By Jason Gonzalez
Less than 48 hours ago, Andrew “Dice” Clay of Brooklyn, took center stage before a packed crowd at The Gramercy Theatre. During his hour and ten minute set, the “undisputed heavyweight champion of stand-up comedy” brought his brand of political incorrectness as only he can. He was inappropriate; he was lewd, and offensive. However, the soon to be 61-year-old lacked the pop that his jokes once had nearly 30 years ago.
Now don’t misconstrue what is being conveyed. Clay was funny; he just wasn’t as humorous as he has before. Clay, who was sporting his trademark vest and his leather fingerless gloves, pulled out the routine cancer stick that he never lit, [This was to the disappointment of the audience.] while proudly showing off his salt and pepper Fu Manchu.
Clay opened up his set by discussing, what he described as a “political issue”. As he continued his repartee, the consensus was that he was talking about Donald Trump, only to realize five minutes later, that he was talking about Paul [“The can you hear me now guy”] switching from Verizon to Sprint. He also tackled current issues such as Harvey Weinstein, social media, religion, and almond milk. He also referred to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper as “Anderson Cooper-Smith” and the fast food restaurant company Chick-fil-a as “Chickfiller”.
For the most part his routine that he has established over the years has remained the same. He picked out a guy sitting in the front row to periodically converse with during the performance. He named him “Joey”. Clay also spewed his take on relationships, while giving advice on how to make the union last simultaneously. But unlike previous Clay shows, he diverted from reciting his traditional explicit nursery rhymes. This was an interesting angle, because Clay found a niche being vile and shocking. So it was surprising to not hear him quote his famous bars. This component of his comedic skit is engrained in every presentation. The night was soured the second Clay opted to not say them.
It appears that Clay is a victim of the times. The world that we live in today is totally different. What may have been appalling three decades ago may not be the case now. Clay has the skill-set and talent to reinvent himself moving forward. And although there were glances of him trying to do that, he has to do a better job. He has to if he wants to stay relevant, and appeal to a much larger demographic outside of his confirmed fan base. Back in the day Clay became the first comic to sell out Madison Square Garden for two consecutive nights. Push forward the hands of time, and now he is doing shows in a 500 seat theatre. There is obviously a disconnect somewhere.
Comedienne Eleanor Kerrigan of Philadelphia opened up for Clay. Kerrigan’s production lasted nearly 30 minutes. During the allotted time frame, Kerrigan spewed material that was similar to Clay’s. Kerrigan was funny.
Overall, Clay’s return to the ‘Big Apple’ wasn’t the worst thing, but if you missed it, you didn’t lose out either. It was anticlimactic. The show left a lot to be desired.
TheBronxChronicle.com gave the Andrew “Dice” Clay show a rating of 2.5 stars.
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