Last year’s reunion that I never thought I would see was The Police (and yeah, Van Halen too!)

This year’s reunion shocker brings us Cheech & Chong reunited and together again, at last!

Although I’ve usually got my finger somewhat on the pulse of the reunion tracker, this one caught me completely off-guard….and I’m thrilled that they’re going out to do a standup tour. Sure, a movie would be great, but let that one come later, if it happens.

Did you ever think you’d have the chance to see Cheech & Chong together doing standup again?

I didn’t.

Since we’re on the subject, for my next impossible dream, I’d like to see Steve Martin go back to his standup roots. Start making the phone calls, let’s make that happen.

Back to Cheech & Chong…first, the obligatory quotes:

Cheech Marin told AP Radio that he and Tommy Chong “looked at each other going, `If we’re ever going to do something it has to be now because you’re not getting any younger and neither am I.'”

They tossed around some ideas and figured a comedy tour would be “the most fun” and “the least hassle,” the 62-year-old Marin said.

Marin and Chong, who broke up amid creative differences, have tried to reunite before, but have always fought too much. Marin laughed and said: “It takes about 3 minutes for that to happen. There’s this veiled hatred.” But he added: “We’ve kind of resolved that.”

“We’ve gotten to the age where we don’t feel like fighting anymore because the end is a lot closer than the beginning,” he said.

Meanwhile from the Chong side:

“I guess Cheech forgot how tough standup is,” Chong joked last month after Marin said they were considering reuniting.

“But he’s got the incentive and the enthusiasm and he’s ready,” he said of his former partner. “My boy is back.”

AP Link

Here are the tour dates for the “Hey, What’s That Smell?” Tour:

September 12 Tower Theatre Philadelphia, PA
September 13 Warner Theatre Washington, DC
September 19 Murat Center Indianapolis, IN
September 20 Fillmore State Detroit, MI
September 26 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA
September 27 Fillmore Jackie Gleason Miami, FL
October 24 Westbury Theatre Westbury, NY
October 25 Orpheum Theatre Minneapolis, MN
October 31 Verizon Wireless Houston, TX
November 1 Majestic Theatre Dallas, TX
November 7 Chevrolet Theatre Wallingford, CT
November 8 Rosemont Theatre Rosemont, IL
November 14 Dodge Theatre Phoenix, AZ
November 15 Austin Music Hall Austin, TX
November 21 Memorial Auditorium Sacramento, CA
November 22 Berkeley Community Theatre Berkley, CA
November 28 Copley Symphony Hall San Diego, CA
November 29 Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA
November 30 San Jose PAC San Jose, CA
December 6 Gibson Amphitheater Los Angeles, CA
December 12 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA
December 13 Borgata Music Box Atlantic City, NJ
December 19 Silver Legacy Casino Reno, NV
December 20 Paramount Theatre Denver, CO

I’m not happy to see Cleveland AWOL on that tour list, but there are enough holes in the tour schedule, that it could be added later. I’ll make my tentative plans for Detroit on September 20th – a Saturday night with Cheech & Chong sounds just fine to me!

My first memory of Cheech & Chong comes from the time that we spent living in the mountains of New Mexico. One particular year, we had friends that came to visit, and one of their sons brought a bunch of cassettes – Van Halen’s 1984, Blackout by The Scorpions, and Let’s Make A Dope Deal by Cheech & Chong.

I would eventually buy all of the albums, and my dad and I got countless one-liners from listening to them that we would trade back and forth in the appropriate (and sometimes inappropriate) situations.

When the albums were finally released on CD in the early 90s, I bought them all, day of release (so that’s where my entire McDonald’s paycheck went that week,) including a couple, Sleeping Beauty and The Wedding Album, that I hadn’t heard.

Let’s Make A Dope Deal remains my favorite album from their catalog, and was the only one that remained unavailable on CD until a couple of years ago.

Pedro and Man, Ralph and Herbie, Sargent Stadanko…..I can’t wait!

Cheech & Chong – Sargent Stadanko

P.S. – a third Ghostbusters movie with Rogen, Apatow, etc….sounds awesome, doesn’t it?

Cheech & Chong – Let’s Make A New Dope Deal (live)

Relevant Links:

Cheech and Chong Tour Website

CheechandChong.Com

Purchase Los Cochinos from Amazon – CD

Purchase Where There’s Smoke, There’s Cheech & Chong (Anthology) from Amazon – CD