Rock into 2008
Within his first few compulsive paces across the Madison Square Garden stage, Chris Rock let the sold out crowd know he was a little nervous. In last night's New Year's Eve show, Rock ran through a new act after a spell away from stand up. His friend and longtime collaborator Mario Joyner opened - his bit about the cinema ticket ripper was especially funny - and then ceded the stage to Jill Scott and band. Scott, sporting newly auburn tinted locks, blown out and tendriled forward, presided over Rock's dominion as best she could. She never shrunk although the audience wasn't as spirited as she's probably used to. She kicked off with the Go-Go flavored "It's Love", breathed fire into a number of selections from her unimpressive new record and capped her set off with "Golden," an inspirational anthem well suited to ushering in the new year. As Scott exited the stage to modest applause, Mario Joyner returned to perform a few bits before announcing a 25 minute intermission to ready the stage for Rock.
Chris Rock rushed the stage to Playaz Circle's "Duffle Bag Boy" and appeared clean-shaven and looking youthful for his 42 years in a beautifully cut but conservative slate suit. Grinning hard, he seemed genuinely happy as he surveyed the crowd but quickly got to cracking funnies with a long bit about the Michael Vick controversy. As for dogs, he called them "white man's best friend" and explained that Black people have always had fraught relationship with dogs from the slave trackers to the police canines sicked on us from the segregated American south to apartheid era South Africa. Moreover, Chris Rock pondered how it is illegal to fight dogs but legal to fight humans. The crowd's tepid laughter increased but dog fighting still proved to be a touchy subject for many. Rock also commented on the elections, uncharacteristically resorting to tried and true stereotypes when considering how Michelle Obama might thwart Barack Obama's viability by virtue of being a Black woman. Apparently we, unlike white women don't know how to play our position. Beyoncé would not concur. Rock recently introduced Obama to an Apollo crowd at a New York City fundraiser and did later throw out how Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani and Obama all drew punclines with Giuliani's serving as the funniest. To paraphrase: Rudy was great on 9/11 but how was he on 9/10, 4/16, 5/21? As the homeless panhandler on 7th avenue murmured as he counted his bounty this morning, Hamburger. Rock was funniest when considering racism. He showed no love for the founding fathers and called our currency that bears many of their images "rapist trading cards." It was no "Never Scared", which I and my sister saw live at the theater at Madison Square Garden stop of the Black Ambition tour but immensely fun. The work of contemporary Black artists like Chris Ofili and Kehinde Wiley was projected on the big screens between sets to the sounds of an eclectic mix which ranged from Fiona Apple to choice Outkast -"She Lives in My Lap" should be in more deejay's rotations - and made for a brilliantly broad minded event. Rock capped the festivities off by leading the countdown to 2008 and a sing a long of Rihanna's "Umbrella", with bud Biz Markie, as balloons and confetti rained down from the rafters.
Photo Credit: Michael Falco
Tags: Chris Rock, Concert Reviews, Jill Scott
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