The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour

The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour

Official tour poster based on Mike Mitchell's "I'm With Coco" poster
Comedy tour by Conan O'Brien
Start date April 12, 2010
End date June 14, 2010
Shows 42

The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour was a comedy tour featuring Conan O'Brien. The title of the tour is a reference to the 2010 Tonight Show host and timeslot conflict which resulted in O'Brien resigning from his position as host of The Tonight Show in January 2010. O'Brien's settlement with NBC barred him from appearing on television as the host of a program until September 2010, but it did not bar him from performing before a live audience in a concert setting.

On March 11, 2010, O'Brien announced via his Twitter account that he would embark on a 30-city live tour beginning April 12, entitled "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour".[1] Even with the unconventional marketing campaign of a single Twitter announcement, many locations sold out within hours of the tweet and additional shows were added on to meet demand.[2]

According to TMZ, O'Brien decided not to keep any of the proceeds from the tour, in order to employ former staff members of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.[3] American Express was a presenting sponsor of the tour. Additionally, Andy Richter was also emcee for Team Coco Presents the Conan Writers Live, a comedy special taped for TBS at the Just for Laughs festival in Chicago in June 2010. Richter hosted in place of O'Brien, who was, still at the time, barred from hosting any television program until fall 2010.

Contents

Format

Several members of O'Brien's staff joined him for the tour, including sidekick Andy Richter (who as a result of the tour, was forced to drop his participation on the Jeopardy! Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational, where he was a semi-finalist), and members of Max Weinberg's band, now called The Legally Prohibited Band.[4] Weinberg, however, was not part of the tour,[5] although he did appear at one of Conan's shows in New York City.[6] His decision not to participate largely stemmed from a major open heart surgery he had in February 2010.

VIP tickets offered the opportunity to meet O'Brien in person.[7] Signs at the venue encouraged audience members using Twitter during the show to use a unique hash tag. Those tweets then appeared on O'Brien's official website.

The opening act for the shows was comic Reggie Watts. In the video introduction to the show, Conan appeared as an obese and bearded version of himself struggling to cope with the loss of his talk show while Eric Carmen's "All By Myself" plays. He then transforms back into his thin self during his exercise montage (by merely pulling off his body suit) after getting the call to go on tour.

The tour differed from his television shows in that there was no desk or celebrity interviews, but presented as more of a variety show than a stand-up routine.[8] Many elements from TV were incorporated into the show, including video bits, musical and comic performers, and cameo appearances by celebrities. Classic sketches were also revived for the tour, albeit under different names due to legal issues over the ownership rights. The Masturbating Bear, for example, made a brief appearance before being transformed into the Self-Pleasuring Panda. Also, the Walker, Texas Ranger lever was retitled the Chuck Norris Rural Policeman Handle. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, however, mocks the city the tour was appearing in as himself in a prerecorded bit that inserts information about the city by dubbing over the original audio. O'Brien also introduced a giant inflatable bat he claimed to have purchased during Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell tour and at one point walked onstage wearing a replica of Eddie Murphy's purple suit from his comedy special Eddie Murphy Raw. In addition, O'Brien performed music throughout the show, including the disco hit "I Will Survive" and a personal parody of "On the Road Again".[9]

