NEWS DAVE CHAPPELLE STORMS OFF STAGE Throws Tantrum Over Noisy Crowd

[Chiron]

Many comedians put tons of hours of practice into their delivery so that jokes come across well, the timing is right, and the flow is smooth and keeps everyone engaged. It takes a great amount of focus, even though they're just getting up there and "talking". I remember having to do a couple monologues in a college acting class for a fine arts credit. Just remembering 5 straight minutes of lines was tough and making it entertaining was tougher even with the script in hand. You want to hit a number of cues that you determine work best for the material. Anything that happens in the audience is something you're aware of because you're trying to find out if they're catching the intended cues. Stand up comedians are still performers delivering material.  

No one walks into Hamlet, yells the whole time and then has the right to say the actors were awful. Don't blame chappelle for that stuff. 

 

 

[Sir San Diego]

It comes with the territory of being a stand up comic though. It's safer to do recorded TV and that's the route most comics take after the road life. Dave Chapelle had that and pissed it away.

It's not like this is the first time he's done this, it's been a pattern and established that he can't control a crowd for years. I don't know why people still pay to see him live. Stuck in the past? Hoping for the best?

 

[robinvandamn]

best use of new slaves ever

 

[iYen]

I am a person who can use logic and will admit when I'm wrong.
You on the other hand...

That doesn't answer my question.

Also, opinions can't be right or wrong.

Yeah it does.

Opinions can be ridiculous.

For an example, look at your initial post.

 

[hood17]

Shoulda pulled a Bill Burr in Philly and insulted the crowd for 10 minutes.

I'm just now hearing this for the first time

 

[blakep267]

this is why I only see comedy shows at smaller venues. They kick people out for that kinda thing. Theres nothing you can do in an arena

 

[Mr.Guy]

Dave did not meltdown or walk out on the crowd. He performed for the 25 min that his contract demanded and he left after he completed his 25 min set. I am a comedian and I understand the dynamics of contracts for sets and set time limits. Therefore, I see why Dave performed for 25 minutes and left. I watched the video which caught a brief segment of Dave's set and I perceive from the video that the whole being annoyed act and what Dave said about only performing for three more minutes was hilarious and part of his set, nothing more or less. The heckling fans were disappointed because they THOUGHT  Dave was going to perform longer than 25 minutes.Thus, their concerns must be directed to the promoter who prompted the show  if they feel that  the show was advertised  under false pretexts.

 

[mints]

I saw him back in 04 right after the second season had just finished airing and before he quit filming the third season, he got really pissed at some guy that was in the balcony section that would not stop with the Rick James lines. He then went on a 20 minute riff on the guy talking about how he was yelling because he was so desperate for attention and probably a cheap b****d for buying the cheap tickets. It was pretty entertaining at the time, but I can't imagine having to deal with that again and again every time you get on stage, especially now when it's almost 10 years since he last worked on the show.

 

[deleted]

Yeah it does.
Opinions can be ridiculous.
For an example, look at your initial post.

Brilliant.

 

[memphisboi55]

How about if you were at the Ct show, would you still like him then?. i hope his" loyal fans" get a refund

lol, so you just walk up to ticket master and say "hey, I'm a loyal fan.. can I have my refund? "

And they just say ok, here you are loyal fan.

but the un-loyal won't get a refund?

 

[fontaine]

@ people saying stand up isn't chappelles thing.

Like... Chappelles stand up to this day is some of the best material in the past ten years.

The hell are y'all talking about??

 

[airjordan jb23]

never understood why people would pay money just to go & heckle the performer... i don't blame him one bit.

i wouldn't consider this a "meltdown" either as some reporters have been calling it... rather just his way of dealing with the people heckling him.

 

[blakep267]

never understood why people would pay money just to go & heckle the performer... i don't blame him one bit.

i wouldn't consider this a "meltdown" either as some reporters have been calling it... rather just his way of dealing with the people heckling him.

