Some Louis C.K. fans may have been dissuaded from buying tickets to his back-to-back shows at Music Hall at Fair Park this week by the $50-per-head price tag and the fact that the shows are on weeknights. But one factor made the shows worth the sacrifice: The first of the two immediately followed Election Day. No matter who won, it would be a must-see event.
As you may have seen during C.K.’s recent Conan appearance, C.K. was all in for Hillary Clinton. He told O’Brien and the world last week, “If you vote for Hillary, you’re a grownup; if you vote for Trump, you’re a sucker; if you don’t vote for anybody, you’re an asshole.” Dallas would either get a “hell yeah” victory speech if Clinton won or a profane “what were you thinking” tirade if the victor was Donald Trump.
When it became apparent late Tuesday/early Wednesday morning that the presidential election was not going Clinton's way, it was a comfort to know that C.K. would shortly be tearing the nation a new one for electing Trump. Except that's not what happened Wednesday.
His reaction was more along the lines of “Oh, well.” C.K. took the stage to a rousing ovation, and once the crowd simmered down, he said, “This was a weird day.” Of course, everyone knew what he was talking about, just as he knew why people on the streets of New York on Wednesday morning were wandering around in a daze or openly weeping — “just crying vowels.”
C.K. said it was the rare day when you never had to ask someone what was wrong; you just knew. One stranger recognized him on the street and asked him, “What are we going to do now?” C.K. didn’t know what to say, other than the truth: “I’m going to Dallas.” During his set’s opening minutes he refrained from mentioning either candidate by name.
C.K. said he noticed a much different attitude once he arrived at his hotel in Dallas. As he sat in lobby, he observed people walking briskly, seemingly with pep in their steps and songs in their hearts. He acknowledged that some people in the audience must have been happy with the result of the election, and when that statement was greeted by a few hoots and hollers, his response was along the lines of “Good luck with all that.”
He also mentioned that one of his daughters asked him what Trump’s victory meant, and he told her that was more her problem than his, because he’ll be dead soon. Then he moved onto the rest of his set, which was fresh to faithful consumers of his work. And although he touched on many topics that were discussed on the campaign trail — including abortion, education and ISIS — C.K.’s set provided an hour of respite from worries about the election and our nation's uncertain future. And that's well worth $50.
Louis C.K. has another sold-out show scheduled at the Music Hall at Fair Park this evening. If you can’t find tickets on the secondary market, you may have better luck with his four-night stand in Austin, Jan. 4 to 7.