Conan in Chicago

I was trying to think of the last time I was in the Chicago Theatre for a show, and then iTunes reminded me. It was 1989, to see Joe Jackson on his "Blaze of Glory" tour. Unlike Joe, Conan O'Brien's choice of the State Street stage to tape four nights of "Late Night" this week was not driven by either box-office or acoustic considerations. Fact is, when David Letterman brought "Late Night" to Chi-town in 1988, it was to this same venue. A stone's throw from ABC-7, a slingshot from NBC-4, the Theatre is the place to be if you want, as O'Brien said last night, "to be a jackass in the Central Time Zone."

If you've been reading Bill Carter's Desperate Networks (you're not? what's yer PROBLEM?), you've read the postscript to the backstage negotiations that resulted in O'Brien getting "The Tonight Show": According to Carter, Leno -- who has suddenly stopped talking to the press -- is unhappy about the turn of events, and if he's still No. 1 in 2009, when NBC has obligated him to retire, he'll jump to another network and compete with O'Brien anyway.

And O'Brien will beat him. Like a truncheon.

But save that for another day -- just note the fact that Chicago is the latest chapter in Conan's rewriting of the Letterman saga, with a little happier ending.

Last night's first show was marked by raucous cheering and howling from the crowd (same as Letterman), a tour of Chicago with a celebrity guest (Mr. T), and a couple of local kids-made-good (Sean P. Hayes, the geezers from Cheap Trick, George Wendt).

But I have to say, my favorite moment was the "Small Talk" segment in which O'Brien and bandleader Max Weinberg debated the mayoral candidacy of 26th Ward Ald. Luis Gutierrez like two dicks in a 1940s detective movie. (OK, maybe it was announcer Joel Godard recreating the baby carraige scene from "The Untouchables," unsuccessfully.)

Related: Phil Rosenthal notes that Conan, Colbert, and Cooper are among the people who get a lot more press than a lot of TV personalities, even though their ratings are relatively microscopic. And Doug Elfman notes that this was a homecoming of sorts for Brian McCann, longtime writer and star of numerous mid-show sketches (most recently as the thought-balloon guy). McCann was based in Chicago and used to do a very funny weekend show on WLUP-FM, where he once interviewed Mr. Late Show News.

Comments

[Tannerman]

"a slingshot from NBC-4"

It's actually NBC5 here in Chicago. :)

[Debbie]

Conan O'Brien is the best kind of Cheap Trick fan: one with a national TV show on which to feature them! Kudos for having the best band in the whole wide world on the show last night---they rocked and so did he!

[Mark Jeffries]

The Trib's Mark Caro earlier wrote pleading that Conan avoid Chicago cliches and blogged after Tuesday night criticizing him for succumbing to George Wendt/Mr. T/"The Untouchables":

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_popmachine/

(The "Letter to Conan" and "Hey, Conan, Where's the Fridge?" posts)

[Don]

"The Geezers from Cheap Trick"...Wow...I know that you will not post my comments because they are a backlash comment to the "little" story that you wrote.

Do you realize that those "Geezers" are given credit by some of today's artists as being a HUGE influence. May I let you know also...those "Geezers" are still together, not bound to their music by the almighty dollar and can still play good Rock-N-Roll.

You have to give these guys the credit where credit is due. Try not be so immature about the guests the Conan himself was obviously CRAZY about. As Conan said, "The pride of Rockford,IL".

Rock Out....

(I will certainly publish your comments because unlike you, I have a thick skin. And, my guess is, Cheap Trick's members do too. Any group whose EP I bought when I was not even a teenager should be accustomed to cracks about their age. Hey, that's really damaged the Rolling Stones' careers, don't you think?--AB)