First, a few disclosures. I am not a stoner. I haven't smoked a joint since the pre-9/11 era. I have never bought, or considered buying, a bong. I have never grown weed, bought more than a sixteenth of hash in a single purchase, or even learnt how to roll a joint. I do not own any DJ Shadow records. I thought both Harold and Kumar films were middling. And while I've heard of Cheech and Chong, and might even admit to finding Up in Smoke kind of amusing, I know the duo best from their solo work: Tommy Chong in That '70s Show, and Cheech Marin for his indispensable supporting parts in Nash Bridges and The Golden Palace.
But hey, comedy's comedy, right? The first bad sign on Saturday evening was the supporting act, Tommy Chong's wife Shelby, who warmed up the crowd with fifteen minutes of stale, frequently racist gags about pedophile priests, immigrants and black dicks. (Sample gag: "What's the definition of a Mexican? An Indian with an education." At least the crowd had the energy to boo that one.) But the non-supporting act wasn't that much better, either. Cheech and Chong, who famously don't get along, haven't performed together in over 25 years: this, their reunion tour, doesn't seem to have any real reason for existing (see also: The Verve), but the audience on Saturday seemed plenty happy about it, giving the duo standing ovations on at least three separate occasions.
Mostly, they performed sketches from their records, with an extended riff on the opening scene from Up in Smoke, alongside some songs ("Born in East LA," "Mexican Americans," et al) and a few stand-up routines from Chong about his time in prison. (Chong was sentenced to nine months in a correctional institute in 2003, for selling water pipes on the internet). There's a chance the act might get slicker as the tour progresses, but this was sloppy stuff. ("We had to watch our old routines on YouTube to get up to speed," Chong revealingly told the audience.) Sound cues were missed, lines were fluffed, with Marin looking particularly exasperated every time Chong tried to improvise.
Not that any of this weekend's audience cared — but if Cheech and Chong want to elevate their reunion beyond "take the money and run" status, they're going to have to stop getting wasted and start learning some discipline.