I don't remember having ever watched stand-up as funny as this. Seriously, this is now #1 on my list. Must. Watch. (Trigger warning for... Well, everyone who thinks they need a "trigger warning," probably 😂)

@PorterUk - While I agree with the gist of what you are saying, I disagree with the substance, so, "please, allow me to retort". (best Samuel L voice) While comedy does indeed come in many flavors, all great comedy has an edge that pokes the bears of our societal "sacred cows" while at the same time making us go "hmmmmmm..." Pryor's comedy, while indeed ground breaking, (Lenny Bruce and "blue" "chitlin circuit" comics like Redd Fox, Mom's Mabley, Dick Gregory notwithstanding) was often self deprecating, and actually poked fun at himself later in his career. Carlin IMO kind of got mean in his later years, and just thought anyone that wasn't him was just stupid. Murphy in a way, lost his edge when he decided to be a movie star rather than a comedian, and seemed more concerned with good reviews and being bankable than "poking the bear". Chris Rock, in spite of the brave face he put on after the Oscar dust up, in the back of his mind has to be thinking "is this over the line?" when he writes jokes now, thus, taking the temper off his perceived edge.

Chapelle straight WALKED AWAY from millions in his PRIME, and, in the interim there was this sea change that we now call "wokeness", which as Bill Burr alluded to, is really just the repressed childhood anger and fear of people with too much time and knowledge, but no WISDOM with which to temper it. When Chapelle came back, he was doing the same observational comedy he did before, but, failed to take notice of the proverbial eggshells which we are now not allowed to tread on, without fear of reprisal. The bits he did that people got upset about, were about real people and things that happened, and those who are the most vocal about it are like Bill, when he KNOWS he screwed up with his kid, but his wife still has to get in his face and in the end, her rant just fades into the background while he contemplates the meaning of his life.

The key statement you make for me is, "Bill has never reached the heights those others did", thus, (IMO) he doesn't have as much to lose as far as employment opportunities, while the others you mentioned, pretty much have "F.U. money" and will be OK (other than Pryor, who LITERALLY self immolated his career before illness took him, far too soon, RIP.

But I really enjoyed his set, and, you are correct in applauding his takes on the pandemic, feminism, cancel culture, et al. However, several times, he has to pause and cue the audience to point out the irony of what he is saying, or perhaps he's just read the room, and adjusted on the fly. (which is what great comedians do) In either case, it was a great set, and it is well worth the watch.

The throne has had several Kings. All fleeting but nonetheless, they reigned. Pryor, Murphy, Carlin, Rock, Chappelle, now Burr.

Rock peaked 15 years ago - and his recent gigs in the UK tell me he's now well past that prime.

Chappelle peaked about 5 years ago - and has been trading very successfully on it since,right up until he decided to get into a pissing contest with the wokes.

Burr has never reached the heights those others did. He's more your Carlin. He's saying it and not giving a damn. He's right and he's pointing at both sides and showing them they're both stupid. He's the quiet hero.

And by virtue of the other big names all deciding to dumb it down or retread old ground so as not to cause trouble or stand up to the wokes and risk losing, he's the last big-name real comic left. He doesn't care what you think and he's brave enough to say it, knowing that you only get cancelled if they think you fear them.

The first 30 minutes of this special are excellent. Deftly destroying both sides of the pandemic thinking. In front of a bunch of Colorado folk, he's got stones on him - or he realises that a significant portion of the audience are too thick to notice the intracies of what he's saying.

There's a lull then where it doesn't hit as hard and maybe the edit is unkind to him. Then he finishes with a fairly strong flourish.

Given this is the only comedy that isn't designed to use buzzwords to court controversy that I've seen in a few years now, let's acknowledge that he is one of the very few still delivering at a time where everyone feels they're above ridicule.


8/10