Chris Rock Arrives for Big Comedy Show in Boston

Chris Rock is locked and loaded for the kickoff of his comedy tour, arriving at the venue in Boston and looking like he's ready for funny business.

We got photos of Chris arriving at the Wilbur Theater in Beantown, looking pretty stoic and clearly knowing ... millions and millions of folks are waiting for him to take the mic and say SOMETHING about that slap.

Chris' "Ego Death Tour" is all the rage ... all 5 nights at the Wilbur are not only sold out ... tickets are being scalped at a king's ransom -- some going for over $1,000.

Chris has not said anything publicly about the incident and has not publicly accepted Will Smith's apology. We know as of Tuesday night the 2 had not spoken, so it doesn't appear Will picked up the phone to privately apologize.

As for whether Chris accepts Will's Instagram mea culpa ... don't count on it. His brother, Tony Rock, has scoffed at Will's apology, and based on everything we know the 2 brothers are in lockstep.

As we reported, there's a lot of smoke that Will's tirade goes way beyond a hair joke. Back in 2016, when the Smith's called for a boycott of the Oscars because of a lack of inclusiveness, they asked Chris to join the boycott, but he declined ... and ever since there's been beef between them. Chris' jokes about Will and Jada at that ceremony further cemented their divide.