What I did was to have a great evening. First, there was dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. I'll tell you about that in a day or so. Then it was off to The Theater at the Ace Hotel (that's its name) in downtown L.A. to see the gent who is now my favorite currently-working stand-up comedian. His name is Jim Jefferies and I can't recall having a better time watching a stand-up perform. Funny…brilliant…and hard-working. He did close to two hours and that was after fifteen-or-so by an opening act.
I was surprised there was an opening act and so were most of those present. If Forrest Shaw was billed anywhere, we all missed it and I always feel sorry for performers in that position. No one came to see you and whereas audiences once regarded you as a surprise bonus, now you're just an unexpected obstacle to the person they came to see. Moreover, they sometimes they don't even get that you're part of the show and they're supposed to pay attention.
A lady seated in front of us asked the folks around her if he was a comedian who was there to perform or if he was just someone sent out to introduce Jim Jefferies. Shaw was indeed a comedian — a pretty good one — and he'd have done better if during his set, audience members weren't straggling in to take their seats and/or engaging in distracting private conversations. It was almost like, "Well, we didn't come to see him so we can talk while he's on." Somewhat annoying. Mr. Shaw deserved better.
Shaw was kind of a gateway drug to the headliner, in that he said the "f" word and discussed his own genitalia a bit less often than Jim Jefferies. When Jefferies finally did take the stage, the audience stopped talking to each other, listened and had a great time. Among the topics covered: Porn (there was a lot about porn), Black Lives Matter and racism, Donald Trump, Canadians, Gay Marriage, Gun Control and a private party where he performed in front of Al Pacino, Warren Beatty and other celebs. It's not the kind of act you take your grandmother to see but I thought it was very funny and at times, very smart.
An odd thing happened when he got to Donald Trump. He asked if there were any Trump supporters in the house and maybe two dozen people (out of maybe fifteen hundred) indicated they were backing the guy. Jefferies was just sorta praising those people for their courage when a fight broke out in the audience about two rows behind where we were sitting…an actual fight even though only two or three punches were thrown.
Near as I can figure out, what happened was this: A Trump supporter had identified himself as such in response to Jefferies' question. A non-Trump supporter then poured a beverage on the Trump supporter, whereupon the Trump Supporter whirled and threw a punch at the non-Trump supporter who punched back…and then it got broken up.
On stage, Jefferies (who seemed to enjoy the moment in an odd way) quizzed the men about what had happened, then ordered them both ejected. Security, which was already on the job, carried out the command while Jefferies segued back into talking about Trump. He was shaking his head about the whole thing but, like a good comic, incorporating it into his performance.
As you might guess, he's not a fan of Mr. Trump…but one of the things that impressed me about Jefferies was that he wasn't just up there telling his audience what he thought it wanted to hear. He said a lot of things some of us didn't want to hear…and when he did so, he not only made us all laugh, I think he made some of us think, "Hey, that guy's got a point." There are a lot of comics who try to do that and fall short on both counts. He was also in total command of the stage. The fisticuffs in the audience didn't shake him. A heckler in the balcony didn't shake him…and he put that guy away in a most entertaining manner that pretty much ensured no further hecklers.
I'd quote lines but this kind of thing is always a "you had to be there" moment…and anyway, I'm sure this will all be an HBO or Netflix special before long. Better you should hear it from him than from me. But if you've liked this guy on TV or YouTube and he's coming your way soon, get tickets in a hurry. I've never seen a great comedian who wasn't way better in person than he was on HBO and this man is a great comedian. Just don't bring grandma and if you do, warn her not to heckle.