You won't see the comedian's tour, stopping at McDonald Theatre on Sept. 19, streamed or as a special — he's not recording it

Craig Ferguson likens life on the road as a comedian to an old timey snake-oil salesman, which is why he named his latest round of standup the "Hobo Fabulous Tour."

“It’s not really high concept in the sense that it’s a theme, but I like the idea of reminding myself how lucky I am to travel around and perform for people,” Ferguson tells The Register-Guard. “I like the way it sounds and it’s a perfect description of what’s it’s like to be a standup on the road.”

The longtime comedian and Peabody-winning host of the “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” brings Hobo Fabulous to the McDonald Theater on Wednesday, Sept. 19. This will be Ferguson’s first show in Eugene.

Fans of Ferguson, a Scotsman who became a naturalized American citizen in 2008, will tell you they appreciate the comedian for his blend of silliness and honesty about his personal struggles, from being the target of bullies as a pudgy kid in Glasgow to getting sober (he’s been dry since 1992).

"Hobo Fabulous," which features 100 percent new material, continues in his intimate tradition of comedy.

“This act is maybe the most personal I have ever done because I’m getting older now and one of the few benefits of encroaching geezerdom is that you really don’t give a rat’s ass what people think about you,” Ferguson says. “It’s rather liberating to tell stories that don’t cast you in such a wonderful light. Risky I suppose in a way, but liberating in the sense that a secret shared with strangers no longer has the power to torture you with shame or embarrassment. I recommend it to everyone who can’t afford or resents paying for therapy. I mine my failures, personal and professional, for the entertainment of others which seems as good a use for them as any.”

The tour does depart from tradition in one very significant way: It will not be recorded, ever. "Hobo Fabulous" will not be on Netflix, or HBO, or some other outlet later this year; it will never be broadcast or streamed anywhere. In an era of streaming platforms that seem to churn out a new comedy special every week, this provides a unique opportunity for show-goers — they will be the select few to see Ferguson’s material. These jokes will live and die on the stage (recording by the audience is also verboten). It’s a bold move, but a liberating one Ferguson says.

“I’ve made five stand-up specials in the last 10 years and while I think they’re OK, I feel that all of those shows were better in the theater that night,” he explains. “I feel the same about music. It’s better live.”

“I also think there are too many stand-up specials,” he continues. “It’s not special if everybody does it. It’s not special if it’s done too often. I want each show to be unique and special. Special in the sense that is has no agenda other than to exist in the moment that it does. One and done.”

Outside of working on the new material, Ferguson has kept busy after leaving "The Late Late Show" in 2014. He started and recently wrapped the SiriusXM program “The Craig Ferguson Show,” which ended rather abruptly — to the dismay of fans — because of a film he shot with Kathie Lee Gifford (they met when Ferguson guest co-hosted "Today with Gifford") this summer in Scotland.

“I wanted to shoot the movie with Kathie and go on tour and I had a book to finish (writing — although I do read), and although I enjoyed the radio show the commitment to two hours a day was way too much for me to do with everything else,” Ferguson explains. “I told Sirius that I wanted to leave and they were total menches about it. They even sponsored the tour and told me I’d be welcome back if and when I wanted to. I’m very grateful to them for being so cool.”

As for the film, “Love Me to Death,” he joined the project because he wanted to work with the “force of nature and massive talent” that is director (and author) Adriana Trigiani, as well as shoot in the highlands of Scotland in what turned out to be “the most beautiful summer ever recorded. Really, I’d never seen anything like it.”

Ferguson was also drawn to the plot.

“It was a funny and touching story and it was told from the perspective of a woman in her 60s and I don’t see a lot of that around,” he says. “I wanted to be part of it.”

Above all he did the film because he adores Gifford, he says

“We hardly agree on anything, from politics to religion to music, and it doesn’t stop us being friends, good friends,” he says. “I’m kind of proud of that.”

Alex Cipolle is an arts and culture journalist who lives in Eugene. Email avcipolle@gmail.com.