• Opening act Reggie Watts is the future of comedy: oddly inventive, insanely talented and really funny. We spotted him walking on Market Street before the show. I said to my nephew, “That’s Reggie Watts!” He replied, “He kinda  looks homeless.” I couldn’t argue.
• Conan’s 7-piece band kick-started the main show playing an explosive version of  “Move On Up” with trombonist Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg singing and dancing like a wild little Mario Brother in a fedora (dance style: The Bosstone). The other horn section members ran up and down the aisles while tooting away. It was a perfect high-energy start to the show. Very impressive (and I usually hate horn sections).
• The “Unemployed Conan at home  in a fat suit” video was hysterical. Love the Crisco and Doritos in his energy drink. Oh, and the nose hair.
• Coco came bounding onstage in a Flyers jersey. It was very well received. He tossed it in the crowd later, received even better.
• The monologue was solid, but a little long. I got a worried his energy level would peter out, but the pace picked up from there. Even while wearing Eddie Murphy’s ridiculous, skin-tight purple leather suit later in the show (I thought he was going to pass out), Conan was on fire and proved to be a great showman.
• His Leno impression was spot-on. There is no love loss there.
• Conan bought the giant inflatable bat from Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell tour. Like a sinner before the gates of heaven, It’ll come crawling on back to you. Sidekick Andy Richter noted, “It’s teeth look like the flags at a used car lot.”

• Richter delivered a live “local commercial” for Tony Luke’s. I’m sure Tony Luke was not aware of this free plug because it was not flattering, just hilarious. “In addition to their 5-pound cheesesteak — eating it will make your joints hurt — you can get a smaller 2- or 3-pound cheesesteak… if you’re a pussy!!!”
• To keep the meat bashing going, everyone’s favorite insult comic dog Triumph appeared via video and KILLED! “I took a dump on the street and someone scooped it up and served it on a sandwich at Pat’s King of Steaks!” Robert Smigel is a god.
• Conan’s surprise musical guest was that little orange hippie from Phish. I hear they have many fans. He played some hokey song from an era that might have preceded the gramophone.
• Comedian and Conan writer Deon Cole did some top-notch stand-up, gleefully taking notes on what worked and what didn’t (great shtick). Cole is black and  he asked the overwhelming white audience, “What do you NOT like to do in front of black people?” After a couple funny but expected back-and-forths, an audience member yelled out, “Go to the ATM!” The crowd went crazy and after about ten seconds of silence from Cole, he cracked a sly smile and responded, “Me too brother, me too.”
• The super secret surprise guest was Upper Darby native Tina Fey!  She skipped on stage to pull the “Walker Texas Ranger Lever.” I must admit, I got a little star struck. I was very excited to see her mainly because I thought we’d get stuck with lower-rung UD celeb Jamie Kennedy. Fey got a well-deserved standing ovation and proceeded to be funny and charming. Here’s a shaky video of the performance.

• Yup, “Walker told me I have AIDS.”  is the single greatest scene ever televised on the television.
• BTW, the “Walker Texas Ranger Lever” is my favorite Conan bit next to the Slipnuts and Frankenstein promoting the “Lake House” DVD.
• Conan strapped on the guitar at various points in the show and belted out some ditties. Some tunes worked, some didn’t, but hey, it’s his show and if he wants to fulfill his rock star dream, so be it. We all need bathroom breaks.
• All in all, it was a very fun, well-produced and well-paced old-school variety show.  I look forward to Conan getting back to Conan basics (more nonsense, less formality) on his TBS show.
• Oh yeah, The Masturbating Bear made an appearance during the encore. Always good to see an old friend.
• Lastly, despite the outrageously priced beers, The Tower Theater is a great venue with a very friendly staff. Nice job!

Fey is indebted to the hard-to-stomach Loren Michaels, true, but there is a point when you say, “Is it still funny, or just completely expected and lazy easy?” Now that the election is over, hopefully the impression is dead and buried, but once the SNL ratings go in the toilet again, she will surely get a phone call and a request to revive. Here’s to hoping she says no. Now onto her show…

30 Rock is a great show, fabulous! But it seems to be on the trajectory that has doomed many a fine comedy: “Let’s jam pack it with Big Name Guest Stars every week! Seinfeld! Oprah! Aniston! Jonas Brothers! The Pope! Awesome!” No, not awesome. The majority of stories that center on the guest stars are tepid, awkward and restrained, merely ego-stroking devices that take away quality air time from the insanely funny secondary performers.

Since we’re thinking out loud here, wouldn’t a few shows that are not Liz-centric also be refreshing? Methinks, yes. Give us whole show on Kenneth (again), Frank (please!), Jenna, Toofer (where’d he go?) or Pete, they’re all established comedians playing engaging characters who could easily fill 22 minutes worth of quality ha-has. An episode or two about office assistant Cerie (pictured) wouldn’t kill ya either.

