Rodney Carrington @ River City Casino, St. Louis, MO

Words and photos by Duane Clawson

The first rule of a Rodney Carrington show is there are no rules. The second rule is if you’re easily offended, you should probably stay home. No subject is too taboo for Carrington during his two sold out shows at River City Casino in St. Louis! Having meaningless relations with large women (complete with a visual demonstration), politics, and a good ole-fashioned sing along or two, all find the way in to Rodney’s 90-minutes on stage.

Carrington, a Texas native that calls Oklahoma home, has been a staple on the comedy circuit for nearly 25 years. Bombing horribly in his early years, Carrington’s persistence has paid off in spades! His resume is long: nine albums released, two seasons of his own sitcom, stints in Vegas, and a starring role in the 2008 movie, “Beer for my Horses”. Carrington has just about done it all.

A mixed bag of audience members file into the casino’s theater. Men wearing hats fashioned out of empty Busch Beer twelve packs, scantily clad women, and folks wearing large amounts of camouflage, find their seats to wait for the man with the familiar Southern drawl to appear. I say familiar because one of the most overheard discussions before the show were people talking about their previous Rodney experiences; my first one was in 1998!

A video of Rodney showing off his vocal abilities in his take on the classic, “Shout”, greets a sold out second show gathering. A Carrington show is not for the faint of heart! One finds out, usually within the first 30 seconds whether or not they’ll be able to stand the next 89 minutes and 30 seconds. His delivery is crass and to the point, no time for PC with this comedian. A lifetime of bad decisions fills Carrington’s act, as well as his affection for big-breasted women and watching porn.

Some real life moments find their way in to the performance such as the birth of his children, divorce, and aging, all of this content appears to touch Carrington in a personal way. But not taking it too serious, as most of these subjects wind up as punchlines. The last part of Carrington’s act finds him wielding a guitar and accompanied by his long time piano player, Bob Hoban. The lyrics to his original composition, “I Got Crabs”, 'I got crabs/ not the kind you eat at Joe’s/ but the ones that make your girlfriend mad', sets the tone for Rodney’s musical numbers.

Finalizing this night, Carrington performs his audience participation number, “Show Them to Me”. If you do not know what “them” refers to, this show is probably not for you. Thanks to Mr. Carrington for a lifetime of bad decisions, that will keep us laughing for years to come! A round of cheers to Rodney Carrington’s management for allowing MTC MAG in the door and River City Casino for being more than accommodating (and letting me win some money)! Photos of the performance are below: