Review: Chris Rock at Starlight

Chris Rock came to Kansas City on Saturday night and he had a lot on his mind: sex, relationships, marriage, the war, jobs, the economy, steroids, sports and, of course, race, which was the subtext all night of his one hour and 50-minute stand-up routine.

Starlight Theatre was barely half-full; the entire terrace level and the last seven rows of the plaza level were blocked-off by scrims to obscure the empty seats behind them. So about 4,000 people attended, and it was a mixed crowd: people young and old, of many races and nationalities.

Rock didn't wait long to establish the evening's focus. He talked about Britney Spears and her children and, as he sees it, how quickly they take white kids from their parents. "Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston kept their kids," he said. "Even O.J. kept his kids, and he killed their mother."

His style is a blend of observational, political and shock humor -- lines that can make a crowd laugh and squirm at the same time. He unleashed a few of those when talking about John McCain: "He's old, old! Who wants a president with a bucket list? ... How you gonna make decisions about the future when you're not gonna be here?"

He talked at length about Barack Obama, the primaries and the election. President Bush is so bad, he said, "he made it hard for a white man to win this election." Hillary Clinton, he said, should have quit after losing in Iowa, where "they got like three black people ... They only sold four copies of 'Thriller' in Iowa, and two of those were returned." He also warned the crowd what might happen the Wednesday after the election if Obama wins: Black people will take the day off, he said, "so you better put some wheels on your luggage 'cause there won't be (anyone) around to carry it for you."

He used the n-word promiscuously, and he talked about that word and whether white people should ever use it. His answer: probably not. "That's the only advantage we have over you," he said to the many white folks in the crowd. "You wanna change places? Fine. You scream n*****, I'll raise interest rates."

The funniest part of that bit was when he talked about his white friends trying to sing-along to rap when he's around. "It's a sad sight, white people trying to sing a n*****-less rendition of a Dr. Dre song. And I know when I'm not there, they lean into that: ... 'Cause I never hesitate to put a n*****! on his back.' "

Not all of his material worked, especially the more graphic sexual bits, which veered into Andrew Dice Clay territory: heavy raunch with a lightweight punchline. He was at his best when talking about race, like when he called Babe Ruth an affirmative-action hero, for thriving in an era without black players: "That's like winning a marathon without any Kenyans."

Or when he addressed the long-standing institutional barriers to equality, like when he talked about the neighborhood he lives in. The only black homeowners, he said, are he, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and Denzel Washington -- four eminent entertainers. "The white guy who lives next to me," he said, "is a dentist ... a regular pull-your-tooth dentist. You know what a black dentist would have to do to live in my neighborhood? Invent teeth."

But he also acknowledged the progress that has been made, citing something as historic as the Obama candidacy and something more modest, like the crowd before him: mostly whites and blacks, including some mixed-race couples. And he had them all laughing at themselves during his best material, which manages to make light of some uncomfortable truths.

P.S.: Rock's opener was Mario Joyner, who warmed things up with a funny set of his own. One of his funniest bits was about the GPS in the car he drove cross-country recently and how it politely corrected him after he missed an exit: "It didn't call me stupid or roll its eyes at me. And it didn't bring it up two hours later when I had to take another exit."   

| Timothy Finn, The Star 

 

 

 

Comments

[JTW]

Rock and his ilk of black comedians make me puke. They rant/rave "jokingly" about whites, getting by with blatant racism against whites, whereas whites, comedian or not, only have to hint at using the "n" word, or saying something "jokingly" about blacks, to bring out cries of racism, Jackson & Sharpton demanding they be fired, the NAACP bemoaning how whites demean the proud African-American heritage, blah, blah, blah. Rock's nothing more than a street "n" who, for some reason I cannot fathom, comes across as funny.

[Young and Proud]

Chris reminds me what would happen if a black man gets in the white house. I have not made up my mind yet but have second thought every time I hear the "N" word.
It should not be used by anyone regardless of the race.
You want equality but still act like you were in slaved. Many years have passed and you all can not get over it, so how do you think I can believe that Oboma has changed.
Sorry but I like him but can not take the chance.

