Big Laughs

Chris Rock says he can tell a comedy festival audience. "They know the album cuts, as opposed to just the hits."

His pal Jerry Seinfeld agrees a festival draws "more fans of comedy, as opposed to people just looking for an evening out."

Or, as Wanda Sykes puts it, "a real comedy audience, not like the people stopping by on their way to the buffet."

Seinfeld plays the Colosseum at Caesars Palace a few times each year, but the third edition of The Comedy Festival put him in back-to-back concerts with Rock today and Saturday. They're separate tickets, but who knows? Maybe the "Bee Movie" co-stars will turn up onstage together as well.

"We might do something -- the second night," Rock volunteered during a September teleconference to promote the festival.

"We haven't planned anything, but comedians, we're kind of loose," Seinfeld added.

However it shakes out, the festival is one of returns, reunions and relaunches. There's something for all tastes in comedy. The only thing the third annual gathering at Caesars Palace won't do is break down the walls of niche-branded stand-up: The latest incarnations of "Def Comedy Jam" and "Blue Collar Comedy" are next door to one another and both at 8 p.m. today.

Rock first played Las Vegas as part of The Comedy Store at the Dunes in 1989. He was on a bill with Pauly Shore and May May Ali, the champ's daughter. "Yeah. I paid my dues," he says.

"I remember it because I didn't have any money, and I used to have to really time the free buffets," Rock recalls. "I didn't have any money until the end of the week."

Rock was a stand-up star and "Saturday Night Live" breakout by 1992, when hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons created the "Def" brand for HBO. After a nine-year absence, Simmons revived the show with HBO last year, and today offers live audiences a showcase overseen by the new season's host, D.L. Hughley.

"What I liked about the new series is (Hughley) is politically so much more astute (than Mike Epps, who hosted the return season)," Simmons says. Hughley is "a sophisticate who speaks from the street in a way that you understand it. No matter who you are, you hear and understand the social and political ramifications of what he says."

Simmons says the show was still popular when HBO retired it in early 1997, but it wasn't about ratings. "It was about new subscribers. (The network) had already gotten the biggest boost they could ever have among African-Americans and other minorities."

The show also had reached the point where its alumni had eclipsed the showcase; individual comedians such as Cedric the Entertainer and Dave Chappelle were getting their own TV deals. "These guys became big stars and they were more important than the brand," Simmons says. "We all agreed, even though it has huge ratings we weren't making new stars."

The "Def Jam" format of packaged, like-minded comedy spawned the "Blue Collar" franchise. Simmons considers it a knock-off, but says, "If I find a hole and I start digging in that hole, somebody else digging beside me makes the dirt softer."

"Blue Collar Comedy: The Next Generation" will be taped today to air Saturday on TBS. "Blue Collar" original Bill Engvall hosts the show, aimed to introduce new comedy faces as well as set the stage for the second season of Engvall's sitcom on the cable channel.

Michael Wright, who oversees original programming for TBS, says the showcase is a one-shot deal at this point. "We don't control the 'Blue Collar' franchise, we're just thrilled to be able to have it for this particular special."

The festival also shows how far Sykes has come since 1997, when she was a writer who gradually gained camera time on HBO's "The Chris Rock Show."

Sykes doesn't expect to hear any jokes she wrote in Rock's weekend sets. "I'm sure he's moved on," she says with a laugh. "If Chris Rock is still saying a joke that I did, I will be honored. Highly unlikely. But it was an honor to write for him back then."

She is one of many comedians who divide their time between stand-up and acting. Her Las Vegas headlining debut on Saturday is part of a stand-up tour that was well-timed with the Writers Guild of America strike.

If the strike goes on, "Maybe I'll try to team up with Criss Angel," she quips. "I love being in front of a camera, I love doing TV shows and movies and all, but I like to write. Especially material that I perform, which is perfect" given the strike.

Rock said he planned to spend the week before the festival tuning up in clubs, while Seinfeld says he "never just completely roll(s) the dice" with new material in large concert halls. "I think Chris is a little more of a gambler than I am."

Both remain stand-ups tried and true, beyond bee movies or decade-defining sitcoms. It's the "second act" that counts, says Seinfeld.

"Every comedian gets that first thing together," he explains. "Then they get some heat in the business and start doing some things, and then they kind of drop (stand-up). That's usually what happens. Chris and I have that in common, that we didn't drop it. We wanted to stay with it and keep it growing."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0288.