I was extremely excited last night. I am a member of the Crescent Club at the new Snoqualmie Casino in, you guessed it, Snoqualmie and with that membership come some amazing perks. Each month I get sent a mailer with coupons good for cash - actual cash - that they hope I'll put right into their slot machines.
Along with those coupons (usually on the back) is a calendar of coming events. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that the comedian Gallagher was going to be doing a show at the casino and that I was eligible for two complimentary tickets. Oh, did I forget to mention that perk, too? Yeah, they also include the option to get free tickets to select shows. How cool is that?!
When I saw the offer for the Gallagher show I immediately called and claimed my tickets. I had always enjoyed Gallagher's shows when I was younger. While the smashing of food is always thrilling, I remember his shows also being filled with interesting observations on life. An example would be along the lines of questioning why we park on a driveway and drive on a parkway. He has always been good at bringing things up that you don't really think about until he mentions them.
The night of the show finally arrived! I offered my extra ticket to a co-worker and former roommate (yes, the very one I sometimes complained about on this blog, don't judge me; he has a car and I needed a ride). We went to the box office to get our tickets, I went to the cashier to exchange my coupon for $10 cold hard cash, and then we hit the buffet.
I'm not sure if I have described the buffet at the Snoqualmie Casino. It's good. The chocolate fountain, though; the sweet cascading richness of heavenly joy? That, my friends, is to die for. I was a little worried that my building up of the chocolate fountain was a little much, but when my former roommate took his first bite, he agreed that it is very tasty.
We had left our jackets in the car and my friend decided that we should probably have them since the show was out doors. Sure, it's summer here and everyone in the country seems to be living with triple digit forecasts, but this is the Seattle area and it was overcast with a little breeze. Since our tickets were in the general seating section, I offered to go get the best seats I could find while my friend went to the car.
Shortly after I had found great seats, I noticed that a group of guys were posing for pictures. I figured that they were just taking future Facebook profile pictures and deciding on captions like "Me and the boys at the Gallagher show!" However, one of them left the others and started down the aisle in front of me. As I looked at the man, I suddenly realized that I had seen him somewhere. But where? He had long hair in the back and was bald on top. He looked like he was somewhere in his 60s. Man! Where had I seen him before.
He was almost past me when I realized that Gallagher was walking right past my seat! He smiled down at me as he passed and turned back when he realized I was staring at him. I asked if I could get a picture with him and he said, "Only if you're not going to give a camera to someone who has no idea how to use it and takes forever to get the picture." I held up my cell phone and said, "No, I can just hold it out in my arm and take it that way." I think the picture above turned out nicely!
He then signed my ticket stub and I thanked him profusely and returned to my seat where I sent the picture via text messages to my friends and family. I also called my friend and told him to forget about the jackets in the car and hurry to the stage area if he wanted a chance to meet Gallagher.
Up until he went on stage, he was posing for pictures, signing autographs and talking to his fans. I have NEVER seen a comedian do that before! The lady sitting next to me commented that it's just good PR and I agree, but I was very impressed that he was out connecting with his fans right before his show.
My awe didn't last too long, unfortunately. Gallagher hit the stage and chastised us for not giving him a big enough welcome. To be fair, he kinda just walked out without a big announcement or anything, so the audience was a little taken by surprise. We tried cheering again and his critique was "Well, that was a little better." What followed was the most interesting comedy routine I have ever witnessed.
I am used to shocking comedy. I'm a huge fan of Kathy Griffin who is no stranger to controversial comedy. I have a sick and twisted sense of humor that made me a fan of Kevin Smith's movies. But as I sat in the audience watching Gallagher perform, I was questioning many of his comments and jokes.
He had barely started the show when he noticed a guy in the audience heading toward his seat. "Hey, faggot," Gallagher called, "I notice you've got your hat on backwards. Is that because you aren't sure which way to go?" Within ten minutes, he pointed out two other guys and commented on their "faggy" attire. Later in the show, he called a guy up on stage who had on a "faggy pink shirt". When the guy got on stage and corrected Gallagher, saying the color was "salmon" Gallagher's response was "Call it whatever faggy color you want, it's still a faggy color."
The gay "jokes" didn't end there. He noted that there are two kinds of lesbians: The ugly ones and the pretty ones. Incidentally, Ellen DeGeneres is the ugly one. As for gay men, hell they're all prettier than your wife which makes no sense because they don't even face each other during sex. Later still, while making a "pie" that he would later smash with the Sledge-o-matic he said "I got a pie for the fags, too. This here is a fruit cocktail and it says right here on the can how do to it: cock, tail.... In a sweet syrup." He then mixed the fruit cocktail with Chinese food "for the orientals who should just be mixed in with the gays."
Gallagher also had some things to say about President Obama. "The man ain't black! He's got a white mom just like I do! If he wants to act like a black man then why doesn't he have a white wife? Obama is a latte. There is definite whole milk in there." While staying away from Obama's middle name, he did note that "There's even the word 'bomb" in his name!" He even brought up the birther conspiracy idea: "You ever met a black man that was born in Hawaii before? Nah, me either! So where exactly was he born?"
The racial jokes weren't limited to our black president, either. Mexicans, Chinese, Greeks and the French were also poked fun at by the comedian. As if to offset what he was saying, every time he heard groans or displeasure from the audience, he would grab a small American flag, wave it over his head and yell "FREE SPEECH! That's what makes this country so great!" Honestly, I half expected him to add, "Except for all the damn foreigners that are here" but he never did. Before long, though, I seriously started feeling like I was attending a Tea Party rally - especially when he'd start waving that American flag.
I don't want to make it sound like I didn't enjoy the show. I actually did, but this Gallagher was not the same watermelon-smashing comedian I remembered from the 80s and 90s. I remember social commentary in his act, but never stuff like this. Sure, Kathy Griffin has made a career making fun of people, but when she does it's at the people in Hollywood that she thinks do stupid things. She doesn't stoop to the lowest form of comedy: racial slurs.
After the show I sent a text to my brother: "Do you remember Gallagher being homophobic and racist before?" He responded that he didn't and added that he was probably to young to notice if he did.
The point of Gallagher's show was to teach us how to think for ourselves, to not follow the "norms" of society. He preached that message several times. That's a message I can support, but does he mean that in doing so we should yell out racial slurs because that's not the socially accepted thing to do? If so, well, I take issue with that.
I think what I witnessed last night was an old man who is just plain angry about everything. The point of a comedy show is to entertain, and for the most part, his show was entertaining, but why try to find laughter using the lowest form of comedy? To me, that's just lazy. Anyone can try to get a laugh by making racial judgments or picking on gay people. And saying "If it's true, it's funny!" doesn't make what you say any less racist.
This doesn't mean that I went home angry, ripping up the autographed ticket stub or deleting the picture I took with him. I'm just a little disappointed that a comedian I once thought was really funny, appears to be on the decline.
Since I don't want to end this blog entry on a Debbie Downer note, I'm going to include a video that was shared with me today. This video is extremely sweet and cute and it represents what I believe to be the best kind of comedy.
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