NYC Reopens With Dave Chappelle & Friends | Review By Rose D

Rose D writes:

The day that New York City opened back up just happened to be the day I got to see iconic comedian Dave Chappelle perform. Earlier that day, I got the unfortunate news that the legendary Paul Mooney had passed away. If there was ever a time that I needed a laugh, this Dave Chappelle show was perfect timing. And not just me, but the audience that came to the show last night was overdue for a few laughs. Although we are still in a pandemic flux, shows and performances are making their comeback. Let me walk you through the process of a live production happening in 2021, at the tail end of a pandemic.

The show happened at a venue called “The Stand” and the way that it is situated, you could have easily walked past it. We were greeted with really nice white people and then introduced to some other white people who then stuck a very long skinny Q-Tip up our noses to test for COVID…a rapid test. THIS IS THE NEW NORM Y’ALL. The panic moments while waiting for the results to come back are nerve-wracking. Once they announced that my cousin Amber and I were good, we were allowed to enter the show space. I thought to myself, “Well what if we test positive?”…but then graciously thanked God when we were flagged as negative. Once we got in the show space, we handed in our phones and they placed them in this type of sleeve-bag situation. The phones had to be locked in the bag for the entire performance.

After securing our phones, we went into the next room and got seated to the right of the DJ set up in front of the stage. Immediately, we got the “who are they” shade from other audience members. It was awkward because I couldn’t text or tell anyone about how awkward it was (lol). To my right, my cousin was talking to Tony or Anthony (I can’t remember his name) and then my phone was locked up so I couldn’t text. So I had to sit, smile, and observe the shade. It was a very mixed crowd. The audience was made up of different genders, races, and ages who had one thing in common, we all came to enjoy the show. Then it began, DJ Trauma dropped the beat and kicked off the show with his set. He rocked the crowd and had heads nodding.

The SHOW was nothing less than amazing. It was guest after guest! Donnell Rawlings hosted the show and he had an amazing set. The lineup started with this Jewish chick. (I’ll get her name before I publish this, or maybe not). Then Jon Stewart hit the stage followed by Marlon Wayans. EPIC roster! Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, comedy superstar Chris Rock popped out unexpectedly and WOW’d the crowd. Headliner Dave Chappelle KILLEd it per usual in the grand finale and was truly everything the first night a newly opened New York City needed. I had a brief exchange with Chappelle during the show, which the crowd found amusing. If I had my phone, I would have recorded and posted it but since it was locked up…now y’all just have to hear about it.

Shout out to DJ Trauma for the invite! The night was inspiring and gave me hope for a new normal in New York City. It was much needed for the city that never sleeps but has been on life support these past 14 months. Check out Ticketmaster for Chappelle’s upcoming shows and come through if he’s in your city. It is well worth the nasal swab and phone lockup.