We've said it over and over again, but the best stand-up show we saw in town in 2010 was Patrice O'Neal's electric, blow-the-roof-off-the-Palms set at Playboy Comedy Club. O'Neal died last night, apparently of complications from a stroke he suffered in October. He was far and away the high point of the Sheen Roast, and it seemed like he was on the verge of breakout national success after that. We were lucky enough to talk to him in August 2010 before his set at Playboy, and he had a lot to say about competing for people's entertainment attention with slot machines, the business of failed pilots and what it was like growing up as a black kid who liked white stuff. So much to say, in fact, that at the time we had to edit down a lot of the interview to make it readable. We just went back and replaced everything, if you want to read the full, unabridged conversation.