Tour dates

Date City Venue Special guest(s) Twitter
hashtag
02010-04-12April 12, 2010 Eugene, Oregon Hult Center for the Performing Arts Spoon, Jack McBrayer[10] #jubjub
02010-04-13April 13, 2010 Vancouver, British Columbia Orpheum Theatre #conezone
02010-04-14April 14, 2010 Vancouver, British Columbia Orpheum Theatre Rogen, SethSeth Rogen[11] #labamba
02010-04-16April 16, 2010 Spokane, Washington INB Performing Arts Center #spococo
02010-04-17April 17, 2010 Edmonton, Alberta River Cree Resort & Casino #bessielou
02010-04-18April 18, 2010 Seattle, Washington Marion Oliver McCaw Hall Matthews, DaveDave Matthews[12] #cocobday
02010-04-19April 19, 2010 Seattle, Washington Marion Oliver McCaw Hall Eddie Vedder, Mike McCready[13] #hotcoco
02010-04-22April 22, 2010 San Francisco, California Nob Hill Masonic Center Isaak, ChrisChris Isaak[14] #cobnob
02010-04-23April 23, 2010 San Francisco, California Nob Hill Masonic Center Isaak, ChrisChris Isaak[15] #cocoroni
02010-04-24April 24, 2010 Universal City, California Gibson Amphitheatre Jim Carrey, Aziz Ansari, Jack McBrayer, Jonah Hill, Jon Hamm[16] #cocosback
02010-04-25April 25, 2010 Universal City, California Gibson Amphitheatre Jim Carrey, Seth Green, Aziz Ansari, Jack McBrayer, Sarah Silverman, Jonah Hill[17] #cobreturns
02010-04-29April 29, 2010 San Diego, California San Diego Civic Theatre Mraz, JasonJason Mraz[18] #palemale
02010-04-30April 30, 2010 Phoenix, Arizona Dodge Theatre #keepcool
02010-05-01May 1, 2010 Las Vegas, Nevada Pearl Concert Theater #betonred
02010-05-02May 2, 2010 Las Vegas, Nevada Pearl Concert Theater Mike Tyson[19] #vivalasconan
02010-05-04May 4, 2010 Reno, Nevada Grand Sierra Resort #grandyandy
02010-05-05May 5, 2010 San Jose, California San Jose State University Events Center #cincodecoco
02010-05-06May 6, 2010 Sacramento, California Sacramento Memorial Auditorium #cocosac
02010-05-09May 9, 2010 Boulder, Colorado Macky Auditorium #cocomack
02010-05-10May 10, 2010 Denver, Colorado Ellie Caulkins Opera House The Fray[20] #milehicoco
02010-05-13May 13, 2010 Dallas, Texas McFarlin Memorial Auditorium (Southern Methodist University) Jimmie Vaughan, Dirk Nowitzki[21] #fagerstrom
02010-05-14May 14, 2010 Austin, Texas Austin Music Hall Charlie Sexton[22] #conestar
02010-05-15May 15, 2010 Tulsa, Oklahoma Brady Theater Hanson[23] #billtulsa
02010-05-16May 16, 2010 Kansas City, Missouri Midland Theatre Jason Sudeikis[24] #pender
02010-05-18May 18, 2010 Minneapolis, Minnesota Orpheum Theatre Brian Setzer[25] #minnecoco
02010-05-19May 19, 2010 Chicago, Illinois Chicago Theatre Brian Urlacher, John C. Reilly[26] #lincoln
02010-05-20May 20, 2010 Chicago, Illinois Chicago Theatre Lil' Ed Williams, Tim Meadows[27] #richter
02010-05-21May 21, 2010 East Lansing, Michigan Breslin Center (Michigan State University) Sarah Killen, Kid Rock[28] #bigbley
02010-05-22May 22, 2010 Toronto, Ontario Massey Hall #fedexpope
02010-05-24May 24, 2010 Columbus, Ohio Jerome Schottenstein Center (The Ohio State University)[29] #cocolumbus
02010-05-30May 30, 2010
(1st show)		 Atlantic City, New Jersey Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa #thesolution
02010-05-30May 30, 2010
(2nd show)		 Atlantic City, New Jersey Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa #thesolution
02010-06-01June 1, 2010 New York, New York Radio City Music Hall Colbert, StephenStephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Paul Rudd, Bill Hader, John Krasinski, Vampire Weekend[30] #triumph
02010-06-02June 2, 2010 New York, New York Radio City Music Hall Weinberg, MaxMax Weinberg, Pee-wee Herman, John Krasinski, Eli Manning[6] #oldyolsen
02010-06-04June 4, 2010 Boston, Massachusetts Citi Performing Arts Center Helms, EdEd Helms, Dropkick Murphys[31] #brookline
02010-06-05June 5, 2010 Boston, Massachusetts Citi Performing Arts Center Dropkick Murphys[32] #cocoswang
02010-06-06June 6, 2010 Uncasville, Connecticut Mohegan Sun Arena #conanecticut
02010-06-07June 7, 2010 Upper Darby, Pennsylvania Tower Theatre Fey, TinaTina Fey, Trey Anastasio[33] #pimpbot
02010-06-08June 8, 2010 Washington, DC DAR Constitution Hall #eisenmug
02010-06-10June 10, 2010 Nashville, Tennessee Third Man Records White, JackJack White[34]
02010-06-11June 11, 2010 Manchester, Tennessee The Comedy Theatre (Bonnaroo Music Festival) #cocoroo
02010-06-12June 12, 2010 Manchester, Tennessee The Comedy Theatre (Bonnaroo Music Festival) #cocoroo
02010-06-14June 14, 2010 Atlanta, Georgia Fox Theatre Evander Holyfield, Jack McBrayer[35] #tbyes

