Hi,

First before telling you about the delightful Cosby Concert I attended, I have to comment on the articles Becca just posted. I am "amazed" at the pace our Bill keeps going at - he is a man who cares! - both in his professional and personal lives, and more importantly, his being so active in the causes and issues he is concerned and passionate about - particularly education - and "somehow" he finds the time to be actively involved AND to do something about them all. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for both him and all his efforts.

I commented the other day when we ran across his concert schedule on his new website -

http://billcosby.com/

that his performance schedule is almost grueling. Why would he keep to a schedule like that (plus all the graduation ceremonies and charitable functions), and not even including all the social issues he finds the time to be actively involved with ?? .... but I think I now have the answer, he "loves" to be on stage, and he loves what he is doing!!

The staff at Wolf Trap Park where Bill performed, said that he was on stage way longer than his average performance - he was just having a great time and so were we!!

In contrast to Becca's great socially/politically-relevant articles, our evening with Bill was pure entertainment - the "wonderfulness" of Bill Cosby, the entertainer, on stage for 2 hrs. and 45 minutes - alone (no intro. act) - with no breaks, no intermission ... under those hot lights on a large, empty stage on a warm summer's evening (he said he felt like a chicken in a rotisserie)! He was the warm and funny and "oh so astute" Bill we love so dearly .... It was a totally sold-out performance, for both the seats and the "sitting on the lawn" areas. What I noticed immediately were the mixed ages of the crowd - it was great to see young adults in their twenties all the way up to gray-haired grandmas all thoroughly enjoying his humor and observations. In all honesty, I had expected a far older crowd. But our Bill draws them all in!!

His rapport and bonding with the audience were immediate ... he sat down and started telling you stories .... "wonderful" stories about the shared commonalities in our human condition (of course, as filtered THROUGH his marvelous mind and from the angle of his viewpoint of the world). He is amazingly funny and so very perceptive!!

Bill dresses for comfort these days - crocs, a Wolf Trap t-shirt - but on the back of his chair, prominently displayed is a "Hello Friends" sweatshirt. "Hello Friends" is the Ennis Cosby Foundation in memory of his son promoting educational programs, especially for children with "learning differences." The only things on stage are a chair, a small table, some water, and a box of kleenex. There is also a wastepaper basket, which leads to a very funny story about Mrs. Cosby's edict that it be placed there and the events surrounding it.

Over the next few hours he covered (and regaled us with stories and observations about) wives and husbands and husbands and wives - and husbands vainly trying to assert themselves and their manhood - kids, grandkids, and kids going off to college - his classic and very funny "dentist" routine with a mouthful of Novocain (he said he first wrote this one over 30 years ago) - what happened to the term "secretary" - observations on oatmeal - expensive upscale restaurants and their pretentious and often bizarrely funny menu items - Viagra - the historical reason (according to Bill) as to why wives stand with their hands on their hips - home security systems - his physique then and now (yes, he mentioned that he will be 70 on July 12th) - medications and their side effects, etc., etc. etc. - some train of thought, some old routines, some new - all very, very funny!! ... all wonderful, wonderful stories!!

Some of his best moments were his interactions with the audience - groovin' together! There was a young husband and wife (and her sister and her boyfriend) in the front row. The married couple had escaped their 3 young children for the evening - and Bill took them on (even getting down on all fours) and leaning off the stage. He wouldn't let them go. It was all spontaneous and delightfully funny. He took them on, and put them on, and they held their own (for a little bit), but Bill and his delightful, razor sharp mind triumphed over all.

He was very funny, very warm, and very vibrant .... it's obvious he loves what he is doing, and we love him back for doing it ....

And interestingly, he still sounds much like Scotty --- not Dr. Huxtable, or the Dr. Cosby we hear on serious issues, but more "Scotty." Of course, Culp and Cosby were ad-libbing a goodly amount of time on "I SPY" - so Cosby's own cadence and mannerisms came shining through Scotty - and 40 years hasn't changed it all that much.

Bill has had many successes - as an actor, writer, author, musician, producer, social activist, etc., etc., but his forte was and always will be as a master story-teller. That's his gift! You feel his joy at being on stage as a stand-up (and these days a "sit-down" and often on the floor on all fours) comic. This is Cosby at his best - and that best is pretty amazing!

Since I followed the rules about cameras being strictly prohibited (though there were some flashes coming from the audience), I don't have any photos to share ... BUT here's the next best thing!! This gentleman posted some photos from a Cosby concert in 2006 - go ALL the way down to the bottom of this page - and you'll find Cosby in concert photos AND even a short video clip from his "dentist" routine.

http://www.jimwcoleman.com/photoblog/2006/11/

It was a delightful evening - and a good time was had by all - by the guy up on the stage in the spotlight and the people enjoying it with him.

As always,
Tatia

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Hi Tatia, thank you for your very descriptive review - I feel almost like I was there! Like you I am in awe of the fact that Mr. Cosby is so active and involved at his age with apparently no thought of slowing down. Every day there is something in the news about him appearing at some event or gathering and it seems he spends nearly as much time on the road as Scotty did

I may have mentioned this previously, but my family saw Mr. Cosby a few times in Vegas in the 70's, and I remember my mom laughing so hard she couldn't breathe. That's one of the great things about his act was we could see it together as a family and he never sunk to the kind of dirty humor and foul language that is the norm today in stand-up comedy. I guess some may consider him a throwback now, but I wish there were more like him!

Becca

Thank you for the wonderful Cosby Concert report Tatia. I’m glad he’s still out there doing what he does. I’ve been revisiting his early comedy albums for the first time in many years. He released eight comedy LPs for the Warner Brothers label between about 1963 and 1969:

Bill Cosby Is A Very Funny Fellow Right!
I Started Out As A Child
Why Is There Air?
Wonderfulness
Revenge
To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With
200 M.P.H.
It’s True! It’s True!

My brother and I discovered him via “Wonderfulness” (which led, in time, to me checking out I Spy) and eventually we picked up the earlier ones, and the later ones as they came out. I remember feeling at the time that the quality began to drop off after “Revenge”. His style did evolve. In the “Very Funny Fellow Right” album he tackles more conventional comedy subjects (in his unique style of course). Then he began using his own childhood as a source of material, and then his wife and his own small children. I think what I felt then was that his earlier stuff was denser, and more tightly scripted, and with time he got looser and more improvisational. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I do recall being disappointed with the last couple of Warner Brothers releases. He then switched over to the Universal City Records (UNI) label. We picked up the first couple of those:

‘Live’ At Madison Square Garden
When I Was A Kid

We were a bit under whelmed by these and it sort of ended the love affair. What may be a key difference between the early albums and the later ones is that the early ones were performed in smaller clubs and were heavily edited. Often you can hear the edits. So I think things were tightened up a bit. The later ones tend to be from large venues and are closer to documenting the actual concert experience. The thing that’s missing from all these albums is the physical side to his humor. We’re only getting half the story. Sometimes the audience laughs and he hasn’t said anything. You have to imagine what he’s doing by selecting from the library of Cosby expressions and attitudes stored in your head. In my current revisit I’m only up to “Russell” and I liked it quite a bit. So we’ll see. I may end up strongly disagreeing with my 16 year old self (I'm sorry to report that, in general, he didn’t know a hell of a lot!). One thing I’ve noticed is that most of the stuff on these albums sounds like it could have just been recorded. There is very little that sounds dated. The humor is timeless.

Jimmy