Razor-sharp Rock flashes his skills

When Chris Rock knows he just knocked a joke out of the park, he squints his eyes, furrows his brow and stretches a giant smile across his face.

The audience inside the sold-out Orpheum Theatre saw a lot of Rock's pearly whites Friday night.

The comedian came to Minneapolis after spending much of the past six months on his "No Apologies" tour. And before that, he reportedly spent the last half of 2007 perfecting the show in small clubs.

Through movies, television and standup, the 43-year-old from Brooklyn is often hailed as one of the best comedians on the planet, and he showed why with Friday's nearly 2-hour set. Ticket-buyers backed up his worth, some shelling out three times the original $49.50 price to scalpers.

In that familiar voice -- sometimes screechy but always commanding -- Rock pushed through his material without a hitch. He hit the stage in a dark-blue suit as news headlines flashed across a giant screen -- all topics he would dissect with razor-sharp wit.

On gas prices: "Gas is so expensive I'm surprised half of you made it here tonight."

On government priorities: "We ain't trying to get Bin Laden. The United States is [too busy] trying to get Roger Clemens."

On President Bush's mistakes: "He made it hard for a white man to run for president."

On Barack Obama's campaign: "He's so calm and cool, sometimes I don't even think he realizes he's the black candidate."

On Hillary Clinton: "If you can't beat a black man in Iowa, you don't deserve to be president."

Obviously, race is still one of his favorite topics. He sees it everywhere, he said, even in his affluent New Jersey suburb. The only other black people living there, he said, are those at the top of their professions: Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and Denzel Washington. His white neighbor is only a dentist.

"Do you know what a black dentist would have to do to move into my neighborhood," he asked. "He would have to invent teeth."

While the show moved briskly, Rock didn't fumble once -- evidence that this was a supremely thought-out and worked-over routine.

But he still took time to give the crowd a couple Minnesota jokes (on us). And he knew just where to hit us: Kevin Garnett's trade. The mere mention brought boos (all in good fun).

"Hey, get mad at McHale," Rock said. "That was the worst trade I ever heard in my life."

He tried comforting us, saying, "You'll be all right. Better luck next 20 years."

That time, his grin reached ear to ear.

Tom Horgen • 612-673-7909