Neal Justin: Craig Ferguson might pop into a Minnesota antique shop next month

"The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson," which aired on CBS from 2005 to 2014, stood out for its host's tendency to throw out the script and lean into the ensuing chaos.

Expect somewhat of the same approach when the 61-year-old comic and host of the "Joy" podcast brings his Fancy Rascal Tour to Minneapolis' Pantages Theatre on Nov. 4. In a phone conversation in September from his Scotland home, Ferguson lived up to his reputation for veering from the main road — in more ways than one.

Q: When you're in America, you often drive from gig to gig in a truck. What's the appeal?
A: I was having a conversation recently with Jay Leno. We were talking about how great it can be to get out there. When you're with Jay, it's like hanging out at Disneyland with Mickey Mouse. But if he doesn't want to be recognized, he just puts on a hat and no one bothers him. I don't tend to get recognized anymore, unless I go into a Flying J and start calling everyone cheeky monkey.

Q: What kind of places do you like to stop at?
A: I've become fascinated with little antique stores off the freeway. I was recently driving between Iowa City and Omaha and found a 1950s Coca-Cola sign. That's something I would have never bought if I was just flying in and out. I also love diners. For what I do for a living, you want to interact with as many different kinds of people as possible. Otherwise, you just see a few notes and not the symphony.

Q: What's the main difference between performing in theaters and what you used to do, which was mainly comedy before a small studio audience?
A: The way TV is lit, you see the audience every night. In a dark club or theater, you don't see that many people. It's hard to read them. We've changed the lighting now so I can see the first few rows. I got used to being able to look people in the eyes.

Q: So much of late-night TV today is responding to the news. How difficult was it for you to buck that trend when you were a host?
A: The very nature of doing a show every day is that you need material, so you're always picking up on the news cycle and being angry about what's going on. I found that frustrating. I even got sick and tired of the people I agreed with it. So I purposely didn't talk about the news cycle. If it's Latvian Independence Day, that's what I want to talk about. That approach is easier in the work I'm doing now. I have a basic idea what I'm doing each night, but each show goes a little differently.

Q: How has your comedy changed over the years?
A: I don't want to be part of the fight anymore. I want to talk about love, sex, death, the weather. I've laid off the F bombs a little. I don't have the existential rage I had when I was 25. And thank God. I think it'd be inappropriate for me to rant. Don Rickles was a friend of mine and he could do it really well, but he always had a sweetness about him. I think if I yelled, it would sound like l meant it.

Craig Ferguson
When: 5 and 8 p.m. Nov. 4.
Where: Pantages Theatre, 710 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.
Tickets: $27.50-$188.50. hennepintheatretrust.org.