Conan O'Brien holds nothing back in first Canadian tour stop

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VICTORIA (CUP) — He could never get away with it on the Tonight Show, but that's what makes it exciting. Conan O'Brien's cross-continent tour includes musical numbers, masturbating bears and even local parodies that only work in the host city. It's all Conan all the time, and the audience is eating up every last crumb of it.

His first of three Canadian stops - a two-night layover at Vancouver's Orpheum Theatre - was sold out weeks in advance, just like every other venue in his 30-stop North American tour. And he knows his audience, even tailoring jokes to each city he stops in.

Performing in Vancouver, the almost-vaudevillian performer joked that he was the new assistant manager at the Roots on Robson Street — “Come down. I'll be in the corduroy section.” Loyal sidekick Andy Richter also did two local fake commercials — one for Japadog, a Japanese hot-dog vendor at the corner of Burrard and Smithe streets, and for the Penthouse Night Club (“For the next time your friend says, ‘I'm feeling more creepy than horny.'”)

It's been several months since Conan O'Brien was unceremoniously booted from the Tonight Show and, save from a smattering of hilarious Twitter updates, things have been pretty quiet in the Coco camp since then.

But the lanky, pompadoured funnyman has been busy putting the perfect final touches on his Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television tour.

The variety show, moved from television sound stage to packed opera house, kicked off with an opening set by surrealist beatboxer/ comedian Reggie Watts, whose oddball music numbers set the tone perfectly. But there was no doubt that this was the Conan show. Watts' mere mention of the man set the crowd into a frenzy.

O'Brien plays the song and dance man with ease. The twohour montage is a series of prerecorded sketches; bizarre costume changes (at one point, O'Brien sported the tight, leather purple paisley suit that Eddie Murphy wore in Raw); classic gags and characters from his Late Night show; more traditional stand-up comedy and hilarious (and surprisingly strong) musical numbers.

Also on board for the ride are O'Brien's Late Night band, The Max Weinburg 7 minus drummer and band leader Max Weinberg, proving themselves to be a taut, muscular entity in their own right.

A few unexpected stars also made appearances in support of O'Brien. Comedian and former Tonight Show writer Deon Cole filled in a few minutes of the show with some great stand-up, Vancouver's favourite son Seth Rogen dropped by to pull the famous Walker Texas Ranger lever, and a special message from Triumph the Insult Comic Dog appeared on the screens behind the stage.

Although the title of the tour refers to his legal battle with NBC, there is no room for hostility or pity at this show. This is a love-in for O'Brien and his audience, who have missed their goofy hero. “I know I'm not supposed to say this, but I've really missed the applause. That's how shallow I am,” he joked.

The tour ran all summer with stops in most major U.S. cities. The show appeared in Toronto on May 22. O'Brien will be back on late night television with a new show scheduled to appear on TBS in November.