Hilarious, offensive, and thought provoking are the words that come to my mind as I recall Dave Chappelle’s show at the Louisville Palace Theater [4] last night.
We all remember or have heard about the moment he walked off the stage in Louisville over a decade ago. He fell of the grid and we all, or at least this writer, forgot how brilliant he actually is. GQ [5] named Chappelle as the “Comeback of the Year” two days ago. They’re right; he’s back and better than ever.
The house was packed last night for the second sold-out show. Comedians Azhar Usman [6] and Mohammad Amer [7] made the crowd roused for Chappelle’s entrance. And DJ Trauma [8] hyped the crowd with old-school hip-hop leading up to the Chappelle’s entrance song, LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out”.
In true Chappelle fashion, he took serious issues and put a spin on them to make the audience erupt with laughter. Marriage, race, politics, and sex were all covered in his laid-pack performance. Chappelle’s comedy takes us to the murky parts of humanity so we can discover comedic beauty in our imperfect existence. It was a show I didn’t want to end.
If you missed last night’s show, you have one more chance to see him today at 7 p.m. Tickets, $55, may still be available at the Louisville Palace box office and online at www.louisvillepalace.com [4].