The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
O’Brien brings tour to Tabernacle
Conan O’Brien is returning to do a live show in Atlanta for the first time since 2010. He will be at the Tabernacle on Nov. 15 (tickets available through LiveNation).
He’s in a much different place than he was back then. At that stage, he was between gigs, having lost NBC’s “The Tonight Show” to Jay Leno and killing time before joining Atlanta-based TBS.
Though his “Conan” show on TBS didn’t become the monster hit for the network, it brought in a legion of young viewers for TBS and leveraged O’Brien’s savvy use of social media and viral videos that pre-saged Jimmy Fallon and James Corden. He also showed off his ability to ad-lib and connect with people on trips to places such as South Korea, Cuba, Israel, Mexico and Haiti.
After doing a traditional one-hour late-night talk show for the past eight years, O’Brien is shifting to a more experimental 30-minute format starting in January.
His final one-hour show aired on Oct. 4. He is taking a three-month hiatus, allowing him time to do this tour and retool the show itself.
“There are a lot of exciting changes coming up for me in 2019 and I wanted to kick it off this fall with an 18-city live tour,” Conan said in an announcement, adding, “The idea that I hit the road for seven weeks was pitched by my wife, with the full backing of my children.” During his final hourlong show, he explained the change. “I’m going to a half-hour so I can spend more time on the things I really love. I’m not talking about my wife and children — that ship sailed a long time ago,” he joked to his studio audience last week. “No, I’m talking about travel shows around the world; silly remote pieces; interviewing brilliant, distinct people. Really just focusing on the stuff that we love the most.”
Unfortunately, he said, Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band will not be included with the new format. They have worked with him for 25 years.