W. Kamau Bell performs Thu.-Fri., Feb. 25-26, at Stage Werx Theatre (533 Sutter St., San Francisco). 8 p.m., $20-$50.

Enter the password BLACKERSON for cheeep tix.

It’s hard to do left-wing political humor without devolving into platitudes and homilies, especially when most of your jokes center on race — and most of your race jokes are black and white. W. Kamau Bell is the rare guy who does it really, really well. So well, in fact, that he manages to sustain a huge fan base with a pretty high median IQ. Most of that owes to his writing. A judicious humorist, Bell is extremely charismatic and has a huge personal cache of pop culture references. (The title of his new album, Face Full of Flour, derives from an old-school Rice Krispies commercial in which a mom puts flour on her face to look like she slaved away on a batch of Rice Krispies treats.) Bell even breaks the fourth wall to analyze his own jokes (“The Russian judges gave me a ‘ten’ for technical difficulty,” he says of a bit called “Barack Is Too Smooth — Throw Some Flour on Your Face”). He knows right away which current events will fit into his purview, and what kind of twist to put on them. A single punch line takes him from Rice Krispies to “whiteface.” Read More…

Blacktastic Black History Month Blacktacular … Black!

Date/Time:Daily from Thu., February 25 until Fri., February 26

Price: $20-$50 Contact Info: | Event Website

For Whom …

By Hiya Swanhuyser

“Comedian” is a small term for a person who does standup, but also directs, teaches, and wields PowerPoint like a light saber. W. Kamau Bell is all that and a political commentator at his new show, Blacktastic Black History Month Blacktacular … Black! And he must be called comedian, since we have no other word for a professionally funny person other than “funnyperson,” and we don’t like that one. Bell’s the first person to have made a joke about Barack Obama, (according to Comedy Central), the star of several recent long-running shows, and a man we recently had the pleasure to describe as “blowing the fuck up.” L.A. has noticed him, suffice to say. He’s also a profligate reTweeter. A new CD, Face Full of Flour wonders “why black + white = black,” among other things. Bell is known for to-the-instant topicality, so expect him to take the piss out of John Mayer and muse on liveblogging Precious, plus commentary on Black History Month, aka “awkward MacDonald’s commercials about Harriet Tubman.”

My episode of Spark airs again THIS WEEK! Apparently, I’m an artist now. I talk racism, Pumpkin Pie, & you get to meet the elusive White Mike Johnson!

Westerhout, Bell, and Blades

See a preview of this Spark episode.

• Play Real Media

Spark follows photographer Katherine Westerhout inside a forgotten West Oakland landmark — the 16th Street Train Station. Once the terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, this Beaux Arts gem has been off-limits since 1989, but that might be about to change.

Next, comedian W. Kamau Bell shares his wry observations on race and his personal stories about being black in an Obama-era America.

Then, meet Wil Blades, a virtuoso at playing a soulful instrument from a bygone era, the B3 organ.

Upcoming Broadcasts:

Wed, Feb 10, 2010 — 7:30pm email reminder
Thu, Feb 11, 2010 — 1:30am email reminder
Fri, Feb 12, 2010 — 11:30pm email reminder
more airings»

Here are some hot of the presses clips of The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour from last year at The Comedy Central Stage in Los Angeles. Enjoyapate!

If you liked ‘em there’s more over at my YouTube Page.