Review by Erin Harkes

Aziz Ansari performed at the Palace Theatre last Tuesday night, and I’m still laughing days later.

The show opened with an announcement by “DJ Eggplant Parm,” who was clearly and hilariously Anzari. Set some ground rules for behavior that should go without saying but, alas, never does. Here are some common sense manners. Please and thank you.

Opener Moshe Kasher was succinct and hilarious. Flawlessly opened with the typical “insert-your-city-here” joke, which every crowd eats right up. Referred to his attire as “Hipster Dockworker,” which was uproarious. Recognized and poked fun at the overall whiteness of the audience and then teased everyone with his sexual ambiguity. His set time was the absolute perfect length – just enough to warm up, but still leave the audience wanting to Google him soon after.

Then, without introduction or fanfare, Aziz Ansari took the stage to gradual erupting applause. It was an interesting approach that made most audience members kind of go, “Oh, wow, look who it is!” Anzari took the stage in a stylish three-piece suit, opening the show by telling the audience how obnoxious and distracting it is to have his picture taken during the performance… so if you must take a picture, take it now. While the flashes went off in the audience, he joked about how the pictures wouldn’t come out anyway, and everyone would be confused later when looking at them. He went on to ask that people not play with their phones because there’s nothing that can’t wait an hour, and regardless of the hundreds of other attentive audience members he was most likely going to notice you. Then he endeared us with a bit of vulnerability. He even got this iPhone addict to put hers away for the rest of the show’s entirety.

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