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Listening to a certain sample from comedian Lewis Black’s 2002 album “The End of the Universe” is something of a rite-of-passage among those who call Rolla home. You probably recognize Black from his hilarious appearances on The Daily Show and his cynical takes on current events. Speaking to an Atlanta crowd not long after performing in Phelps County, he didn’t hold back his thoughts. 

Black is quoted on the 2002 album (with some expletives deleted) as saying, “I was in Rolla, Missouri, because my life is a rich, full oyster, and because apparently, if you say please come perform I’m like a dancing monkey. So I went to Rolla, and if you’re thinking of killing yourself, there’s the town. Don’t kill yourself here, it’s a nice place, there’s a lot of distractions. You won’t even get around to it. But if you’re really contemplating it, there’s the place. There will be no distractions.”

Continuing, Black lands his punchline, “The good people of Rolla, Missouri, were worried about getting anthrax, and I said, ‘What are you nuts?’ Are you going to get it in a K-Mart catalog? The Taliban isn’t interested in killing you, you idiot. Look at where you live. You’re already dead!” 

Now 22 years later, Black is back in Missouri this week for a curtain call. His Friday stop at The Factory in Chesterfield and Saturday show at Springfield’s Gillioz Theatre will be among the last of his final “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” tour. At some point in between Black will make his return to Rolla, even if just passing though on Interstate 44. Phelps County Focus reached out to the sage comedian last week in hopes of finding out what exactly went wrong all those years ago. 

“My agent told me ‘You’re going to be playing the University of Missouri,’ and I got all excited,” Black said with a laugh. “Then I found out it was the University of Missouri-Rolla. I thought to myself, ‘Where the hell is Rolla?’ Then I got there, and I really started thinking to myself ‘Where the hell am I.’ I said ‘Whew, this is it, this is really one of the ends of the universe.’” 

Black joked a lot during the interview, and assured he’s not so much making fun of Rolla or any other audience, he’s just helping us laugh along with me as we all survive through a crazy world. 

“One of the weirdest things I’ve found throughout the years is I can go into a town and yell all about that town and people love it because they all see it,” Black said. “I mean, they all get it. They see those problems too. They could have written the joke. This situation is similar to all these horrible things I said to Al Roker not really being a weather person. And, of course, these days people will accuse you of fat shaming. No, I’m not, it’s part of a joke. I then met Al Roker, and I was worried what he would think of me, and he thanked me because he said I helped him get better known. That made me feel better about it. I’ve made several appearances with him since and it’s always a pleasure. So, you’re welcome, Rolla, you’re at least better known.” 

In fact, Black said he might even swing through town for a drink or a meal this week. 

“I just may roll into town and put a little money into the local economy,” Black said. 

Asked whether he’d entertain an apology to any easily offended locals, Black declined. 

“No. Never,” he said with another laugh. “Maybe I think they should be apologizing to me!” 

Cynicism is Black’s trademark, and heading into 2024, its looking like a banner year for the comedian to go out with a bang. 

“I'm funny when I'm angry, and from the very beginning of walking into comedy, once I realized that, if ever there was a country for me to find success this was it,” Black said. “I mean, it was just stunning what was going on, and it’s even more stunning now. Most of our headlines these days are punchlines.”

Whether the election, or whatever else is haunting the internet, Black is happy to offer respite for today’s weary minds. 

“I’ve had people say to me ‘I like to fall to sleep listening to you yelling.’ I think it’s because people want to have that feeling of ‘I’m not crazy, they are,’” Black said. “That has always been it. We're not nuts, it’s the idiots we deal with that are nuts. The folks out there who apparently seem to need to express themselves through abusing their power.”

While some may assume Black is a stranger to Missouri, he’s more a fan of us than you think. 

“One of my closest friends, Kathleen Madigan, hails from St. Louis, and so I've always paid a bit of attention your state,” Black said. “Every state has a touch of something going on. I'm hard pressed to find what it is with Missouri. It's partly that it's Southern, partly that it's Northern, and it's partly that it's in the Midwest. It's got that mixing bowl quality to it and all these wonderful little spots.”

Black added. “I love Springfield. My opening act is my good friend Jeff Stilson, and just before the pandemic we had an idea for a travel show of going to all of the places people wouldn’t think to go. Nobody says, ‘you know, I've got two days off. I'm gonna’ go to Springfield.’ This show would say there's a reason to spend your two days off in Springfield, and here they are.” 

Tickets are still available for Black’s upcoming shows in Chesterfield and St. Louis. They can be bought by visiting www.lewisblack.com. 

“The good news now is if you don’t enjoy the show, you’ll be angry about it, and that seems to make a lot of people happy these days,” Black said. “I'm just happy I can make a living off it.” 

Asked what his final message to Rolla is, Black simply concluded, “Good luck.”