[Jenney]

Oh my goodness I’m tired!!
I got it in my head that since I had yesterday afternoon off, I would try to go to the Fallon show. NYC is a two hour drive without traffic, and taking the train is even easier. I taught a class that got out at 12:30, so I should be able to make it easily. I called, no tickets. Tried my friend that works at NBC, no luck. Entered a sweepstakes, no luck. Finally on Tuesday I called one more time and got two tickets due to a cancellation!! Yea!! I called my friend Irene, not a Lighthead but always up for an adventure, and plans were made.
When you get a ticket, it doesn’t mean you will get in. You have to get there an hour an a half before the stated arrival time, meaning that we had to be there before 3pm. Then you wait in line, and since they oversell each show, you still might not get in. I realized I’d have to drive, no time to take the train.
I won’t bore you with details of the ride in, for the most part it was uneventful. I’ve only driven in Manhattan once before, the only difficulty I had once we actually got there was finding a nearby parking garage. We actually got into NBC by 3:15 though, and found the line quickly. Once we had our wristbands, I finally relaxed.
We headed for the gift shop to kill some time, and ran into Rick’s wife Marilyn! She was there with one of their sons. We only had a chance to say hello, then they had to run off. Pretty soon it was time to go line up.
They picked a bunch of twentysomethings to go sit on the Band Bench around Gordon. You should have heard the middle-aged ladies complaining!! I would dare to say none of them knew who Gord was.
We took our seats, nice comfortable chairs in a nice cool studio. If you’ve never seen a TV studio, it’s much smaller than you might imagine! Fallons desk was off to the left, the band off to the right, and the curtain directly in front of us. When Fallon interviewed guests, the guests back of their head was the only thing visible to us. There are lots of monitors hanging from the ceiling though, so we could see.
Once we were seated, things started happening. A guy (can’t remember his name) came out to talk to us, and did a bit of a monologue. Very funny. He talked to various members of the audience, especially a couple from Australia. After that the Roots came out, and played a song, with some of them dancing on the stage. By then we were pumped up!
Jimmy Fallon came out, and the band played the theme from the Tonight Show. What you saw on the show, is exactly what we saw. He did a monologue, then sat down. I was surprised by just how fast the pace is. They paused for commercials, and it seemed to be the exact time that we see on TV. Make up people come running up, pat faces, and disappear. There were a few things between Fallon and the announcer that was edited out, but not much
Sarah Silverman came out, tall and slender, and during the commercial breaks, she and Jimmy talked. They were still audible, so that was fun. It was like they continued the same coversation they were having. I’d always wondered about that. Again, the pacing was the same that we see on TV, and virtually no editing.
Hugh Dancy came out, talked, and played that quarter toss. Again, just like we could see. Next up was Gordon!! The curtains parted, and the crew went to work bringing some of the equipment forward, laying down rugs, etc. It didn’t take long at all. Chuck was there and for most of the time was standing holding Gord’s guitar. I’m sure there are union issues at work there, so even if he wanted to do more, he couldn’t. During all that set up time (maybe 5 full mins), Fallon was talking to his director or producer.
The band came out first and sat. Barry talked to the kids behind him, I’d love to know what that conversation was, then Gord, then the applause sign lit and we were off! Jimmy introduced Gord, and he started with IYCRMM. The guys in the band looked like they were having a blast!! It was so much fun to watch. Jimmy seemed like a genuine fan, and did a great job promoting 50 years. After the show had ended, Gord did I’d rather Press On, as the bonus video on line. One that was over, Jimmy ran through the audience with the camera watching.
That was it, it was over! We filed out, found the bathroom, then I called my friend that works at NBC. It was a few mins after 7pm, and he works at Nightly News. He asked if we wanted to come up and meet Brian Williams. Hell yes!! Unfortunately he had trouble finding us, but once he did we speed walked through the building. On our way I saw Carter and Chuck, and ran over to give them a hug and tell them what a great job they did. I told them we had to hurry to catch Brian Williams, and left them. When I turned around, there was Gord! I stopped to say hello and congratulate him on a job well done. My friend introduced himself, and told him he was taking us to meet Brian. Gord commented on what a special night it was to do the show as it was the night it was announced about Fallon taking over the Tonight show. We chatted about that for a moment, then we had to run. I still feel bad about blowing off Gord for Brian Williams, especially as Brian had already left by the time we got there. Bummer.
We left after a short tour of the news department, and a trip down to the stage of SNL. Irene and I had a nice dinner, then headed home. Again we lucked out with traffic, but I still didn’t get in till 12:15.
I stayed up a bit longer to watch Jimmy Fallon, how sureal to have been there, drive home, and see it! How strange, I had my normal routine of teaching in the morning, a whirlwind trip into NYC, five hours of driving, then back to my routine today.
Wouldn’t trade it for the world!!!