Trevor Noah has some thoughts about San Francisco’s Tenderloin

Trevor Noah isn’t from the Bay Area, but it didn’t take him very long to learn that the phrase “from San Francisco” can mean a lot of different things.

The former “Daily Show” host is booked for an extended residency at SF’s Masonic auditorium, playing a whopping 12 shows, plus one in Oakland at the Paramount Theatre. At Sunday night’s show, Noah took the stage around 7:45 p.m. for a tight hour of comedy that was more akin to a recap of his recent travels than a traditional stand-up set.

There were some fun bits about regional U.K. slang (particularly a word for cigarette that is far more offensive on this side of the pond), the Irish being referred to as “the Blacks of Europe” and Germany’s stoic sense of humor, but the best moments of the show came during an extended section about San Francisco.

Noah began by addressing the national narrative about the city.

“Everyone told me, ‘Oh Trevor, you don’t want to go to San Francisco. Have you seen it right now? It’s Armageddon. It’s chaos in the streets!’” he said.

He remarked that he didn’t think the situation was all that different from many other American cities he has visited, but did share some observations about his time here so far, much of which has been spent walking the city. He wasn’t a big fan of toothpaste being locked up at pharmacies (and the shame of pushing the button for an attendant kept him from buying some fancy chocolates). A day trip brought him out to Sausalito, where he enjoyed a meal from Sushi Ran. He did a solid bit about the hills (“the cars are holding on for dear life”), loved Chinatown, and even expressed appreciation for elements of the Tenderloin.

“The thing I liked about the Tenderloin is that you are present. In a world where we are constantly distracted by our phones, thoughts running through our heads, it was nice to be in a place where I was in the moment,” Noah said. “My mind was nowhere else … I’m noticing its feel, its smell, its taste, its touch. I’m just there — hop-skipping down the sidewalk.”

For reasons that aren’t hard to imagine, the line of jokes led to a complaint about San Francisco’s lack of public bathrooms.

But the best moment of the night came when Noah asked the crowd how many people were from San Francisco. After a surprisingly large roar died down, he started talking with a woman in the front row who had cheered in response to the question. He asked her if she’d lived in San Francisco her whole life and she answered that she’s lived “around the Bay Area.”

“So not in San Francisco … just around it,” Noah said.

The person responded that they grew up in Fremont and Oakland, and revealed that they were born in San Francisco but moved out of the city at age 1, only to return in 2021.

“You lived here for a year — but you were zero to 1. … You were a zero-year-old! You didn’t live s—t … your parents lived here!” he said playfully.

Although Noah was likely unaware of it, he inadvertently stumbled onto one of the biggest San Francisco tropes — saying from you’re “from San Francisco,” when you actually grew up in a far-flung suburb. It’s such a common refrain that it spawned a TikTok trend, and even an Axios article featuring a survey of readers. Of the 115 respondents, 57% expressed that it’s not OK to claim San Francisco heritage if you grew up in another part of the Bay Area. 

After last night’s set, it was clear that Trevor Noah agrees.