Abdul On Stage

After a year of hearing about radio host Abdul Hakim-Shabazz having the stand-up comic alter ego for about a year, I finally got to witness his act, and without having to drive to Springfield, IL, where he often goes to do it.

Abdul opened for former Saturday Night Live cast member Victoria Jackson last night at Crackers in Broad Ripple, and in my opinion, was the best of the three comics this evening.

My favorite Abdul gag was the one about frivilous racial lawsuits, such as the recent one against Southwest Airlines. Abdul's got his own waiting in the wings. It has to do with opening aspirin bottles and having to pick cotton out of them. Abdul warmed to his routine as he progressed through it and won the crowd over by time he handed the mic off to the next comic.

He's been saying on his morning show that there is a lot of material in his act that he can't use on WXNT. He delivered in that as much as I've heard him on the air, there were plenty of lines I've never heard from him before, and actually, he probably could use it on the air without any worries from the FCC.

I ended up feeling a bit sorry for Jackson. It can't be good for the self-esteem trading on the good ol' SNL days, being a platinum blond telling dumb blond jokes, and getting some of the biggest applause for doing a handstand.