Chicago gives Conan and friends a warm welcome
For fans who have missed Conan O'Brien since his dethroning as "Tonight Show" host in January, Wednesday's show at the Chicago Theatre was a reunion with old friends.
Conan brought sidekick Andy Richter, comic Deon Cole, the band led by Jimmy Vivino and "La Bamba," and video salutes from Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and, yes, Walker, Texas Ranger. (A certain ... self-satisfied bear showed up, too.)
Late-night TV's favorite second banana gave the Second City crowd exactly what it wanted Wednesday at the first of two sold-out shows at the Chicago Theatre. The "Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television" tour gives O'Brien a chance to be frontman for a rock band, interact with his enthusiastic fans ("We love you, Conan" was heard often) and say words he wouldn't have been allowed to say on NBC.
His former network was the butt of many jokes Wednesday, and O'Brien's brand of self-deprecating humor bordered on bitter at times.
During his monologue, he described the eight stages of grief for former late-night talk show hosts. Stage 6? Drinking Red Bull and playing Halo. ("I totally owned skaterdude4," O'Brien said.) O'Brien also bemoaned the fact that Kim Kardshian, Snooki, and "the Cake Boss" still had shows on TV. "If you like the Cake Boss, I will come down there and beat you with my ivory legs," O'Brien said.
O'Brien proved that Chicago audiences will cheer anytime something familiar is mentioned on stage; Richter poked fun at this with a live "commercial" for Garrett Popcorn, the snack for "people who don't know how to work a microwave."
Of course, Chicago is something of a second home for O'Brien, who once lived in Wrigleyville. He did a week of "Late Night" shows at the Chicago Theatre in 2006, and the city and its famous faces - including then-Sen. Barack Obama - were featured prominently on air. "Since then, he's become a Nobel laureate and the leader of the free world," O'Brien said in Wednesday's monologue. "I signed up for Twitter."
O'Brien's musical repertoire included a Thorogood-style blues number about his "rough" upbringing in upper-middle class Brookline, Mass., and a new version of Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again": "My own show again / Can't wait to talk to Megan Fox again ..."
His rousing rockabilly closer ended with O'Brien entering the crowd and sharing love for the fans who helped make "Jay Leno" two of the dirtiest words in showbiz.
That fanbase gave surprise guest John C. Reilly, the funnyman from "Talladega Nights," a loud standing ovation, but was somewhat reserved when Chicago Bear linebacker Brian Urlacher pulled the "Chuck Norris Western Policeman Lever."
Tonight's second show is sold out, but there are high-priced tickets available at re-sellers like StubHub.com and TicketsNow.com. You may also want to keep an eye on O'Brien's Twitter account (@ConanOBrien) and teamcoco.com for last-minute ticket offers. O'Brien returns to television Nov. 8 on TBS.