This Friday, there was an unusual buzz on campus. And not just for the upcoming weekend or for the presence of something which many of us could vaguely remember being called the sun. It was impossible to walk around without hearing “What are you doing before the show tonight?” “Did you get tickets?”, and of course “Are you drinking before?” No, the student population was not talking about the next Goo Goo Dolls concert, but instead about the coming of Dane Cook, one of the country’s hottest young comics.
The 33 year-old Cook is experiencing major success, as seen by his selection as Stuff Magazine’s Comic of the Year and the “Hot Comic” in Rolling Stone Magazine. Throughout his 14 year career in comedy (not limited to stand up, as seen in his movie appearances in “Mystery Men,” “Simon Sez,” “Torque,” and most recently “Stuck on You”), Cook has worked on developing an ever-loyal fan base. Staying after every show to meet each fan who is willing to wait in line to speak to him, Cook aims to please his young followers. Not only does this charge his high-energy live performance, but it sparked his debut CD “Harmful if Swallowed” to sell over 130,000 copies; extraordinarily high for a comedy CD. His follow up CD “Retaliation” is due out in May. Cook’s website also provides information about his MySpace account as well as his AIM name, encouraging his fans to all reach out and make contact.
For all the students who couldn’t wake up before the crack of noon last Thursday (tickets were actually gone around 10 a.m.) they couldn’t help but wonder “Why the hell couldn’t I get tickets?” The answer is because this was unprecedented. Marc Rosenblitt, SA special events coordinator, informed the press after the show, “Had any of us anticipated in any way this kind of draw to it, there probably would have been a much different approach to it.” Rosenblitt reiterated that Cook had in fact sold out tickets faster than any act he has seen in his seven year tenure at his position. Cook’s popularity caught them by surprise and had they known the extent of his fan base, one could have seen Cook in Alumni with its larger capacity seating.
8:12 p.m. at the CFA, the lights dim and the crowd bursts into cheers as they anticipate Cook’s entrance. This isn’t a comedy show, it’s a kegger and the host has just arrived. There is a sudden hush as the crowd calms, realizing that the comic on stage is not Dane Cook, but is Jay Davis, the opening act. The Floridian native, Davis faces an enormous task, entertaining the crowd while fending off barbs about how much his beloved Dolphins suck, and general screams of “Fuck you, we want Cook!” He isn’t opening up for the Stones, but in this rock atmosphere, he might as well be. But Davis, an ex-bartender, is un-phased by the harassment and manages to win over the crowd.
After a brief set, Davis drives the crowd into a frenzy as he introduces Dane Cook. The roar exceeds that of Hoobastank, Lost Prophets, and Incubus combined, but then again maybe it’s the confines of the CFA. Cook enters and immediately starts to walk, jog, run, and prance his way across the length of the stage. Breaking away from the classic routine of standing still under the spotlight (which caused one of the funniest moments of the night when Cook eluded the spotlight and then preceded to harass the operator of it screaming “Did you faint?”), Cook uses every part of the stage, keeping the audience captivated as he runs, kicks, and crawls more than Scott Weiland, lead singer for Velvet Revolver.
Cook informs the crowd from the onset to be ready for “a lotta ha-ha.” One of Cook’s defining characteristics which makes it easy to identify him immediately is his play on language, constantly inventing new words, and playing with the now hip slang that us young kids like to use these days.
But most notably, Cook has the rare ability, particularly in today’s world of costume malfunctions and FCC’s red-scare-like control of the media, to say whatever the hell he wants. Playing up the classic themes of sex, drugs, and as Cook observes, “we love violence,” he looks at the line of “decency” and leaps over it, not shying away from jokes about punching babies or defecating on coats. Sitting in the crowd, the three most common reactions when audible through the laughter were, “Oh my god,” “That’s horrible, and “Did he say that?”.
Cook manages to attack any and all subjects honestly, and his audience loves him for it. At one point early in the set some female fans screamed out to him where Cook coyly replied “I’m getting laid tonight… bunch of sluts,” which nearly brought the crown to its knees (no pun intended). His ability to speak his mind is only second to his capability to find something where everyone in the room can relate to, whether it be the creepy guy at your job, crying during “Field of Dreams” and “Extreme Makeover,” the friend in your group no one likes, re-inventing the car alarm song, your drunken friends, and most notably his description in full detail of what it’s like to vomit at a party – elaborating on the crazed poses in the bathroom, and suggesting while vomiting to think as yourself as “vomit breathing dragon” in order to make the process more enjoyable.
The joke that brought the crowd to a frenzy was near the end of his act when Cook described the one thing everyone does on a sick day: watch the “Price is Right.” Never before has Bob Barker made that many college students scream, but perhaps the pre-gaming and alcohol had some slight effect on the party-focused crowd.
Cook leaves the same way he enters, to a screaming crowd, except at the end of the show they all stood and shout even louder; it took Jay Davis to take the stage to thank everyone for coming, and kill the notion of an encore before everyone relented and started to file out the doors in search of the next party which could only try to get half the energy still sitting in the CFA theater.
