Loco for Coco

This last Thursday (the 14th) was a pretty great day for my sister and I because we got tickets for the taping of Conan while his show was in town last week. The thing is that they overbook the reservations in order to guarantee that they'll have a completely packed house, so we had to be there between 9am and 1pm in order to guarantee that we would get seats. Also, Conan had set up vending machines around the city with the t-shirts he had been giving away all week, and they were available from 8am to noon every day, or until they ran out. Wanting to guarantee that we got tickets and to try and get a t-shirt, we left the house around 6:40 and took the L in from Forest Park to get downtown around 8:15.

Megan went to get in line for our tickets, while I went to go try and find a t-shirt machine where the line wasn't too long. I completely bypassed the one outside the Chicago Theater, since the line was way too long, instead deciding to go over to Prudential Plaza. I went around the wrong side, but finally found the machine and got in line. Once I got closer, I was able to count the number of shirts left versus how many people were ahead of me, and saw that there were just enough shirts left. Thankfully, I got the second-to-last t-shirt, but I could only get one, so I couldn't get one for Megan. I ran back over to the building where the line for tickets was and started looking for her from the entrance. I wasn't seeing her, so I kept on moving back through the line until I finally found her. For a second there, I panicked that she had already been let in and that I wouldn't get a ticket (since your whole party had to be present so you could get your wristbands), but she said that she would have waited for me outside. She also said that some people from Windy City Live had been by asking if anyone wanted to come be in their audience, which I found pretty funny. Unsurprisingly, no one took them up and gave up their spot in line. After I joined her, the line moved fairly quickly. Within probably half an hour or so, we got our tickets for the main floor and wristbands, and were out. I think that they actually started giving tickets out before nine, because the line was already moving when I got there, and we were out of there before 9:30.

After that, we stopped at a Starbucks so Megan could get some breakfast and went down to the Riverwalk where we hung out for a while. The weather was absolutely perfect, with the temperature just right, the sun not too hot, and a gentle breeze coming off the river. It was heavenly to just sit and read there while drinking my tea. Once we had finished our drinks, we started walking down Michigan Ave towards Water Tower Place and stopping at the Conan t-shirt machines along the way. They were all empty of shirts, but if you checked in on foursquare, the people there gave you a button. As we walked back towards the theater district, we were looking for a Giordano's to stop at for lunch, because I could have sworn that there was one near one of the theaters. We weren't able to find one, so we instead stopped at Potbelly.

On the way to Millennium Park, we walked through Daley Plaza, and saw that there were people there promoting the Just for Laughs festival. We had our picture taken with Conan, and I answered a question about Big Bang Theory, winning a pen. While we were there, a guy mentioned that they were setting up the Conan bobblehead outside the Art Institute, so we hurried over there as fast as we could. We walked around the building, but we not seeing it, so we were about to head back to Millennium Park when we saw a truck turn the corner with it on the back. Excited to have actually spotted it, we followed it until it parked in front of the Modern Wing. Staffers directed us across the street, saying that we were free to watch, but needed to cross the street. There was already a fair-sized crowd gathering, but we still managed to find prime spots right on the curb. I got some really good pictures and video of them setting the bobblehead up in front of the Modern Wing. It definitely took a while, since they had to unload the torso and head, then set up the stand and then assemble it all. In all, it probably took them about an hour/hour and a half to set it all up, but we were able to pass the time just watching the people set it up and chatting with other Conan fans who stumbled upon it (we were able to pick them out with their yellow wristbands). There was one moment that made everyone gasp in horror, though; they were in the process of setting the head down after unloading it from the truck when the guy operating the machine nearly backed up into the torso. Wow, was that scary! When it was finally all set up there was lots of cheering and chanting from everyone, myself included. They then filmed a bit that they later showed during the show, but we didn't stay for that part, choosing to instead go over to Millennium Park until it was time for us to go back over to the theater.

