Dave Chappelle Is Suddenly Performing at Helium This Week

Dave Chappelle, phantom stand-up comic, has spent the decade since walking away his epochal Comedy Central show seemingly doing nothing but lifting weights and popping in randomly at comedy clubs across the country. 

He did it in Portland back in 2009, though that was less a performance than a spectacular tease. He did it again with a last-minute appearance at the Newmark in 2012 and this past October when he played the Schnitz, though with those we had at least some advance warning, he made sure to have an effective sound system. 

Now, he's doing it again: Chappelle is performing a series of intimate, last-minute shows at Helium on SE Hawthorne Boulevard, starting tonight and going through Saturday, May 24. The show announcement appeared out of nowhere on the club's Web site yesterday, accompanied by the rather inauspicious message of "See him live this week!" Like the 2009 debacle, word spread on social media, and by midnight, all six initial shows were sold-out. A pair of Saturday sets were added this morning, and as of this second, tickets were still available.

If you miss your opportunity to snag tickets, our condolences. But hey: couldn't hurt to call around to a few audio rental stores and see if they've loaned out any portable amps today.

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