Thanks again Chris for reminding me.

[Joe White]

What a tabloid the Star has become.

Why is a review of Chris Rock considered 'Breaking News'?

The Star is increasingly pathetic and an embarrassment to this town.

[Kilby]

What surprised me here is that only roughly 4,000 people showed up, leaving Starlight half-empty. I thought he would have pulled in more fans. If an A-List comedian like Chris Rock can't fill the place, what hope does Kathy Griffin have when she plays there next month? I find them both funny, but would prefer seeing them at the Midland or an equal-sized indoor venue.

[Xeno]

Starlight is too big for both Chris Rock and Kathy Lee. Both are playing halls in other cities that accommodate 3-4000 people.

[Tim Finn]

'Breaking News' doesn't necessarily signify something important; it's used as a place to place fresh posts for people who don't want to troll the entire home page for something they haven't read yet. Maybe we should have one strictly for arts & entertainment.
--
Starlight is too big for a show like this: Even Jerry Seinfeld and George Carlin played the old Midland, which held about 2,800 (and which is now under renovation). The empty seats didn't bother me; I love Starlight and the environment was perfect.
---
Nothing Rock said about whites could be called racist. Lots of his material is "racial," but not racist. When he "makes fun of white people" it's usually within the context of how they relate to black people. In fact, he probably makes fun of blacks more than whites. For example, he did a bit on how, as he sees it, black men like "big" white women (and I paraphrase): "Some white women don't even need a scale in their house. When they notice lots of black men coming on to them, they know it's time to start working out." Or: "Rosie O'Donnell could walk into a club and black men would hit on her, and she's not even looking for a man." He also said Obama's biggest problem is his wife, Michelle, because (another paraphrase) "black women don't like to play second-fiddle to any man." He went on to joke that if he gets elected, she'd start appointing her friends to cabinet positions. Is he perpetuating stereotypes? Probably. Is it racist? I don't think so.

As for the n-word, I'd be happy if that word disappeared forever. It's toxic and evil, like the Swastika. But if black America wants to take the word inside its culture, put it into other contexts and make it its own -- detoxify it -- so be it. I have no use for the word, and I don't see how any white people could or should.

Rock's rationale is that if you are part of a certain underprivileged minority you should have the right to ridicule the majority, within reason, but the inverse isn't necessarily true, as in: fat people can make fun of skinny people, but not vice-versa; poor people can ridicule the rich, but not vice-versa; short people can curse tall people, but not vice-versa. The way he sees it, white America is still more empowered than black America, which is hardly radical. I'm not sure I buy that entire fat-people/skinny-people premise, but I understand it.

I see it like this: I can make fun of my own family, but I don't like it when others do. Carlos Mencia does it with the Mexican/Latino culture. Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy do it with lower- and middle-class white culture. If Rock ridiculed white people like they do, he would not be tolerated. Likewise, Rock's comment about the day after the election is a joke only a black comedian can tell.

And BTW: He said he's had no profound objections to anything Don Imus said because (a) Pacman Jones isn't really worthy of anyone's defense and (b) Imus said what he did on his own show, which makes a difference. But: "If (Imus) was presenting an award on BET and he said 'Here's that nappy-headed ho Aretha Franklin ...' we'd have to kill him." Which is a crass but funny way of illustrating all of this.

[Penny]

Well said, Tim.

[red]

Good Job, Tim. Maybe JTW will learn something from your post. I know I did.

[JTW]

Red: Believe me, I'm not going to be "educated" by a blog entry. I stand by everything I said, Tim's elucidations aside. As for indirectly lecturing me on my opnions/views, you're like many bloggers who insult others while hiding behind the cloak of secrecy. I'm not sure of your views of many things, and frankly don't give a $hit.

