‘Shallow’ O’Brien kicks off North America comedy tour

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This article was published 14/04/2010 (6015 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EUGENE, Ore. — Conan O’Brien, fuelled by three months of unused comedy energy, kicked off a North America tour that evoked his late-night brand of edgy humour and brought a college-town crowd to its feet.

"I’m not supposed to admit this, ladies and gentlemen, but I really missed the applause," O’Brien said Monday. "You have no idea how shallow I am."

His journey from Tonight to an out-of-work guy to a reborn stage performer was the centrepiece of the show, with a helping of familiar bits like Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, songs from a guitar-playing O’Brien with former Tonight band members and a handful of guests.

The gangly redhead worked the room hard, joking, dancing and even making costume changes that, at one point, included a pink leather outfit.

"This is the first time anyone has paid to see me. They’ve paid me to go away," O’Brien told the audience of more than 2,500, an obvious reference to the former Tonight host’s $32-million exit deal with NBC.

Warning that "lawyers are watching," O’Brien told the crowd that he was barred from performing on TV, radio or online for the near future and that ownership of some of his bits was in question. That didn’t stop him from including a Triumph routine or bringing out the Masturbating Bear, who with a small costume adjustment became the Self-Pleasuring Panda.

O’Brien acknowledged that a new TV gig awaits him later this year: TBS announced Monday that he will host a four-day-a-week show at 10 p.m., perhaps starting in November.

"You may have heard I got a new job: new assistant manager at Eugene’s Banana Republic," he wisecracked, later acknowledging the TBS job in a parody version of On the Road Again.

O’Brien performs in Vancouver on Tuesday and Wednesday.

His other Canadian stops are Saturday at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch, Alta., and on May 22 at Toronto’s Massey Hall.

The tour, once viewed as a way to generate interest in O’Brien for a late-night deal, now can serve to woo viewers to his new show and new network.

On Monday, O’Brien tossed barbs NBC’s way, showing short films in which he played a bald man who introduced himself as a "generic network executive," boasted about heading one of the top 17 networks and introduced a new series called I’m a Celebrity and I Eat Bark.

Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal’s chief executive, is clean-pated, and NBC’s lineup includes I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

O’Brien’s sidekick, Andy Richter, is along for the tour, with Reggie Watts the opening act. Among O’Brien’s debut show guests were the band Spoon and, from the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, cast member Jack McBrayer, who plays Kenneth the page.

 

— The Associated Press, with files from The Canadian Press