Sinbad at the Genesee Theatre, Waukegan

Sinbad
Genesee Theatre, Waukegan
Feb. 14, 8pm (one night only)

Found a metered spot about a block south of the theatre--close enough to leave my coat in the car. (And the meter stopped working at 5pm.) It doesn't feel like a downtown, but it is--even Sinbad made fun of this. Everything is dark. Amusingly, there is a small comedy club very close to the theatre. The theatre is very nice and very lit up--it's visible for several blocks in either direction on Genesee Street. It's only about a 10-minute drive from U.S. 41 and just a couple of minutes farther to I-94.

Sinbad walked onstage at 8:20 and walked off at 10pm. Great show--really enjoyed it. I've seen three HBO Specials he did years ago--one at Morehouse College in Atlanta, one in Denver, and one in the Caribbean. Those were hilarious. Maybe at 52 he's lost some of his edge; I'm not sure. I was actually a little worried about that before going, but I've always wanted to see him live. He shaved his head but has kept the weight off. He may be 200 lbs. but is no longer over 250. I enjoyed some of his discussions of families, kids and relationships. I remember him making fun of latecomers at his Denver show: "Like you got something to do in Denver." Right after he mentioned how things are different because of the new president, some people walked in, and he exclaimed, "You know things are different! Now white people are late!" Hilarious. Very diverse crowd--quite a mix of white and black people. I wish the Asian woman next to me had stayed awake through the entire show. Past her bedtime, I guess. AFter the show, I took U.S. 41 back to Skokie, which is 15 miles of occasional stoplights before merging with the Edens Expressway. I'm not sure if I saved time by not driving out to the I-94 Tollway, but I did save 50 cents.