The Age of Spin: Dave Chappelle Live at the Hollywood Palladium

I wasn't overly taken by the first of the new Netflix specials (well, first that I watched – they are not in an order). The Age of Spin is better in the most part. The routine has a good flow to it, and when he touches on subjects they tend to be more of interest and informed than many of the Heart of Texas jokes, which seemed to revolved around crudity too often. He does still get into rape, transgender issues, gender equality, and other sensitive subjects – and of course he does not go into them gently, but he mostly explores within them in a way that is interesting rather than directly offensive, and most importantly, is funny.

You can see in the audience a lot of times where individuals went beyond what they were comfortable with, and I did too; however, this is why I liked it – he didn't just blurt out offensive things, but rather the material was a journey where he perhaps lost some people on the way, but at the same time it was still a fun journey. I continue to not see him as esteemed as others do, but he is a great showman, and this show was pretty strong. Repeating motifs, well- observed, engaging structure, and of course with Chappelle being a presence in the middle. Easily the better of the two recent specials.