Deflate The Bat!
Now that the tour is done, we can talk about the actual live shows - and one of my absolute favorite parts of the show was our bat.
When we were writing the live show and coming up with ideas, very early on we had the idea of having some sort of spectacle that you'd find at a rock show - the only problem was figuring out what it would be. Originally, we tried to get Iron Maiden's zombie mascot Eddie; the problem there was that Eddie was this animatronic monstrosity that would be impossible to load in and out quickly... And as many of you who came to our shows know, we played some pretty small venues. Eddie wasn't possible. There were other choices of famous rock props that were in storage around LA that we considered; Snoop Dogg's giant inflatable weed leaf; Beastie Boys giant inflatable penis; we even considered trying to get the Rolling Stones' iconic wagging tongue. None of those choices really fit, however. None of them really called out to us as something that was authentically "Conan". That's when someone found out about Meatloaf's Bat Out Of Hell.
It was love at first sight.
There was just one problem with Operation: Bat Out Of Hell - and that problem was the fact that Meatloaf himself was using it out on tour! Undeterred, the joke of spending a bunch of money on a giant rock prop actually came true... Because we had to commission a company to actually make us a replica bat! And in true Conan fashion, the bat that showed up wasn't exactly the one that we ordered: Our bat looked undeniably goofy, instead of incredibly evil and demonic! We made the most of it, of course - and it all turned out for the best.
One of my favorite parts of the show every night was watching our crack Navy Seal team of crew guys (Lafferty, Ruff, Rommel, and Hodgie) both inflate and deflate this goofy looking 40 foot bat within a matter of seconds... So the very last night in Atlanta, I finally captured it on tape! Check it out here!
Wild, right? The best bat bit was at Bonnaroo, where the bat was actually too tall for the comedy theater - and poked its head up into the roof of the tent! All of us backstage clapped and cheered, because when we first came up with the idea of using an inflatable, we were really hoping that we'd play in a venue that was too small for our stupid looking bat! Ha ha ha. WIN.
Today I walked around the windy city a bit, and got rained on - and tomorrow, we load in for our TBS special on Thursday... And you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be documenting the whole thing!! See you guys all tomorrow... It's time for me to get my first good night's sleep in two weeks! PEACE OUT.