As I mentioned earlier, our seats were on the main floor of the theater, which was pretty cool. They were on the right and a fair ways back, but our sight wasn't really blocked by anything, and we were pretty much just excited to be there at all. The warm-up comedian was Jimmy Pardo (apparently from Oak Forest), and he was really good. He gave a couple of general instructions, did a couple jokes, and made fun of a few people in the front rows. Then the band came out and started to play before Andy Richter came out. Both of them got big cheers, but obviously the loudest cheering/biggest standing ovation was reserved for Conan once he came out when the show started. Everyone, us included, went absolutely crazy, but he finally managed to get us calmed down so that they could get on with the show.

I've always known that Conan was tall, but it really is different to see someone in person. It's crazy how leggy he is – he's about 85% legs! Anyway, it was so cool to see everything firsthand and all of the different behind-the-scenes stuff of how they ran the show and moved things around during the breaks. Our seats were behind the cameras that panned over the crowd, but we still gave it our all in cheering and waving. During the breaks the band continued to play, keeping the crowd energized. I was surprised to learn that Jimmy Vivino, Mark Pender, and La Bamba (band members) could all sing really well. Also during the breaks, Andy and Conan would drink water/get makeup touch-ups, but they also interacted with the crowd a fair amount, waving and such. A couple people even tossed Conan a few things.

During the monologue they showed the video from that afternoon of setting up the Conan bobblehead. They showed footage of the crowd watching them set it up, and I think that we are on camera for about a split second. Kinda lame, I know, but to be on TV at all is pretty cool to me. :-D One of the big surprises was Scottie Pippen showing up during the monologue for a short bit. Also, Nick Offerman showing up for a segment was a surprise. That made me really happy because I love Parks & Recreation, and Nick Offerman is just fantastic. We saw the taped segment that Jack McBrayer and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog did at Wiener's Circle, and.... oh my goodness. The crowd was roaring with laughter so much that sometimes you couldn't hear the audio from the video. Personally, I was alternating between laughing so hard my abs hurt and covering my mouth in pure shock. That was definitely a wild ride. I felt so sorry for Jack McBrayer for getting berated like that because he genuinely is such a nice guy. The CBS bit was really funny – gotta love those guys. Adam Sandler was pretty good – he's a funny guy, but not really my type of humor and I just find that voice he does kind of annoying. TJ Miller was hilarious as always. I absolutely loved the bit he did at the end with the two Italian beefs from Portillo's – it was great to watch him chase Conan around the stage and then watch them clean up afterwards. To close out the show for us, Conan brought out his guitar and sang a song that he played on his tour called “40 Days” that involved some call-and-response with the audience. I just have to say – he can really sing and play the guitar! He then ran up the right aisle (about 5-10 feet from us) to the back of the auditorium, down the left side, and back to the stage.

On the way out of the show, I bought a Conan Chicago t-shirt. It was $25, but I think that it was worth it, and that will be my splurge for the next several months. Afterward my voice was extremely hoarse from all the shouting/cheering/yelling, and I could hardly talk, but it was so worth it to have had such a great day full of fun and spontaneity.

That evening, we watched the show when they broadcast it on TBS. True, we had just seen it a few hours ago, but we wanted to see what they edited out/tweaked for the broadcast. They cut out the crowd chanting “Scottie! Scottie!” after Scottie Pippen came out and tore the jacket off of Conan, as well as some extra cheering, but I'm sure that was mostly just for the sake of time than anything else. Also, the clip that they showed from “That's My Boy” was just a little bit longer for us. The other thing that they pared down was the segment with Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson. After they introduced themselves, Conan went on to report the news using ridiculous gestures but remaining totally serious. They also did not show Conan playing/running up and down the aisles at the end. I'm pretty sure that is was mostly for time, but I was kind of glad because it was something special just for those of us who were there.

All in all, a fantastic day was had, and I don't think that I'll forget about it soon.

If you are interested in watching the show that we saw here is the link for it: http://teamcoco.com/video/full-episode-thurs-6/14-adam-sandler-and-comedian-tj-miller