Response

Footage of O'Brien's tour has been uploaded onto YouTube by fans in attendance and immediately went viral. A clip of O'Brien's performance of "I Will Survive", for example, has received more than 320,000 views.[36]

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, a behind-the-scenes documentary film shot during the tour, was released in June 2011. It focuses on the production of the tour, O'Brien's interactions with fans and his crew, and O'Brien's thoughts on the Tonight Show conflict and legal injunction that inspired the tour. The movie was filmed, directed and produced by director Rodman Flender, a college friend of O'Brien.

References

  1. ^ O'Brien, Conan. "Hey Internet". Twitter. http://twitter.com/ConanOBrien/status/10326418664. 
  2. ^ "Conan O'Brien coming to Chicago Theatre, tickets sell out immediately". Chicago Tribune. March 11, 2010. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-03-11/entertainment/chi-100311-conan-obrien-chicago-theatre_1_conan-o-brien-tonight-show-late-night-institution. Retrieved December 12, 2011. 
  3. ^ Conan's Tour -- No Bread for the Redhead - TMZ.com
  4. ^ "Conan O'Brien Announces Live Tour Across U.S., Canada - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. March 11, 2010. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/conan-obrien-announces-live-tour-us-canada/story?id=10073505. Retrieved April 27, 2010. 
  5. ^ "Cynthia Littleton On The Air on Variety.com". Weblogs.variety.com. http://weblogs.variety.com/on_the_air/2010/03/coco-coast-to-coast-conan-obrien-announces-his-national-tour.html. Retrieved April 27, 2010. 
  6. ^ a b Bleyaert, Aaron (2010-06-02). "Thank You Radio City!!". teamcoco.com. http://teamcoco.com/blog/thank-you-radio-city/. Retrieved 2010-06-03. 
  7. ^ Details about O'Brien's "meet and greet" ticket package
  8. ^ Graeme McRanor (April 14, 2010). "Vancouver Fans Go Crazy for Conan". Vancouver Sun. http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/Vancouver+fans+crazy+Conan/2904329/story.html. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 
  9. ^ Scott Sepich (April 13, 2010). "Conan O'Brien Revives Edgy 'Late Night' Vibe at First Live Show". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2010/04/13/conan-obrien-revives-edgy-late-night-vibe-at-first-live-show/. Retrieved April 14, 2010. 
  10. ^ Brown, Lane (April 13, 2010). "Conan’s First Tour Stop: Triumph, Self-Pleasuring Pandas, and Spoon - Vulture". Nymag.com. http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/04/conans_first_tour_stop_self-pl.html. Retrieved April 27, 2010. 
  11. ^ "Goodbye, Vancouver...". teamcoco.com. April 14, 2010. http://teamcoco.com/blog/goodbye-vancouver/. Retrieved May 6, 2010. 
  12. ^ Brodeur, Nicole (April 19, 2010). "Music & nightlife | Seattle says 'Happy birthday, Conan O'Brien' at McCaw Hall, April 18". Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musicnightlife/2011645720_conan20.html?prmid=carousel_feat. |accessdate=April 27, 2010}}
  13. ^ "Pearl Jam Duo Joins Conan O'Brien on Stage - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. April 20, 2010. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=10430181. Retrieved April 27, 2010. 
  14. ^ "San Francisco + Conan = Win". teamcoco.com. April 22, 2010. http://www.teamcoco.com/blog/san-francisco-conan-win/. Retrieved May 6, 2010. 
  15. ^ "I Left My FART In San Francisco (sorry, but it makes me laugh every time I say it)". teamcoco.com. April 23, 2010. http://teamcoco.com/blog/i-left-my-fart-in-san-francisco-sorry-but-it-makes-me-laugh-every-time-i-say-it/. Retrieved May 6, 2010. 
