Heather and I Tivo Late Night With Jimmy Fallon every night. She had the foresight to order tickets and the show ended up as one of the highlights of our trip to Manhattan. The ticketing process is a little strange so let me share what happened to us.
First, Heather ordered the tickets 30 days in advance by telephone and we were emailed a confirmation. No tickets. Our name was simply placed on a list. I've attended enough television tapings to know that the producers just want bodies in the seats. They often overbook. So even though we had a confirmation we feared it really meant "This is the first of several flaming hoops you must jump through."
Second, on the day of the show we lined up, as instructed, at 3:15 pm in the NBC Store Cafe (2nd Floor). It's an odd place to meet because it was small, crowded, and there was nothing to indicate "Pick up your tickets here." I pitied the staff manning the studio tour next door, or the many shop clerks who were constantly being asked by a hundred other people "Where do we line up?" Eventually a line formed inside the cafe and everyone looked at each other quizzically, "Is this where we line up?" A few producers arrived and then started taking our info. After and ID check we were issued our wristbands and released with instructions to line up at 4:30 by the escalator.
Third, big surprise - there was no clearly marked area where to line up by the escalator. Suddenly we saw others with wrist bands heading to another escalator and we blindly followed. They didn't know where they were going either but got lucky when a producer yelled "Over here."
Fourth, we were lined up in groups in different corridors. Apparently, 30 Rock doesn't have an empty room with folding chairs to temporarily house the many audiences that go through there every day. The hallway was hot and loud. No one could tell what group would be taken first so everyone was a little apprehensive if their group was going to make it or not.
Fifth, at 4:50 we were ushered back downstairs for a very thorough security check and then ushered up elevators.
We entered the studio at 5:00. We hit the jackpot - center section, second full row, next to the aisle. The stage was small, almost cramped, but clean. I say clean because I've been to enough TV show tapings to notice a pattern - most sets are thick with dust. Have y0u ever been to the Price is Right? If snow were dust you'd say the set was hit with a blizzard.
At about 5:30, The Roots took the stage which looks half its size in real-life. It seemed like they were playing on top of each other. But that didn't affect their play - they were amazing live. The room was rockin' with excitement created by their music. After an opening song, the warm-up comedian Captain Zog from Yacht Rock came out. Love Captain Zog. He's very funny, he flirted with Heather, and he fulfilled her special request - that he show some of his dance moves (a man that age shouldn't hip-hop dance that well). Zog and The Roots did a little dance contest with some members of the crowd. Jimmy was peeking through the curtain at the back of the stage. Then Zog gave us a few instructions about how to behave during the taping.
The show's announcer (and famous SNL producer) Higgins came out to everyone's applause and he gave some instructions too. "Be over enthusiastic." And then . . .
Boom!, The lights went down, the music came up, and the monitors rolled the opening. I couldn't hear a word o the show's introduction that Higgins was yelling. Then out came Jimmy. He stood just a scant six feet from the camera. It always amazes me how close TV cameras get. For example, when the Price Is Right crew is shooting a model next to a car, they are literally eight feet away nevertheless they get the entire car in the shot without distorting the picture too much with their wide angle lenses so as to make the car look like a jelly bean (or the model to look 50 pounds heavier). Jimmy's camera crew was no different; they were on top of him throughout the show.
The guests were average - Helen Mirren and Damon Wayans. The head writer A.D. Miles wandered around a bit (we're big fans of his Glen Tennis character). Elvis Costello arrived just in time to see the musical guest - Paul Simon. Simon was amazing. He performed twice, once for the show and again for the web. We're not big fans but he was just so good, so professional, and so on it. It's no wonder Costello walked in just to watch his set.
But the highlight was The Mets Bucket Hat Guy. After the first segment, a writer from the show named Deetch sat immediately behind us. A producer made Heather and I switch places, then he squashed me into my seat so the camera could see Deetch over my head, and then Deetch launched into his "How do you like me now?" routine.
At the end of the show, Jimmy ran up and down the aisles and shook Heather's hand. She turned to me and said "Butter soft."
Below you can see my notebook entry about our trip to Manhattan. You'll see that we did a lot of great things. Late Night consumed a lot of time. We could have spent the same amount of time going to a museum, sight-seeing, or eating at a nice restaurant but, in fact, Late Night was one of the best things we did the entire weekend. I'm already looking for an excuse to return to New York, and when I return I'll definitely see Late Night again.
