Tulsa World: Crowd flips for great Dane

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Crowd flips for great Dane
Comic Dane Cook gets the BOK Center audience all riled up.

Stand-up commedian Dane Cook gets expressive at the BOK Center on Thursday evening. STEPHEN HOLMAN/Tulsa World

By KAREN SHADE World Scene Writer
Published: 6/19/2009 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 6/26/2009 3:00 PM

Dane Cook found out something he never knew before Thursday night — he has a lot of friends in Tulsa who would be disappointed if he made his first appearance at the BOK Center his last.

They turned out Thursday for his first live show in T-Town, and no one was not holding back from fanning the fury that this Gen-X comedy star roused.

They waited patiently through two openers, Al Del Bene and Bob Kelly.

As the sequence might suggest, each successive act was better than the one before, although that old adage spoken by another comic, Eddie Izzard, comes to mind: It's more important how you say it than what you say, or something like that.

After introducing Del Bene and Kelly at the beginning via a live telecast from backstage, Cook waited for his moment.

After Kelly left the stage in a self-deprecating rant about aging and losing weight, the arena went dark.

It was soon lit by the large close-up screens high above the small square stage at the center of it all. Then Cook's video introduction started.

All eyes went up to the screens, and the effect was reminiscent of scenes in alien-invasion movies as awestruck earthlings stare up at the green glow of a floating mother ship.

Following the hyped-up play of images and thunder from speakers, the stage finally lit up.

Through the strobes, that simple square of a stage took on the contours of a boxing ring minus the ropes, the first indication that it was going to be a night without limits

and without gloves.

Cook's fan let him know just how welcome he was with deafening shouts and screams that drowned out applause — just a small part of the storm that mixed inside.

That's the way this generation rolls.

But after the theatrics, Cook got on stage looking harmless and displayed that he is definitely a student of the old school of comedy.

He let into celebrity targets such as Hillary Duff and Britney Spears, as well as Facebook, sex and dropping his cell phone in a toilet (not necessarily in that order).

But it might have been Cook's persona that the audience keyed into quickly.

"You are hot tonight, Tulsa. I knew it was going to be fun," he said just before dispensing with the black hoodie bearing his flippant totem and handing it to slight girl who looked surprised when she understood that it was for keeps.

Cook's slightly bad-boy grin and that physical humor that's always been attributed to him were both in full force, but unlike some of the recorded specials of years past, Cook was more at ease and less restless than perhaps some anticipated.

For him, the jokes kept coming, and he told them with the ease of a guy sharing anecdotes over the barbecue grill.

That alone was a decided contrast to the humorless body guards stationed below the mat as they stared out, yawning occasionally and looking not amused at the wild crowd goading Cook to be as irreverent as he was willing to get.

"Tulsa, don't encourage me," he said, laughing.

Tulsa did — and obviously couldn't get enough.

Karen Shade 581-8334
karen.shade@tulsaworld.com By KAREN SHADE World Scene Writer

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Norm, (6/19/2009 12:31:36 PM)

I'm sorry _ I've TRIED to like him. I've listened to 2 of his CD's - watched 2 comedy central specials....and I haven't laughed ONCE.

He doesn't say anything funny - just says stuff in a funny way. He runs around - yells into the microphone, and points at people. Family Guy nailed his act. He is to comedy what David Blaine is to magic. totally un-funny.

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camrilynn, mannford (6/19/2009 3:39:10 PM)

Ive watched him since 04 and LOVED his show. I hope he returns to Tulsa soon. :)

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