When Conan O’Brien brought “The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour” to Washington on Tuesday night, it seemed unnatural at first to view O’Brien in the flesh.
The red-headed comic who made his name as the host of NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien strolled onto the stage of DAR Constitution Hall, and after the initial shock of his physical presence, this reporter’s eyes zoned in on the video screen at the back of the stage — which was showing O’Brien and his band in all their formerly televised glory.
But as his dedicated following (known as Team Coco) has always known, the confines of the television screen are too limiting for the outsized personality and antics of the once-and-future talk show host.
Contractually obligated to not perform on television after an ugly and public ousting from NBC — he was kicked out of his 7-month tenure as host of late night dynasty The Tonight Show by network executives in favor of talk show host Jay Leno — O’Brien has taken his act on the road with a nationwide tour showcasing his trademark humor, his TV band and some special guests.
The touring show’s Washington iteration found the performer and his collaborators in fine form.
The former Tonight Show band — missing drummer Max Weinberg — started the show with a rousing and energetic rendition of Curtis Mayfield’s funky soul classic “Move On Up,” featuring vocals courtesy of trombonist Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg.
Music was a key part of the night. O’Brien fronted the band — contributing guitar and vocals to most numbers — as it played a variety of cover songs, some updated with O’Brien-relevant lyrics.
“My own show again/ I can’t wait to have my own show again/ On any network, even Oxygen,” O’Brien sang to the tune of Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again.”
The night played host to a number of hilarious pre-recorded videos, the most memorable of which featured Late Night staple Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.
The foul-mouthed Triumph repeatedly declared, “I love your city!” in a video with overdubbed audio, tailoring the skit to poke fun at Washington. One clever jab was at the pathetic Yum’s Carryout — an eyesore on the city’s culinary map — with Triumph claiming his excrement was rightfully placed on the menu after being picked up on Florida Avenue.
One of two disappointments of the night was the show’s lack of surprise guests. Although the Masturbating Bear appeared at the very end and former Tonight Show writer Deon Cole served up a batch of mostly lame stand-up in the middle of the show (longtime O’Brien partner, comedian Andy Richter, was no surprise), these appearances paled in comparison to other cities’ guests.
Among the tour highlights: The New York City tour stops boasted Stephen Colbert and Vampire Weekend; Seattle got Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready; and Jim Carrey sang with O’Brien in Los Angeles.
But the lack of a special guest did not register with most of the crowd. A rambunctious bunch, which cheered and yelled out of turn like the most passionate of sports fans, didn’t seem to notice.
The only other letdown of the evening was O’Brien’s minimum comedy-maximum music operation. While it was fun to see him indulge his inner rock star with the band, the songs were too many and the stand-up too little.
A balance of the two was narrowly missed when O’Brien and company returned to the stage for an encore — not of comedy, but of songs. Appropriately celebratory (O’Brien returns to TV with a TBS talk show in November) and enjoyable, the songs — The Band’s “The Weight” and Ronnie Hawkins’ “Forty Days” — served as a sweet endnote to the proceedings, if not an uproarious one.
O’Brien and his crew made the audience laugh throughout the night, but in the end, they left us smiling.
rhiggins@umdbk.com
