Saw Craig In Windsor Sunday Night

At Caesar's Windsor for Craig's "Hot And Grumpy Tour".

Prior to the show, I sat down in a cluster of couches, relaxing. They were set up near where show merchandise was being sold. Smaller posters, tees...Craig, you know we luv ya, but $35 for a tee? A heavy set guy and a boy of about 12 were manning the tables. I thought about asking them which one was "hot" and which one was "Grumpy", but figured they'd heard that one enough.

I sat next to a nice couple from Cleveland, who had driven to Detroit and into Canada, just for the show, and were driving back to Cleveland immediately after. She was a special ed teacher, and had to be back for a 7:30 am school meeting, on her last day of school. The husband was the bigger fan of the two, and eager for the show. "Is he good?"

The fans were everything from 20 something's, to people with walkers or scooters. One woman, aisles ahead of us, walked in with a poster board, wrapped in plastic. The guys on both sides of me where like, "whaaaa??" At one point, she turned enough for us to read it: "Craig, can I smell your finger?"

The show started late...people were still coming in at a quarter after eight.
Finally, the lights went down.

A new opening act for Craig, his name was Mike, I think. Don't remember his last name, but his set was fun! He's drier than Craig, but enjoyable.

He left the stage, and all was dark. "Ding dong!" And with that, the music started, and out pranced Secretariat. They put some fun moves together. Not exactly choreography, but you get the idea. And then, out comes Craig! He joined in, and they danced the same steps. You know, the kicking backwards "run". Craig was wearing skinny jeans, a tee under a partially zipped jacket. Not sure what the coat was made of, but it wasn't his usual leather coat.

The crowd went nuts, and he reveled in the adoration. Big grin, acknowledging the crowd. That's when the woman with the sign jumped up. That sucker had flashing lights, so he could see it! (unfortunately, I don't think he saw it. She missed other opportunites, as he actually mentioned "smell my finger" later)

I won't give away his set, but I thought his performance was more like his early years. He told stories, he mentioned comments from both of his parents during his youth. He expanded on a story about his past that he had referred to numberous times on his show. The twinkle was back in his eye, he made himself laugh heartily at one point. And yes, he stalked the stage.

A couple of times during his performance, I looked at the crowd. The guy from Cleveland was really laughing! The guy to my right was loving it too. A woman behind me to the left was laughing out loud.

He did some of his standards, the "casinos as far as the eye can see", and a couple of his other regulars, but he muted those, just a bit, for newer jokes.

I'd rank this performance pretty high, and much better than the last time I saw him, about 2-3 years ago. As much as I might miss the LLS, having this much time off, has brought him back to himself. Or at least, almost on track with his earlier performances. Living life gives him new things to talk about.

Don't get me wrong--he hasn't mellowed, exactly. The F-bombs were flying constantly--but he seemed a bit calmer inside.