Conan O’Brien’s stage tour hit New York City last night, and I won’t lie: I’m going to write about it so I can write off the tickets I bought on my taxes next year. Now, the Internet has been flooded with reviews, but the gist of it is this: it’s a music-heavy show that features about 20 minutes of stand-up from Conan, plus appearances from special guests and the return of favorite “Late Night” characters (given different names for legal reasons, of course). It’s definitely a “greatest hits” show more than one of great material, but the adoring audience didn’t seem to mind.

Anyway, last night’s show featured:

  • Opening act Reggie Watts, who was tremendous. Look for his upcoming Comedy Central special, “Why Sh*t So Crazy?”
  • Guests Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, who joined Conan on stage for a dance-off (see video below). It was silly and poorly executed, and yet I liked it. Whatever, at least I acknowledge my biases.
  • Musical guest Vampire Weekend (Conan played rhythm guitar).
  • Guests Bill Hader, John Krasinski, and Paul Rudd, who all took turns on the “Chuck Norris Texas Lawman Handle.”

Anyway, I’ve probably wasted thousands of words on Conan O’Brien being more talented and classier than Jay Leno, but that list of guests alone is emblematic of his esteem in the entertainment community. If Leno did a live show, who the hell would show up to support him? Paul Reiser? Man, that show would kill. No, I’m serious. The audience would die of mass suicide.