Conan's first roadshow

I was lucky enough to see Conan's tour kickoff earlier this evening in Eugene, Oregon. The night started off with the amazing Reggie Watts doing his mix of live music and comedy for about 40 minutes then after a break, Conan's band played a bit and then the man finally came on.

He hit the stage and got a standing ovation that lasted a good 3-4 minutes. It was a great moment and Conan admitted that in all honesty, the thing he missed most from leaving TV was getting to hear applause.

It was a fun night. Andy Richter was there and they explained why they were doing the show and how it'd work, they did a few bits from the show, and Conan played and sang on several songs. There were video parts to break up the evening featuring goofy bits and characters from the old show. The band Spoon happened to be playing in Eugene that night as well, and somehow they worked it out where the band dropped by and played one song in the middle (and presumably ran across town to their own headlining show soon after). I'm curious if they'll be able to pull off a similar guest musician spot in other towns.

About the only parts of the evening that were less than successful had to do with the music. There was a song where Conan changed the lyrics to basically be begging for a new show for laughs, but since he announced earlier that very day TBS was picking him up for a show in the Fall, the jokes fell a little flat. Half the show seemed to be music, with Conan (kinda sorta) playing guitar over blues and rock classics. He probably played 4-5 songs throughout the night and it started to seem a little self-indulgent by the end, like they could have done half as many songs and just threw a few more bits from the old Late Night or video parts to increase the comedy aspects.

Overall, it was a great night, a celebration of all things Conan, and a very entertaining show.