The world-renowned DAR Constitution Hall was in for a night of hilarity on October 30th. It was the final show in Chocolate City for comedian Katt Williams’: World War III tour. I had previously seen Mr. Williams in the spring of 2016 when he performed at the Verizon Center. I was a fan of Williams since his appearance as Money Mike in Friday After Next, and his stand-up special The Pimp Chronicles was therapeutic during my first deployment.
Unfortunately, my first time seeing Katt live was a letdown. The jokes weren't rapid, he was befuddled on stage, and his genuine wisdom came off as forced. Thankfully, Katt redeemed himself after an Emmy Award-winning guest-starring performance on the hit show Atlanta and solid supporting work in the films 2 Minutes of Fame and The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2. So when a family friend invited my wife and me for a night out to see Katt live, I gladly took him up on his offer.
Per the norm, the show didn't start on time, which worked in my favor as parking was rather non-existent. Katt's longtime touring associate and D.C. Native, Red Grant, served as the night's host providing the audience with reminiscent anecdotes about growing up in D.C. and utilizing his trademark laugh throughout the night. Zooman Miller was the first comic up, and his set primarily consisted of ageism jokes. Miller alluded confidence and instantly gained an IG follower with my following his set.
Mark Curry was up next. Like most, I first discovered Mark Curry's comedic talents during his TGIF Stint on Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper. I initially thought that Curry was a clean comedian until seeing his HBO special Mark Curry: The Other Side way back in 1996. As an adult, I had a chance to see Curry live back in 2013 or so, and he brought his A-Game. Curry provided a rapid succession of jokes, and a roast of an audience member throughout his set. At the age of sixty, Curry showed no signs of slowing down.
The final opening act of the night was Luenell, who was met with gracious applause from the ladies in the audience. I've always enjoyed Luenell in small spurts in movies, so I was looking forward to seeing her live. Unfortunately, Luenell was not hitting for me, but I loved her confidence on stage in any case.
Finally, it was time for the man of the hour, Mr. Katt Williams. Katt had props on stage that correlated with the theme of his tour, World War III. Throughout a fifty-minute set, Williams swiftly took the stage and delivered jokes on politics, female anatomy, and of course, conspiracies. Williams has grown as a comic and brought up topics that should invoke discussion. However, therein lies some of the problems as his attempt to blend sidesplitting comedy with thought-provoking social commentary didn't always transition well, in my opinion.
Nevertheless, after years spent in the headlines for negative reasons, Williams is a changed man. Katt handled a heckler particularly well who yelled out, "You need Jesus” in a malicious tone before being escorted out. Instead of using the moment to make a joke or roast her, Katt acknowledged her opinion and even let security know they didn't need to put hands on the woman as she left.
My second time seeing Katt Williams live was a vast improvement over my first time. Thus I do recommend checking him out when he's in your city.
Final Grade: B-
Being a comic is a rough road, literally. the pressure to constantly come up with new material better than the time before so that you can eat and pay your bills is a high calling. From what i've learned about comics is that the really hard work is spent during the months and months of draggin ass in the small clubs around the country tryin whatever you got on some really tough audiences. Hard, hard work. By the time we show up at the arena, what we are presented with is the fun part. A tight worked up show that's had all the kinks and bruises smoothed out. Hopefully this special will reamind Katt that no matter…
I saw this tour in OKC, and I thought it sucked. The jokes were elementary at best, with the profanities making up for lack of talent. God help us if this is what the general public considers humorous.
I caught the World War III Tour last night in Las Vegas and your review closely matches mine. Honestly, Red Grant and Mark Curry carried the evening for me. Luenell had a good stint for her spot on the show. Katt had a moment or two with a laugh from me but overall, I wasn't not impressed. Glad I didn't pay for it!