ENTERTAINMENT: Eddie Izzard smart, silly and sane

  Finally, the answer to the question you have asked your whole life: Where do giraffes hide in Africa?
  O.K. So you’ve never asked it either. The genius of British comedian Eddie Izzard is that he thinks of this stuff in the first place. If the question itself isn’t funny enough, the answer is. (They hide behind other giraffes, who pretend to be the Eiffel Tower to fool tigers, who aren’t supposed to be in Africa anyway, so maybe they’re on holiday).
  It all makes more sense — except when it’s not supposed to — in Izzard’s unique brand of stand-up. Izzard performed for two hours without so much a sip of water in the first two shows at the Palms on Friday (He is there again tonight, but it’s sold out.)
  True to the form of the HBO specials that built his U.S. following, Izzard guided an absurd tour of “the rules of civilization” throughout history, from the Stone Age through Moses.
  He wasn’t concerned about doing the act for a locals-heavy audience in a Las Vegas casino. He acknowledged his following as “the thinking people,” and at one point noted, "I’m told you understand irony. If you go outside the (theater) doors, maybe not.”
  At another point he gave himself a self-congratulatory nod for connecting an “Einstein to (Russian filmmaker Sergei) Eisenstein  joke in Vegas!”
  There was plenty of silliness (dinosaurs in church) to balance any Mensa moments. Izzard doesn’t have the ability to surprise that he did 10 years ago, but he is amazingly prolific. Instead of doing “greatest hits” bits as some comedians do, he  referenced some of his favorite routines (such as “Cake or death?”) without actually repeating them.
  He even had a running theme, which surfaced in the main set and which Izzard drove home in a brief encore. “I don’t believe in the bloke with the beard,” he said during one of his many riffs on religion. “But I do believe in us. … You have this fondness for God (in America), I have this fondness for people.”
  As a spokesman for the “rest of the world,” he urged U.S. voters to “Get it right this time.”  He also reminded the audience to “Think about things and be inquiring,” and as he left the stage his parting advice was “Let’s (bleeping) sort this place out.”
  Sane words from a crazed brain.