Concert Review- Cheech and Chong
Beacon Theatre NYC 10/23/10
Cheech and Chong are still smokin’. And they’re still funny as hell.
The two counter culture icons brought their classic bits and memorable songs to the Big Apple last night for a maybe two thirds full house full of appreciative, mostly older fans.
The highlight for yours truly was Cheech Marin’s classic Alice Bowie bit replete with tutu, which was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen live. Chong’s blind blues player was right behind in the laughs department. And their Mexican American duet was uproarious as well. Also, surprisingly, their straight take on Chong’s R&B classic Does Your Mama Know About Me, which he co-wrote while with Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers was just beautiful and a really wonderful surprise in the midst of so much slapstick and silliness.
Where things got a bit tedious, however, were the incessant weed jokes. Sure you walk in knowing what to expect as this is a CHEECH AND CHONG show after all, and the Get It Legal tour to boot. But it just kind of felt like overkill after a while. I mean, did we need Chong’s wife doing weed jokes, too? We get it, folks- you’re pro marijuana. And people say and do stupid (and funny) things when they’re high. While Chong’s solo bit about his cat getting wasted was, in fact, hilarious, I would still voice the same criticism of another comedian doing endless airplane or fat jokes. They kind of beat the subject to death. Yes, legalize it, but make more than a dozen marijuana jokes the same night illegal, willya?
Nonetheless, there’s not too many classic comedy duos left out there, so I was really pleased to have finally caught these childhood heroes of mine live. All in all it was a fun and funny night and well worth seeing; straight or high, everybody seemed to walk out smiling. And you can’t put a price on that.
Evan Ginzburg
www.legendsradio.net
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