On Monday night Conan O’Brien took over as host of the Tonight Show on NBC. I have been anticipating this changing of the guard for a while now since I can’t stand Jay Leno. The way he caters to his guests is horrible. Also, I always thought that Jays’ set was way too bright for a late night show. His stage was lit up like that of Ellen or Regis. Conan’s new set was much darker, decorated with deep blues and dark brown furniture, very similar to his old one which gave the impression that you were indeed watching late night TV.
For his opening segment, Conan pulled out a running montage set to the music of Surrender by Cheap Trick. As I was watching it, I got goose bumps. I’m not totally sure why but maybe it was the awesomeness of that Cheap Trick song. I don’t think that lyrically, Surrender had anything to do with the segment, but musically it told me as a viewer “I am Conan, I rock, and now I am going to kick your ass”. This song is now etched in my brain forever.
Conan is confident, does funny location bits and uses humor that can sometimes only be appreciated by the stoner university crowd. I hope with his new time slot, he remembers the style of comedy that got him here, and sticks with it.
