My Evening With Jon Stewart

So yesterday I got to see the Daily Show.

I think it was my favorite Valentine's Day ever. 

I have a huge crush on Jon Stewart, so for Hot Guy to bring me to my crush on Valentine's Day? Awesome. Plus the weather was decent, which made standing in line for 2 hours a lot more pleasant. Just FYI, even if your husband's terrific friend gets the free tickets you still have to show up way early. Apparently they give out way more tickets than they have seats, just to make sure the audience is filled up. 

We were at the front of line 2, which is where you wind up when you get there 1 hour early. I don't know how early the people at the front of line 1 got there. But we got in eventually, after 2 hours of being in the line. And they have bathrooms you can use while you wait in line (which are in a cluttered basement - the whole place kinda feels like your typical black box theater, but with lots of TV cameras and lights). Anyway, you have go through a metal detector and have your purse searched to go in. Men have to just give up their bags when they go and get them again on their way out. So don't let your husband bring a murse when you go. 

The high security level surprised me. I guess they really are afraid that Fox News watchers and Tea Partiers will try to get revenge. 

So then you troop across the (surprisingly small) studio and sit in your seats. The upbeat music (Cee Lo's Fuck You, Lady Gaga's Born This Way) gets louder and louder and then the warm-up guy comes out. He doesn't do a spiel, he just interacts with the audience in very funny ways. Of course, it helps that one of the audience members is the understudy for Peter Parker in the new Spiderman musical disaster (If you watch the episode I linked to above, you can see Jon Stewart refer to the guy too, completely off the cuff). And another is a breast cancer survivor with a great attitude. Don't ask me to explain why the cancer thing was funny, but Paul Mecurio (the warm up guy) is very talented, that's all I can say. 

And then, after a Bruce Springsteen interlude, Jon Stewart came out. Can I tell you what it did to my Jersey Girl heart to hear Bruce while watching Jon walk out (Jon is also from NJ, in case you're not an obsessive stalker fan like I am)? Flutters. 

Jon takes questions from the audience, which are totally not plants because Hot Guy's friend actually asked one. Yet Jon was still funny and smart, so yes, he is as awesome as he seems on The Daily Show. I guess a lot of people agree with me, but all the security people kept stressing that we were not allowed to hug, kiss or otherwise invade his personal space.

Bummer.

So then the taping began. Instead of applause lights, you have to watch for the director to tell you to shut the hell up. The show runs like clockwork and Jon spends the time between each segment talking to various production type people. After they finish filming the section with the guest, he continues talking to him animatedly.

They only had to redo 2 things - one of which was adding in yet another Glenn Beck joke. I honestly wished they had more to do because I could have sat there for hours. Of course that might have been just because my feet were super sore from standing in line in high heeled boots.

I wonder if we can get tickets again for my birthday?