Where to begin? It would probably be appropriate to start leaving a crew of friends at Chola after having some of the best Indian food I have had in the city (or for that matter, ever) for Rockefeller Center with Catherine, my esteemed guest for the evening.
We arrived promptly at 10:00 PM, entering on the side of the GE building underneath the awning with the “NBC Studios/Rainbow Room” neon lights. Inside was a large line of people waiting in a roped-off section. I walked up to the NBC employee who appeared to be managing the line(s) and displayed my print out of instructions. She asked for my last name, checked my name on a list and confirmed that we had “priority tickets” which meant “you will be seated first”. We were instructed to wait by a bank of escalators, which over time we would be joined by 20-30 more people.
We were under the impression that “priority tickets” would somehow equal floor tickets but this was not the case. We were led up stairs to the top floor of Studio 8H after passing through metal detectors and security - definitely a wise choice to leave the concealed hanguns and contraband at home. Walking through the hallways, we passed by a museum gallery of stills from SNL sketches going as far back as 1975 to as recent as last year. As we were led to our seats, I quickly realized that while we would indeed be seated first, our seats were not on the floor. It was hard to remain disappointed at this trivial defeat and we absorbed the scene beneath us on the studio floor.
The scene involved several union workers breaking down the sets from the dress rehearsal while the Saturday Night Live Band took the stage and began playing promptly at 11:00. One of the things that is probably hard to appreciate from any late night television show is the talent of the musicians in the band and the SNL band directed by Lenny Picket is certainly no exception. While they jammed out jazz infused versions of rock and pop songs, the studio became setup for the show with sets broken down and lined up at the far left and right sides. All television studios seem small in person but it is quite an accomplishment that a show with the scope of SNL is performed in such a small space.
At this point, the only faces on the floor I recognize are that of Don Pardo (a sweet man, in his elder years rocking out to the band) and Lorne Michaels, nervously pacing the floor. Don Pardo makes his way to the stage and greets the audience in his signature voice. He then introduces Jason Sudeikis who’s humor and deameanor was slightly more accepting by the audience. After Sudeikis does more meet-n-greet-how-are-ya, he introduces Maya Rudolph and “Larry King” to perform a song with the band. Rudolph and Fred Armisen (dressed as Larry King) nail a Blues Brother (ish) song which then gets us to a few minutes before the show goes live.
Two green screens are setup on the far left of the studio and on the main stage in front of the SNL band which provided the backgrounds for the opening sketch. The opening sketch was hilarious and appropriately dogged CNN (and the 24 hour cable news) for their hysteric coverage of the death and subsequent “drama” of Anna Nicole Smith. Fred Armisen, still in his Larry King makeup and wardrobe delivers the signature, “Live From New York…” as the crowd erupts in applause.
Rather than gab endlessly about every sketch, I will note some interesting observations I made throughout the evening.
- Lorne Michaels is on the floor at all times. While not necessarily interacting with the cast and crew, I suspect his involvement as creator and executive producer has changed very little since 1975 (and his return 1985).
- Rainn Wilson was grabbed by the hand and rushed through the studio at the end of every sketch by a wardrobe assistant/PA as if the building was on fire. I assume this is because the host isn’t expected to remember where to go for wardrobe changes, etc.
- The Weekend Update set is setup on the main stage where you see the host perform their monologue. I didn’t see any other sketches take place here.
- Floor seats are not necessarily the best seats in the house. Except for having a close-up view of the monologue, SNL band, guest music performances and Weekend Update, the view is obstructed by the sets, equipment and the crew. I enjoyed having the bird’s eye view of what was happening in the entire studio.
- The NBC staff are hard core about the “no photography” policy anywhere near or in the studio, even with cell-phone cameras. Not that I was trying any funny business.
- Amy Poehler had the most nods/banter with the audience.
- I noticed a set with coffins ala funeral parlor stacked up on the left side of the studio. I had my fingers crossed that there was a Six Feet Under sketch planned but the sketch, whatever it might have been, was cut.
- I doubt there are many in the audience who make it in from the standby line or even from the ticket “lottery” SNL holds every summer. Most audience members have to know somebody or know somebody who knows somebody.
The highlight of the evening turned out to be Arcade Fire. That may not be surprising from my previous posts concerning the band, but I assure you it was what made the evening very special. The band made a great cameo in the SNL Digital Short and certainly nailed their performances of Intervention and Keep The Car Running. What made the evening special was what happened after the show ended…or so we thought.
Before the credit roll and the host/cast/band goodbye waves, we were asked by an NBC employee to hang out for a couple of minutes for “a little something special” after the show. When the credit roll began, Arcade Fire was on the main stage waving goodbye but almost immediately jumped off and back on to the guest band stage. I thought they were going to start playing with the SNL band but as soon as the SNL band stopped playing, Arcade Fire kicked into a crazy feedback jam. The feedback soon turned into the instantly recognizable bass riff for Rebellion (Lies) and the cast, who is now on the floor directly in front of the stage, starts going crazy. Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis and Bill Hader are all in the front jumping up and down and clapping while the rest of the cast (I didn’t see Keenan Thompson) and writers crowd up for what ends up being a long and fun take on the track. Arcade Fire then continues with (Antichrist Television Blues) and finishes with Neighborhood #2 (Laika), performed off the stage in the middle of the studio with their megaphones and now unplugged instruments. A few of the audience members had left at this point but most of them stuck around to take in a very special performance that, according to one of the NBC employees, doesn’t really happen i.e. an after-show set.
And as Arcade Fire stopped playing and ended their performance, Catherine and I headed downstairs and outside of Rockefeller Plaza to 49th Street where black Escalades, Town Cars and limousines were waiting for decidedly more important people than us to take them to the after party. We didn’t go and we didn’t need to. The evening had already exceeded expectations.
Having watched the show at home, I can say that, yes there is something special about watching the show live. The sketches played out ok-to-mediocre on the tube but there is definitely an energy and vibe to feed from in Studio 8H. I find myself a dedicated-enough fan to continue that objectivity about the show - I know that they’ll continue to probably miss more than they hit.
But when they hit, it’s good. Really good.
Thank you again to my wonderful friends for arranging the tickets and being adventurous with Indian food, to “K”@NBC who should email me about Mets/Yanks tix this summer and to The Arcade Fire for rockin it out during and after the show. It was a birthday for the books, or at the very least, the blogs.
I was just listening to Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #2 (Laika)