When Dave Chappelle rolled onto stage this past Saturday night rocking a red Fairfield sweatshirt, the packed Alumni Hall exploded with cheers. Chappelle, the accomplished comedian known for his television show and movies like “Half Baked” kicked off his set to a standing ovation in Alumni Hall.
Chappelle thanked Fairfield for having him, and quickly pointed out this was not the whitest place he had ever been. As hard as it is to believe, apparently Aspen, Colo. in fact has even less diversity than we do.
Chappelle performed for a little less than two hours and had the audience in uproar the whole time. Chappelle’s stand-up consisted of digs on police (hope our campus security present did not take offense), R. Kelly and other high profile media figures, white people, black people and being high.
From a female perspective, it seemed the guys in the crowd appreciated Chappelle’s humor more than the women present. “I thought Dave’s joke about having sex with an old lady was funny, but the guys next to me were dying,” said Emily Duffet ’04. Don’t get us wrong, we think jerking off is funny, but watching Chappelle make the motion half the show got a little old for us.
Other students agree that the best part of the show was Chappelle’s impromptu material.
“When Chappelle shuts down the hecklers in the crowd it really keeps the audience rolling together and is hysterical,” said Paul Duffy ’05. The “Samson” yeller (hey did that kid get a “boo” this week?), might have gotten a good joke out of Chappelle, but honestly…”Samson”…was that the best we could do?
For the most part, the only criticism students had of the performance was the sound quality and volume in Alumni Hall. Many students in the back bleachers couldn’t understand what Chappelle was saying. Whatever it was, the sound system or acoustics in the gym, listening was difficult and I often heard the people around me whispering, “What did he say?”
“I was sitting in the back bleachers, and I couldn’t hear a lot of the first part of Dave’s act,” said Ashley Fylnn ’05. “I was laughing with the people around me, but honestly, I don’t think we knew what we were laughing at.”
Greer Barnes, another black comedian, opened for Chappelle and did a great job warming up the crowd.
Relying mostly on dope-inspired humor, his set was well received by the audience. Not going to lie, the high giggles at his own jokes were infectious and had me rolling on the floor. In the past Greer has had gigs on MTV, HBO, and Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend.” You may also recognize him from his role in the movie “For Love of the Game.”
I think the majority of people that saw Chappelle perform would agree that is was a great performance.
Moral of the story kids – wear your helmets (and any other protection you may need).
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