Torontonians went loco for Coco as late night talk show host Conan O' Brien brought his Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television tour to Massey Hall on Saturday night.
As well they should have.
The 47-year-old funnyman worked mighty hard over the course of a energetic, at times frenetic, two-hour show that was mostly comedy but lots of music too.
That was probably the biggest difference between O'Brien on television - he was ousted from his Tonight Show host gig after a mere seven months to make way for returning host Jay Leno but is about to return to a four-night-a-week 11 p.m gig on cable network TBS in November (so far there's no Canadian broadcaster) - versus a live setting.
The concert tour really allowed O'Brien to indulge in his obvious passion for music, playing both guitar and piano backed by the seven-piece Legally Prohibited Band, including fan favourite LaBamba on trombone, and two female backup singers known as The Coquettes. O'Brien also underwent plenty of costume changes and, inexplicably, brought out the giant inflatable bat from Meatloaf's Bat Out Of Hell tour, just because he wanted to have something visually stunning on the road
"It's horrific," said O'Brien after it was inflated. "But when I make a mistake, I stand by it. Now I get to say my favourite line of the show. 'Deflate the bat!'"
O'Brien's concert also included the best bits from his two late night talk shows - before The Tonight Show, there was Late Night - his own imaginary suspenders hip wiggle, reliable sidekick Andy Richter, the Masturbating Bear (now the self-pleasuring Panda for legal reasons), hilarious clips from Walker: Texas Ranger courtesy of a handle that O'Brien pulled (not a lever, again for legal reasons) and a taped segment from Triumph The Insult Comic Dog.
And then there were all those songs like his own hilarious ditty, That Girl That Looked Like Conrad Bain, altered versions of Elvis Presley's Poke Salad Annie, Willie Nelson's On The Road again and Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive, and straight ahead covers of The Band's The Load and The Hawks' 40 Days, the latter which saw O'Brien race through the crowd on the floor and in the balcony, still playing his electric guitar, hugging and hi-fiving audience members.
He probably approved of the woman carrying the placard with the words "Leno sucks", although he never mentioned Leno other than by obvious vocal mimicry.
"That's my imitation of Ludacris," he joked.
Back in 2004 when he brought his then Late Night with Conan O'Brien on the road to Toronto to tape a week of shows, he referred to the move as "a creative kick in the pants."
So while it may have been a bitter pill to swallow at the time, O' Brien seems to have genuine fire in his belly again thanks to the The Tonight Show ouster.
After his band warmed up the crowd, the show opened with a taped segment titled "Two Months Ago," showing a bearded, long-haired and overweight O'Brien covered in pizza slices, forlornly bouncing on a trampoline, eating a bucket of KFC by the pool, having his dog lick peanut butter off his toes and his daughter complain that "Daddy smells like pee", while Eric Carmen's All By Myself played in the background.
A phone call offering him a 32-city tour led to O'Brien getting back in shape in the clip and then suddenly he appeared on stage, looking lean, tall and handsome with his "hockey beard", as he said Canadians were calling it, in a navy suit and blue shirt as the audience gave him a standing ovation.
O'Brien recalled the last time he was in Toronto - in February.
"Even back then NBC was trying to tell me something," he said. "'Can I go in May?' 'No, you go in February!'"
He did touch upon The Tonight Show fiasco early and often, including the reported $30 million plus that NBC had to pay to buy out his contract.
"This tour is the first time people have paid to see me," said O'Brien before adding: "Believe me, they've paid me to go away."
The extremely physical O'Brien is also nothing if not willing to look the fool, and a lot of the laughs came from just looking at his gangly frame as he performed Elvis-worthy dance moves amid strobe lights in between his two female dancers.
"I'm 98 per cent leg" he joked.
And 100 per cent survivor.
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