Drop-in guest set in Dayton

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on April 7th, 2006

We had about 18 hours off “turnaround time” between landing in PHL (from LAS), so we decided to push off for Dayton after Wednesday’s evening rush. After an overnight in “driveover country,” we arrived in our destination, Dayton, OH, in plenty of time for our show.

Wiley’s is one of Ohio’s longest running comedy venues. They share a substantial brick building, in Dayton’s Oregon Historic District, with a handful of Clear Channel radio stations.

It’s a classic comedy club and, so far as we can tell, it’s a tremendous room, even when it’s only partly filled with a Thursday-night, local, slightly-above, college-aged crowd.

So it was a pleasant surprise when we learned that a local and somewhat renowned comic expressed an interest in coming in squeezing in a set after the Male Half of the Staff’s set. The comic in question lives in nearby Yellow Springs. His name: Dave Chappelle/Chapelle.

Halfway through the Male Half’s set, “The Crazy One” shows up and gets near-horizontal on a rear banquette. After the Male Half finishes, Chappelle/Chapelle proceeds to do a controlled and rollicking and “they’ll be talking about that one” set for nearly 40 minutes.

Chappelle/Chapelle talked about kissing Jessica Simpson, private eye to the stars Anthony Pellicano, and appearing on Oprah. He also addressed his sojourn to Africa, his departure from Comedy Central and the pressures of picking out clothes when you’re “representing the entire black race.” He did some material that we’ve seen quoted in various AP accounts of some “drop-in” sets, but he also did some Dayton-specific material as well.

Chappelle/Chapelle really loves doing standup. That much is obvious. He is very proficient at doing standup. To our mind, he’s very much like Franklyn Ajaye. It’s the perfect synthesis of jazz and humor. He’s relaxed, he’s personable, he’s in command, and the crowd is with him on every note.

So nice to be part of a legendary node on the timeline of comedy history.

from → News • 0 Comments - Let's discuss! • Print-Friendly • Back To Top