[Tim Finn]

It wasn't a lecture, it was a response to a post -- an opinion that elaborates on the review, which is also a subjective opinion. As for "secrecy" or "hiding," well, I use my full name and here's my work e-mail: [email protected]. (And there's a photo of me somewhere on this page.) Thanks for reading.

[GB]

I appreciate Tim's review and comments about a great show. Chris Rock is the top comedian working and success hasn't caused him to lose his edge. I'm not sure how he got it, but he has a license to go where few other commercially viable performers do. I was uncomfortable with all the "n-word"s, but sometimes good comedy makes you a little uncomfortable. It's ok if it's presented intelligently and not in a hateful manner. One of his themes was some of these taboos are "just words" and you have to consider the context. That was a recurring theme of George Carlin, and I was kind of hoping Chris would give him a nod. One of the funniest lines he had was that when he heard the word (n-word)was going to be banned, he immediately called his accountant and bought 800 shares of "coon". ("jigaboo" was already sold out.)

The police helicopter flying overhead was distracting to the performer and audience. I hope they caught their fugitive.

[ron nichols]

the sad part is that dice clay is demonized by the mainstream while all the comedians of color can say the most vitriolic, offensive, off-color reemarks and it doesn't raise and eyebrow...

[GB]

Dice Clay? He had his moment, but after the shock value wore off, there was nothing else there.

[Tim Finn]

Dice Clay got in trouble for taking the misogyny thing a little too far. There was no point to it except to be egregiously shocking. I confess: I laughed at a lot of it, but wasn't exactly genius.

The helicopter was distracting but he made light of it: They're after me: 'A n***** is talking too much about white people."

[Jeff]

Sheesh, lighten up people. You epecially, JT.

Do you find anything funny in life, or do you just walk around, looking for reasons to get offended, and reacting to everything like it is an affront to your humanity??

It's called 'Comedy' which means it is not taken seriously, or did you not get that memo?

[DLo]

I am so loving this!!!! I loved the fact that we even got a review in the first place. Doesn't usually happen because as I was told, "all we can do is rehash jokes". I called when Steve Harvey was in town and there was no review. Nothing! He has over 9 million listeners on his daily radio show so I was just astonished! Tim. You have redeemed yourself. I did not care for the review that you gave regarding Rhythm and Ribs. Basically, it sucked, and the fact that you did not even mention the main acts was insulting. Not only that, you mixed it in with other events that you attended. Man! I was ticked!!!Any who, that post review for C. Rock was out of sight. I loved it!!!! For those of us that were not able to attend the show, I appreciated being able to read what went down. All it means is that whenever he comes back, I will spur our local economy buy purchasing a ticket. If others do the same because of the reviews, well, then, there you have it.

[Neighbor Karl]

"you're like many bloggers who insult others while hiding behind the cloak of secrecy."

Said the guy who only left three initials.

Uh, look to the left, dude. Tim's picture's right there. If you want to reach him, e-mail [email protected]. Or call him from the contacts page on KansasCity.com. He's not hiding anything. He's basically a public figure.

Next time you visit, JTW, leave your name and phone number on your post. Or be a hypocrite. Whichever.

But before you come back, look up the difference between "racism" and "prejudice."

[talk radio listener]

What really surprised me was that 980 was promoting it so much. Chris Rock doesn't seem to fit into the conservative theme they have there. I can just see Mike Shannin rolling his eyes when he had to do the promos. Whenever you see a black comedian its ALWAYS "here's how black people are so cool and white people are so lame". That crap gets so old. I mean Richard Pryor pioneered it bust that was decades ago. Get some new material.

[Bewlay]

Isn't this a music blog?

[Tim Finn]

A music blog, yes, but an local-entertainment blog, too, and I see a connection between stand-up and commentary like Rock's and music. His material gets at issues that arise in music and pop culture.

[B. Goldwater]

Today's conservatives sell their "values" at the first opportunity, which would be OK if they sold them to the highest bidder, but they often go cheap and easy.