Chappelle's show

I saw Dave Chappelle perform stand up tonight, and he remains a funny, funny man. Probably close to 8,000 people filled half the Erwin Center. His stage presence was the same as what you see when he introduced sketches on the show, which in turn was the same as when he did his first televised specials, shortly after the release of "Half Baked."

He began the set by making fun of the rumors surrounding his escape to Africa, addressing up front the big question everyone had coming in (sample line: "I was starting to believe some of that shit about me. I was reading it, going, 'I smoke rock!?'"). Then he moved on to some jokes about Texas and how this is crystal meth country. A lot of his material was something close to riffing, joking with the audience, making fun of himself, that sort of near-improv stuff.

Interesting guy, this Dave Chappell. From his jokes, I got the sense of a funny man who realized that he could make a living simply by being funny. He didn't need the great burden required of superstardom.

Of course, it's impossible to say. Even at a gloss, Chappelle seems to have more than his share of contradictions. It goes almost without saying that he is a comedian who takes his craft seriously and even personally, yet his best material tonight was about furtive masturbation. Then again, the man can use a microphone to simulate genitalia probably better than anyone else alive. It was a beautiful sight, even from 100 yards.

Often, though, he'd wander toward more serious topics, and it hinted at a lot of hard thinking before giving way to jokes. He talked a little bit about national politics and a lack of leadership among blacks. Of course, the thoughts all led to the outrageous stories that are his trademark. He is so good at taking things to the funniest extreme that it must be irresistible, and far more enjoyable than sermonizing. This escape is, as he pointed out later, how a comedian's brain works, anyways.

But there was a story he told during the encore, about a bad show in Jersey years and years ago, that almost broke the mold. He was driving back to New York in his beat-up, old, yellow SUV, and feeling like the world was coming down on top him, which he said is how comedians always feel after a gig flops. It was raining and he was stopped at a light when an old woman hopped in the back seat, mistaking his car for a taxi, and asked him to take her to the Upper East Side. For some reason he did, then refused to take any money. She told him that on this night, he had been her angel and that good things would come to him in life because he was a good person.

"Those were words I needed to hear at that time," Chappelle said. There was something sincere, and even touching, in the telling.

This despite the douchebag 40 rows up who twice interrupted by yelling something unintelligible — once even earning a "Dude, seriously, shut up," from the comedian himself. Then some other people starting yelling shit, and I guess it was something about a character from the show, because Chappelle obliged and slid in a little Tyrone and Rick James. I can't prove it, but I thought something went dead in his voice.

If a writer could ever get really inside his head, I think there's a great book to be written — and no one who read it would know if they could trust a word.