Anyone been to a TV talk show before? Letterman, Leno, Conan?

[Yzzim]

So I'm watching Conan on Comedy Central and as they cut away for a commerical the band starts playing (like all talk shows) and I was wondering if the band plays the whole time through the commercial...? Is there really a 2-3 minute break or does the band only play the first part and last part of the song?

Also, what does the host and/or guests do during the commercial? I'm assuming they sit and chat but I'm not sure.

Any interesting stories?

 

[tennisflip]

I went to a Letterman taping. It's been a while, but I think they played during the commercials to keep the audience peppy. The last thing they want is a bored audience.

 

[ggavinmoss]

I also went to a Letterman taping. It was pretty fun. Dave talked to us before the show and I was surprised just how small it all is.

-geoff

 

[badmouse]

I also went to Letterman not that long ago. The band plays a lot, they're really great - it'w worth it for the band alone. When you first get there, some people came out and gave the ground rules, then a comedian/intern/whatever came out and did like a warm-up, where we all practiced how great we could clap/yell/respond/laugh. Then Dave came out for about 3 minutes and talked to somebody down in the front row, and then they started taping and Dave did this thing with the guy he talked to in the audience like it was an old buddy or something.

During the commercials Dave just sat there talking to an assistant. The guest (some movie star lady, I forget who) had people come out and do makeup & hair - very funny. I forget who the musical guest was, but they did their act twice. I couldn't tell the difference, it wasn't like they messed up or anything. They just did it once, and then repeated the whole thing.

It was interesting how Dave just kind of sat there, and then when the camera turned on he changed all of a sudden into his TV personality. The lights come on and the signs say "Applause" and somebody stands in front of the audience and waves for more noise.

In the middle of the taping, they came out and said that they were also taping a special thing for use at a private sports affair, and they wanted us to cheer every time Dave said a bunch of names (which I never heard of, so obviously it wasn't baseball, the only sport I follow). So Dave said names and we cheered.

It was fun.

 

[The Stigenator]

I went to the guy who goes after Letterman on CBS.. Craig Kilbron?? not sure..

it was fun.

I went to teh taping two dating shows.. that was not fun..

 

[Carbo]

I was on the short list to replace Johnny Carson when he retired. They chose some unknown dude named Nemo, or something.

 

[JetBlack69]

I went to a Letterman taping. It was pretty cool. It was during New Year's Eve and it wasn't shown then because a college football game went into overtime. George Clinton and the P-Funk All-stars was the band the they were good. I don't remember the guests, however.

I also went to a Conan taping. That was also cool. Luke Perry was the guest and Blues Travler was the band.

The bands from both shows played during the commericals.

 

[Yzzim]

Interesting stuff. Kinda neat to hear some "off-camera" action.

Originally posted by: The_good_guy
I went to the guy who goes after Letterman on CBS.. Craig Kilbron?? not sure..

it was fun.

I went to teh taping two dating shows.. that was not fun..

Why weren't the dating shows any fun?

 

[cronos]

Originally posted by: Carbo
I was on the short list to replace Johnny Carson when he retired. They chose some unknown dude named Nemo, or something.

lol

 

[BluBelle]

I went to taping of Jay Leno it was quite fun, I sat in like the first row. The guests were Matt LeBlanc, Dakota Fanning, and Outkast. The Band played during the commercials and Leno and the guests talked amongst themselves, assistants came out and refilled thier water, did makeup. While Outkast performed Leno and guests stood to the side and watched.


I also went to a taping of the Jamie Kennedy experiment. That was long and boring.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I've been to Letterman a few times, back when he was on NBC. It was pretty fun. My stepmother used to be in the newspaper industry, so she could get tickets any day by asking for them. It impressed a date I brought once.

 

[Sukhoi]

I've been to Leno and it was a great time. It's interesting because they do a "live taping". Basically the length of breaks they take during taping is the length of commercials you see. I am sure at times they'll take longer breaks if needed, but they try to only have taping last an hour.

 

[Lifer]

how much does tix cost?

 

[bleeb]

I've been to a Leno show w/ vince vaughn, the survivor host, and i forget the band....

however, kevin eubanks and his crew are great at keeping up the crowd entertained. great time.

 

[Sukhoi]

Leno is free but you normally have to wait in the line outside and you are not guaranteed a seat. So get there early and bring a book.

 

[AgentEL]

I went to watch Leno. I waited in line since 11 am and got a pretty good seat. It's fun and free.

Nicole Kidman and Shania Twain were the guests. Good night.

 

[bigrash]

Went to go see Conan a while back. Guests were Peter Gallagher and Ving Rames. Conan was funny but guests sucked

 

[nageov3t]

I've been to The Daily Show a couple times, and Conan once.

my only comment about both shows is that the studios are a lot smaller in real life than they look on TV.

 

[SirWoj]

Just some more general info. If you want tickets to the Daily Show or Conan you have to call ahead. You can find the number on their websites or at the beginning of the show. If you want Letterman tickets you have to give them two dates and hopefully they will pick you for one. Expect to wait a couple hours on the line for Conan and the Daily Show. Waiting really stinks when there is so much to do in Manhattan. The folks at Letterman will give you a number, so you can show up early, then walk around a bit before the show starts.