dave chappelle + the roots @ radio city music hall
6/26/2014
I went to a great show at Radio City Music Hall on Tuesday night. Dave Chappelle + The Roots live w/special guests Chrisette Michelle and Bilal, plus the guy who did that robot dance all the time in Chappelle Show party scenes.
Dave gave a really great, tight set, even had jokes about Malaysian airlines flight 370 and Boko Haram. To paraphrase: "So they kidnap 200 girls and white women all around the world start tweeting about it...I mean, do they really think that'll make the guys give them back? *fake Nigerian/oddly Arab accent* 'Oh my goodness! I cannot believe it! We are trending on Twitter! This is very bad for business.'"
I can report he's sharper than ever, had a whole set piece on LGBTQ issues--inspired by a documentary he watched about the history of the Pride movement, plus his close friendship with a lesbian couple at his son's prep school. I could tell that he's grown a lot (quite literally, has probably added 15 pounds) in the 10 years since he walked away from Comedy Central (and toward his true self). Chain smoking a series of cigarettes and cigars, he riffed on parenthood, Donald Sterling, turning 40, and being black while walking in Ohio before we gave him a standing ovation.
The Roots killed it with a 30-piece orchestra, concert pianist, Chrisette, Bilal, and this guy whose name I didn't catch playing some kind of otherworldly beats/music/synthesizer machine. But Rahzel, tho! He was beyond the beyond. Honestly, they're the most brilliant band in the game right now. That Jimmy Fallon gig has tightened and polished their sound and they're taking it to an entirely higher level.
Dave gave out free T-shirts at the end of the concert, but they ran out of them before I got down to the lobby. Apart from that it was one hell of a show. It reminded me of the block party--jammed into a rarified, upscale space with a rainbow-colored crowd aged 25-65. I can't lie though, the air up there smelled really good and I'm glad I caught the show. For what it offered, 100 bucks was a steal.
I'm in total awe of black cool right now. But it ain't got nothing on black genius. Check out a Billboard review here. --AL.
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