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It was March 12, 2017, and Dave Chappelle was restless. Netflix was hours away from releasing his first televised comedy special since For What It’s Worth in 2004. Dave had not seen the final cut of his comeback special — hadn’t wanted to really, until now. Days before theCHIVE had organized a screening of the new special, The Age of Spin, at the Neuehouse Theatre in West Hollywood.

At the time, I didn’t advertise that Dave might show up, but I had been told it was a possibility. Dave was seeking an audience to gauge a reaction to the new special. He said, “The Chivers are effervescent like a freshly poured Coca Cola, man. If they don’t like it, it’s doomed.”