Comedian Lewis Black didn’t seem to mind showing his hometown of Silver Spring a little tough love Tuesday night, as he welcomed guests to the area’s newest performance venue, the Fillmore.
“This whole area was a s—hole,” he said. “This, where we are, was a JCPenney,” he remarked. “To return now and see what they’ve done to this area pisses me off, I don’t think children should have any advantages that I was deprived of,” the comedian said. “The fact that the Discovery Channel is here, AFI, and now this theater, if I had been given this opportunity I wouldn’t be having to live like some — I’m Quacky the Clown because of this —I could have done very well, I could have been an executive or some s–t.”
Black was the main attraction at an VIP event to show off the new music and comedy venue, including the menu, the bars on multiple levels and the sound system. He said he showed up mainly because the folks at Live Nation, the venue’s booking agent, told him they would donate money in his name to a charity of his choice. That charity? His former high school.
“I’m now going to present, due to the fact that apparently our education system has reached a point, since we’re not going to tax ourselves for anything anymore, we’re going to have to get as much money as we can, whatever way we can to our education system,” he said, presenting a large cardboard check to Springbrook High School’s principal Sam Rivera. “On behalf of myself and Live Nation, here’s an extra 10 grand.”
