The ‘New’ Mencia performs to sold-out UARK Bowl crowd

FAYETTEVILLE — More than 400 people packed into the UARK Bowl to see stand-up comedian Carlos Mencia Sunday night (March 11), undeterred by the dreary weather and the late-Sunday start time.

The show, which sold out in less than a month, was part of the UARK Bowl’s Sunday Night Stand-Up Comedy Series.

“Some of you are looking at me like I’m sick. That’s not cool,” said Mencia, 44, who has lost 70 pounds since his Comedy Central show, “Mind of Mencia,” went off-air in 2008.

The mention of his weight loss was one of many intentional references in a routine that aimed to recast Mencia as an enlightened comedy veteran far removed from his controversial past.

“Carlos Mencia: New Territory,” as the tour is smartly named, follows a half-decade of bad press that culminated with the end of “Mind of Mencia.”

Comedy Central hoped the racially charged “Mind of Mencia” would fill the void left by “Chappelle’s Show,” the wildly successful sketch comedy show that ended abruptly in 2005.

But “Mind of Mencia” garnered poor reviews and soon its host became entangled in widely publicized spats with other comedians, including Joe Rogan, who accused Mencia of joke-stealing on stage at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles in 2007.

The new Mencia is moving past all that, the comedian said.

“I didn’t want to be that angry guy anymore,” Mencia said in a January interview with The City Wire.

But Mencia’s set on Sunday showcased a routine still rooted in provocative racial content. Roughly a third of the set consisted of jokes that allowed Mencia to mimic foreign accents. First, he was a Middle Eastern man on a plane, then a Chinese man in a bathroom, then President Barack Obama, whom he called the “Bud Light” of black men.

“Certain people aren’t allowed to say certain things,” Mencia said repeatedly. “I’m not making up the rules. I’m just telling it how it goes down.”

Later in the set, Mencia ventured into social commentary.

“Conservatives believe Fox tells the truth. Liberals believe MSNBC tells the truth. People need to stop believing that and start listening to smart people like me,” he said.

Throughout the routine, Mencia preached to the wisdom of the middle ground. Halfway through, the comedian launched into a strange, abrupt discourse on Yin and Yang.

But Mencia’s stereotype-driven impersonations undermined these philosophical meanderings. More often, the old Mencia shone through.

“I love making fun of people because people are stupid,” he said, and the sold-out crowd erupted in applause.