking as stand-up comedy is. I mean one person has to try to make a diverse group of people laugh as one to things he/she has made up; thats hard. With that being said, my favorite stand-up's include, Demetri Martin's 2007 show, "Person," and Mitch Hedberg's, "Live in Minnesota." In my opinion however, the best stand-up show of the last couple decades is Dave Chappelle's stand-up show, "For What It's Worth." Performed at The Filmore in San Fransisco in 2004, this show came out during the height of success for "The Chappelle Show" and when Dave was bigger than ever, and yet his style of stand-up didn't change. A hobo masturbating on a bus, smoking weed with Native Americans, calling a Koren man Chinese, exploring the differences between what white and black people eat/drink, and the drawbacks of "being Rick James bitch" were just a few of the many hysterical points Dave touched on. His amazing ability to make fun of the black, white, asian, indian, mexican, and other cultures without offended anyone and making everyone laugh genuinely at themselves and each other is a major part of Chapelle's brilliance and it is seen in this show. He critiques society in such a way that is subtle to the audience but he is able to get his point across without sounding like he could run this country better than anyone else, (cough - Lewis Black - cough). Finally, a very interesting part of the stand-up are the hints that Dave drops about how bad it is to be a celebrity and how the pressures and anxieties of fame are making him crazy. In retrospect, these hints and jokes turned out to be serious and recently after this performance, Dave turned down a 55 million dollar contract offer from Viacom to continue "The Chappelle Show" and retreated to Africa after an mental breakdown, (some speculate).
In any case, check out this stand-up if you haven't yet. Dave is not a preachy black man who bashes every other race through making it seem like they are joking, but a comedic genius whose even more brilliant than he would like to be. This stand-up leaves us wondering, "hey, what's that purple stuff" and shocks us by revealing that, "Mickey Mouse is Mexican;" well done sir, well done.
Until Next Time,
Hazy
Best Stand-Up Show: Dave Chappelle's "For What It's Worth"
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