The opener for the tour is Reggie Watts, a brilliantly bizarre musician/comic whose set revolved around an almost stream-of-consciousness wandering from deadpan non sequiturs to musical interludes. By looping and layering his almost Bobby McFerrin-like vocal effects, he would lure you into a momentary sense of wonder before using the loop as a background for “Fuck Shit Stack” – an absurd deconstruction of hip-hop tropes.  When Watts finished I heard someone remark that they felt bad for Conan having to follow the engaging Watts.

But it was an unwarranted fear as out he came, backed by his familiar band (without Max Weinberg) and sidekick Andy Richter. Conan opened talking about his now infamous departure from the Tonight Show and the stages of depression after losing your late-night show (in addition to denial and anger, you have steps like “36 Hours of Red Bull and Halo”).

But with the requisite NBC needling out of the way, Conan got back to his brand of entertainment. The evening was a wonderfully odd amalgam of Conan’s late-night sketches, taped bits, musical performances and comedy – a kind of wacked out “Prairie Home Companion.” Triumph the Insult Comic Dog made a taped appearance, using deliberately bad overdubs to pepper his message with local references (including Lin Sue Cooney and Arizona’s official state animal: Charles Barkley).

There were also a few references to the question of who owned the intellectual property of Conan’s show – him or NBC. As such, the infamous Masturbating Bear was given an on-stage makeover into the Self-Pleasuring Panda. Likewise the “Walker, Texas Ranger Lever” became the “Chuck Norris Rural Policeman Handle,” though still featured the show’s amazingly awesome clips. Richter was around to provide the offhand banter like “Masturbation was a gift from the Chinese, like fireworks.”

Conan strapped on a guitar for a few musical numbers, which were admittedly the weaker parts of the show, though that’s relative – particularly when he’s wearing a recreation of Eddie Murphy’s paisley leather outfit from “Raw.” Overall, it was an entertaining night – like a Conan TV show turned up to 11. Certainly the tour will have achieved its two major goals: continuing to endear Conan’s audience to him as he builds up to his new TBS show, and to benefit his out of work crew (tour proceeds benefit his staff who have been out of work since the NBC debacle).

If you’d like to check out other audience thoughts, check Twitter tag #keepcool which was used for the show.

The show began with Trevor Hall, who’d been opening for Carbon Leaf’s shows the previous few weeks, and who got the audience moving to his jammy reggae-tinged songs. When Carbon Leaf took the stage, it was to an impressive Monday night crowd.

The band kept the mood up all night, infusing even slower numbers with an energy that kept things rolling. Lead guitarist Carter Gravatt, looking a bit like a young Eric Clapton, deftly switched between his various guitars and mandolin, and staying on top of an effects setup larger than some NASA control panels. Bassist Jon Markel, who joined the band late last year, also added a tremendous depth to the the sound.

The center of attention, though, was inevitably frontman Barry Privett, whose earnest vocals, great crowd rapport, and propensity for Michael Stipe-ish gesticulation enlivened every song. The set veered from the band’s older fan favorites like “The Boxer” and “Life Less Ordinary” to tracks off their new album Nothing Rhymes with Woman, particularly the single “Miss Hollywood.”

Mid-show the band opted to do a few songs “Grand Ole Opry style,” with stripped down acoustic arrangements around a single microphone. Included was a beautifully harmonized version of their rare live tune “7 Brides for 7 Sinners”:

Later in the show, following an encore break, the band came to the stage front for a completely un-amplified rendition of “Learn to Fly.” It took the crowd a bit to figure out that the band’s silent presence at the front of the stage was not them fishing for “Mary Mac” shout-out requests, but when they finally launched inot it, it was impressive to see how simple and compelling a completely a capella song could be in a 200-person venue.

While the crowd never got their “Mary Mac” they instead were treated to a fantastic, rollicking rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp,” complete with coordinated clapping. For the final number, Carbon Leaf invited Trevor Hall and his band back up for an extended “Let Your Trouble’s Roll By,” that slowly built into a crashing, immersive sing-along.

It was a fantastic night and, if Privett is to be believed, we won’t have to wait two years for another.