I used to think that people would blow the heckling thing out of proportion until I actually went to a show and saw 2 guys in the front row heckle the opening acts for anthony jeselnik. I was baffled. Like the openers had good material and were funnier than jeselnik and everybody was enjoying the show. Except for 2 guys, in the front row of all places. They got booted, and lost their money. Just dumb

 

[audash]

this is why I only see comedy shows at smaller venues. They kick people out for that kinda thing. Theres nothing you can do in an arena

Me too. I was excited to hear he was touring, but when I found out it was a festival I passed. I like smaller clubs. People seem to behave more too. Maybe because they aren't hidden in a sea of people? Hopefully I'll catch him in a club one day. Till then I'll keep seeing Attell and Burr

 

[iYen]

Well of course no one needs to do anything but the still do don't they?

I think the reason why they talk is because stand-up isn't as respected as other types of live performance such as theater.

Umm stand-up is comedy my man....that's what it has been as it's core before people were amused with slapstick and things of that nature.

We need to be specific here, because comedy is too broad of a term to describe what we're talking about. We're talking about stand-up comedy, so yes it falls under the umbrella of comedy.

I don't know the history of stand up comedy farther than richard pryor so, I can't comment on that

Comedy and heckling go hand in hand and like I said it's part of the territory....anytime you have a performance that involves talking....chances are you can have a heckler there....who would heckle at a musical? that analogy does not fit so it does not apply.

See this is what I mean. When you say comedy, it's difficult to understand what you mean. I'm going to replace your term comedy with stand up, because that's what you mean right?

If so, stand up and heckling DO NOT go hand in hand. Sure heckling can be funny or entertaining.

But I doubt that very many comedians are happy when they are heckled. It just throws off the vibe of the comic's set and draws attention to something that wasn't meant to be part of the show.

It's not an analogy. Stand-up and musicals are live performances, so that example I gave earlier applies. If you don't expect someone to heckle at a musical, why would you expect someone to heckle at a stand-up set?

What about presidential/political rallies? what about people booing someone on stage....I mean that's a form of heckling isnt it?

Stand-up and pres. rallies are not the same. Stand-up is meant to entertain whereas pres. rallies are means to get votes.

That is a form of heckling, but I don't understand what you're getting at by bringing that up.

And heckling is part of "crown work" or what I would say is "crowd control" by the MC because they are the focus of attention. It's their job to exert their control through whatever medium/platform their out there for and "rock the audience" for a lack of better words.

Heckling isn't part of crowd work. Crowd work is initiated by the comedian, not the audience. I would agree that a comedian can turn a heckler into part of his crowd work. But I don't agree to what you're saying.

Crowd control and crowd work are two different things.  Crowd work is engaging the audience, whereas crowd control is gauging where the audience is at and acting accordingly.
 

If you think that a comedian going in on someone in the audience means that they don't have material then you need to start watching more stand-up comedy.

I didn't say that. I said if they go on for an unnecessarily long time. If a comedian feels the need to rip on someone(not a heckler) for a while let's say 5min., then yes he lacks material. I've been watching stand up since I was let's say 10. If a comedian goes in on an annoying heckler, his action is justified imo.

As a big fan of comedy and someone who tries to make it to the cellar everytime I come back home I can say without a doubt that a comedian, especially an uber famous one, will have more than their fair share of hecklers, BUT they need to understand the appropriate way to combat that aspect, either through going in on them, asking security to remove them, or like your boy did....just sit there.

I agree, but you're implying that heckling is a part of stand-up. Which it is not. That's all I'm saying. Heckling falls under the spectrum of disturbances, such as a someone nosily walking out, cellphones, and the like.

If you got rid of heckling at comedy venues your infringing on potential funny moments and crowd interaction with the comedian.

So?

Very few people paid to see heckling. Most paid to see a comedian's act.

In the OG video Dave was prob at his limit because this has been happening to him for a while....but you gotta adapt. I hate when comedians start feeling themselves and their comedy too much where they get on that 'artform' tip. **** that. Like I said Dave should have came in there with material to **** on those hecklers/city.

Preparing material specifically for potential hecklers is a waste of Dave's time, I assume.