Music Nerd Alert, Start Complaining Now: Philly’s 100 Greatest Songs of All-Time

Inside The DC Insider: Shrake’s Own Secrets of the 2008 Campaign!

Somewhat Predictable White Guy Mix: Dave Hill’s exceptionally good Mix Tape. For a less “predictable” mix, check out Bob Mould’s latest mix.

Marriage: Olbermann eloquently and emotionally gives his view on love, marriage and proposition 8. Kudos to Keith.

A Short History of the Bagel: The chosen food.

Yum! Top Chef: Season 5 debuts tonight (November 12th).  I’ll pick Ariane to be the first one booted.

Don’t Know You, But I Know I Don’t Like You: Lobbyist Jeb Mason (and your big dumb hat)

Holiday Shopping Idea: Thinking of getting  a holiday gift for your 8th favorite Philly web-based purveyor of nonsense? How’s about: NADA SURF “1994-2008″ Vinyl Box Set.

Web Dev Geek Tool: XRAY is a very cool web tool that lets you peek beneath the skin of any web page (see the code) right in your browser. Lots of great web tools and tutorial at www.westciv.com.

Let’s manage the hell out of some content! Philly DrupalCamp is coming to Philly! If you dabble in the Drupal, the premiere open source content management system and live in the Philly area, attend Philly Drupal Camp!

Clone Wars: Let the inferior Lego knockoff avalanche commence!

Secret Santa Simplified: www.elfster.com

More Sleeveface: Are you in a pissy mood like me? Here’s a little sleeveface to brighten your dark soul.

Need Another Reason to Dislike Denis Leary? I don’t. This pretend-fireman, pretend-hockey player and legit joke thief has been ripping off comedians (entire bits from Bill Hicks) for years.  His comedy career-defining bit “I’m an Asshole” was stolen directly from Louis C.K. If that’s not enough, Leary attacks autism for no good reason (a lame attempt at keeping the edgy, angry guy thing going, huh?). Did he once play a pretend-neurologist, is that how he became an expert on the topic? I guess he’s never met a child who has to live with the disorder.  At least he’s spot-on about the “I’m an Asshole” part.

Vote Wisely: Or else… you’ll see a lot more of this… and god forbid, this!

A Clean Break in Philly: “A vacant lot becomes a prefab neighborhood for two weeks with full-scale modern, sustainable, affordable homes designed by international architects.” Sounds interesting!

Blinded by Science? Trust no one! Even scientists, Jeff?  Yes friends, especially those Bunsen burning bastards! Read The Great Betrayal:

Judson’s cast of characters includes a dermatologist who claims he can graft skin from black mice to white — but turns out to have colored the grafts with a Sharpie. Another scientist creates bogus data before the very eyes of his stunned colleagues. And a Nobel Prize winner defends the publication of a co-author’s concocted data by saying it’s the scientific community’s job to verify it.  [via veryshortlist]

If you want to fear your doctors too, I recommend: Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande.

Not Dead: Just Asleep.

We Need Backup! Wow, this handsome little fella seems like a good deal: Iomega releases 1TB network hard drive for $299. Speaking of Iomega, you designers remember good ol Zip drives? How’s about the dreaded SyQuest disk, the absolute worst and most unreliable thing you could ever attempt to save a file to.

Checking in with Stewie: Tired Old John McCain Just Recycling Speeches At This Point

New Lego Store in KoP: Grand Opening Photos: Life Size Lego Batman and more Legotatsic photos from Rob Bender.

Download Free MP3: “Revival Road’
It’s a nice little ditty featuring Chuck Ragan, Ben Nichols, Tim Barry, Frank Turner, Digger Barnes, Jon Gaunt, Todd Beene. Want more, check out their Revival Tour info and dates here.

Many people call Ricky Gervais the funniest man on the planet, I don’t disagree with that. Plus, you seem so much cooler when you say a “Brit” is the funniest man on the planet because we all know Brits have a more refined sense of humor.

To keep your “I really know comedy” ruse going, you should always laugh at everything Brits say, even when you can’t understand some of their cryptic idioms and thick cockney accents. I’m just saying. Anyway, Ricky Gervais rules and he has a funny blog devoted to his new movie:

“This Side of the Truth is Ricky’s first movie as writer and director together with Matt Robinson. It’s a comedy set in a world where no one has ever had the ability to lie. Until now.”

Need a little teacup full of laughs, here’s some Ricky and David Bowie in a classic Extras moment, “See his pug-nosed face!”:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWuBgWNMUM8[/youtube]

Website: www.rickygervais.com/thissideofthetruth.php

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU34zV9A3gU[/youtube]