A Review: Doug Clark Roast

I told you guys that ya shoulda been there. I laughed for 3 hours straight as my old buddy Doug Clark was roasted and then returned fire in the elegant Pennington Ballroom of The Davenport Hotel Sunday afternoon.

First impression of The Davenport? Sorry, Coeur d’Alene Resort. I’ve seen The Davenport, and as nice as you are, you ain’t no Davenport.

Second impression: Doug deserves 2 thumbs up for taking a pistol whipping for 2-plus hours from Randy Shaw, Debra Wilde, Councilman Bob Apple , former Mayor Shari Barnard , 4 pro comedians, et al. For my money, the pro comedians were the weak point of the roast. And Tom McArthur from The Davenport and the guy from PBS (unfortunately, I left my notes home) were the surprise hits. Also good were Barnard, Wilde and even Apple, the bar owner who rationed toilet paper from his Hillyard bar because customers were stealing it. Overall, the money raised from the event, which played to a full house, was split evenly between the local and national Red Cross.

3rd Impression: Doug gave better than he received; for example, he applauded Wilde’s taxidermist for making her look so good “at 60,” Barnard, for setting a record for creating committees and never having a sex scandal, and recalled fondly how he outted Shaw for sneaking smokes while he was telling everyone on air that he’d given up smoking. As far as the pro comics go, Clark said: “We have comics in Spokane.” Shaw and McArthur roasted Clark best.

Final impression: If you can gauge Mayor Jim West’s chances of surviving the recall election based on the applause lines from the mere mention of his name, he’s through.