Stand-up is an art form, I would argue. I doubt that comics'' bits just fall out of their butts. Most of them from what I've read/listened try bits, change them, and over time they evolve. 

I remember I was at the cellar one night and Norton, Koplitz, godfrey, and Robert Kelly ******* all over this dude in the front row from some european country who seems to have just showed up just to heckle.....It was the funniest thing I ever saw. Straight ******* on that dude and it felt so good.

I would rolling too. But if you asked me, would you rather see a comic's act or someone random dude getting .......ed on?

I would pick see a comic's act.

 

[Fresh Like Will]

Was he getting heckled or was the audience just getting disrespectful? I'm seeing two stories. Did Dave bomb? It sounds like his jokes were hitting and the crowd wouldn't shut up. It sounds like if they didn't get rowdy, they could of had the chance to listen to new material from Dave Chappelle. I think that's what he's getting at with the they should "boo themselves."

 

[iYen]

Homie needs to grow some nuts and learn to control the crowd instead of shutting down like a little *****. When I saw him at the height of his fame he basically did the same ****. He's right, he should've stayed on his show and in formats where he can be edited to seem like a genius and a master comic, because as I and other people have seen, dude isn't a pro.

Anybody can take the best parts of a standup routine OR record their best performance and edit it and sell it as their standard, but it's just like with hip hop shows, not many can deliver that night in and night out. That's what separates the best, and he clearly isn't on that level.

Not a knock at his talent, but dude really ****** up his life by not sticking with what worked best for him. Standup ain't his thing.

Addressing the situation would just add fuel to the fire and achieve nothing. For an example see bill burr's video where he's heckled by a crowd.

Chappelle is a pro because his bits are thought provoking. Your dislike of him doesn't disprove that.

How can you say that standup isn't his thing when Chappelle has been doing stand-up since he was 15?

He's influenced people like Kevin Hart who is caking right now.

 

[iYen]

Yeah it does.
Opinions can be ridiculous.
For an example, look at your initial post.

Brilliant.

You made a ridiculous statement; I responded to it.

You can't defend your ridiculous statement, so now you're being passive aggressive.

Clear up your statements so you don't find yourself in another discussion like this.

 

[jaysfiend23]

IMHO it's stand up comedy you gotta be ready for anything that's thrown your way..Dave's a baby and can't take the heat he's always been like that..if I wa in the audience I would have been pissed and wanted my money back it's ridiculous he threw a temper tantrum

 

[iYen]

IMHO it's stand up comedy you gotta be ready for anything that's thrown your way..Dave's a baby and can't take the heat he's always been like that..if I wa in the audience I would have been pissed and wanted my money back it's ridiculous he threw a temper tantrum

are you placing blame on him or the crowd? Dave has no control over the crowd regardless of this mystical crowd control that you think comics are supposed to have.

 

[Gill Baka Esq. LLC.]

iyen....I don't agree with you on any of your pointsin this case....maybe a few actually....I agree heckling is a disturbance and when it get's too out of hand that it really does ruin things but besides that I stand by all the things I said.

I pay to laugh....whether it's through the form of an act, heckling, or adlib....don't give a ****.

Comedians as a master of ceremony should be cognizant and prepared for heckling just as famous actors should be to paparazzi.

 

[fresh out dabox]

i dont think he should of walked off. every comedian is trained for events such as this

 

[Fresh Like Will]

When a comedian bombs, they get heckled. The desired effect of heckling is to get the performer off the stage because their jokes aren't hitting. It sounds like Dave's jokes were hitting until the crowd got rowdy for who knows what reason.

It doesn't sound like the crowd was heckling, because if they were, they obviously have no interest in Dave performing his act. So stopping his act would be the goal of heckling him. It sounds like more of a disturbance. If you cause a disturbance or interrupt something, you only have yourself to blame when its stopped. This goes for everything, not just comedy shows.

 

[airfreshh23]

He didn't have a breakdown though, he just chose not to perform for people who were disrespecting him.

Exactly. 

 

[lamekilla]

Would've really enjoyed at least one more full season of the Chappelle show rather than those lost episodes