  16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie. "Conan Back at NBC Universal (For Two Nights): “Bad Ideas Are Being Greenlit” Here". Deadline.com. http://www.deadline.com/2010/04/coanan-back-at-nbc-universal-for-two-nights-bad-ideas-are-being-greenlit-here/. Retrieved April 27, 2010. 
  17. ^ "Conan O'Brien Confirms He's Not Moving Back To NY". ETonline.com. April 25, 2010. http://www.etonline.com/news/2010/04/86419/. Retrieved May 5, 2010.  |bot=H3llBot}}
  18. ^ "San Diego? More Like San DiegWHOA!". teamcoco.com. April 30, 2010. http://www.teamcoco.com/blog/san-diego-more-like-san-diegwhoa/. Retrieved May 5, 2010. 
  19. ^ "The cult of Conan O’Brien takes over Pearl in the Palms". Las Vegas Sun. 2010-05-03. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/may/03/cult-conan-obrien-takes-over-pearl-palms/. Retrieved 2010-05-05. 
  20. ^ "Beyond Cocodome!". teamcoco.com. 2010-05-10. http://www.teamcoco.com/blog/beyond-cocodome/. Retrieved 2010-05-11. 
  21. ^ "We Kicked Some Serious DallASS Tonight, Y'all!". teamcoco.com. 2010-05-13. http://www.teamcoco.com/blog/we-kicked-some-serious-dallass-tonight-yall/. Retrieved 2010-05-13. 
  22. ^ "Putting the "Awe" in "Austin"!". teamcoco.com. 2010-05-14. http://www.teamcoco.com/blog/putting-the-awe-in-austin/. Retrieved 2010-05-14. 
  23. ^ "USA! USA! USA! USA!". teamcoco.com. 2010-05-15. http://www.teamcoco.com/blog/usa-usa-usa-usa/. Retrieved 2010-05-15. 
  24. ^ "Kansas City Video Madness!". teamcoco.com. 2010-05-16. http://www.teamcoco.com/blog/kansas-city-video-madness/. Retrieved 2010-05-16. 
  25. ^ Justin, Neal (2010-05-19). "Review: Conan O'Brien keeps it far from routine". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/tv/94217624.html. Retrieved 2010-05-19. 
  26. ^ Johnson, Steve (May 20, 2010). "Chi-coco Cuckoo for Coco". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-live-0520-conan-review-20100520,0,1324488.column. Retrieved May 20, 2010. 
  27. ^ Bleyaert, Aaron (2010-05-20). "Bye Bye Windy City!". teamcoco.com. http://teamcoco.com/blog/bye-bye-windy-city/. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  28. ^ Bleyaert, Aaron (2010-05-21). "THIS IS SPARTAAAAAA!!! (Okay, East Lansing. But Still)". teamcoco.com. http://teamcoco.com/blog/this-is-spartaaaaaa-okay-east-lansing-but-still/. Retrieved 2010-05-22. 
  29. ^ "OUAB : Event". Ouab.osu.edu. http://ouab.osu.edu/view_event.aspx?id=590. Retrieved 2010-04-27. 
  30. ^ "Conan Versus Colbert". Warming Glow. 2010-06-02. http://warmingglow.uproxx.com/2010/06/conan-versus-colbert. Retrieved 2010-06-02. 
  31. ^ Bleyaert, Aaron (2010-06-04). "Hometown Hero!". teamcoco.com. http://www.teamcoco.com/blog/hometown-hero/. Retrieved 2010-06-05. 
  32. ^ Bleyaert, Aaron (2010-06-05). "So Long, Beantown.". teamcoco.com. http://www.teamcoco.com/blog/so-long-beantown/. Retrieved 2010-06-06. 
  33. ^ Gross, Dan (2010-06-08). "Dan Gross: Conan Flyering high at Tower". Philadelphia Daily News. http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/95837354.html#axzz0qGsgrwFc. Retrieved 2010-06-08. 
  34. ^ Kaufman, Gil (June 11, 2010). "Conan O'Brien Jams With Jack White In Nashville: Comedian covers Radiohead, White Stripes during intimate concert". MTV.com. MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1641315/conan-obrien-jams-with-jack-white-at-small-show-nashville.jhtml. Retrieved December 12, 2011. 
  35. ^ Ho, Rodney (June 15, 2010). "Conan O’Brien gives Atlanta much love". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. http://blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk/2010/06/15/conan-obrien-gives-atlanta-much-love/. Retrieved June 15, 2010. 
  36. ^ Brenna Ehrlich (April 14, 2010). "Conan Comedy Tour Clips Hit YouTube [VIDEOS"]. Mashable. http://mashable.com/2010/04/14/conan-comedy-tour-vids/. Retrieved April 15, 2010. 

External links

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