New York City: The Late Show with David Letterman

The Late Show with David Letterman
A little outdated, but here goes:

In June of 2010, I managed to cross off the first of my NYC checklist items off by going to see The Late Show with David Letterman. I had gotten the tickets from a buddy of mine who comes to Monday night trivia; he knows a guy who works at CBS and is able to score periodic tickets. With the weather changing and nothing on the agenda for an afternoon, I went to see what the fuss was about with my brother and brother-in-law. I had long been a fan of Letterman since I was old enough to stay up late to catch the Late Show. Letterman struck me as generally funnier than Leno in part due to the biting nature of his work in the 90s; Leno struck me as cheesy and a bit hokey. In any event, Letterman remains a more logical show to see live, as Leno is out west.

We started off with a nice burger and a pint right around the block from CBS studios in Manhattan. The guests that day were: Helen Mirren, Colin Hanks, and musical guest Cyndi Lauper featuring Allen Toussaint. Show went down like this:

Lots of standing on line. Our tickets were of the VIP variety, but we had to arrive an hour or so early just to ensure that our tickets would be held, and for the sake of getting a good seat. We ended up in the balcony, third row, with a solid view of bandleader Paul Shaffer's keyboards. The constant movement of cameras gave us solid-though not constant- views of Letterman's desk.

VIP. Feels good, though it didn't get us out of waiting on line...

My initial thought is that Letterman looked old: too much makeup and sloped shoulders, a little cantankerous and off-putting during the breaks. I tried to think about how a show in mid-2010 must be for this guy by that point, nearly 5000 appearances in to his television career, and came around to a sort of "what a pro" mentality. Everything until the musical portion of the program was done in one take (which, I gather, was part clockwork, part wanting to come of as self-deprecating in the event of any slip-ups, which has been an endearing part of Letterman's general allure: the man's not afraid to screw up every once in a while), and so I gained a profound respect for the people who work on that set and the way they go about their business.
Compelled to give a few pictures, since we weren't allowed to take any indoors.

Dame Helen Mirren was stunning...not even for an at-the-time 63 year-old. She is just a good looking gal. She carried herself with that sort of whimsical charm that brings out the best of the English, and received a huge round of applause from the crowd for both her pro-USA soccer sentiments (on the heels of the 1-1 draw against England the previous Saturday) and her condemning words for BP (at the height of the oil spill...feels like ages ago, no?). In the meantime, I can't be alone in saying that she was an exceptional guest.

Colin Hanks was next, and was largely forgettable. I remember seeing him on Roswell back in the day, and hadn't seen anything of his since. Still, a nice enough guy, coming fresh off of a wedding. So there's that.

The only snafu of the show was the musical portion of the program. There was a re-take because the announcing team and intro cues were mixed up. Mr. Letterman looked REALLY peeved that this was taking place, and wasn't quite fuzzy for the rest of the taping. Lauper sounded great, for what it's worth. She was plugging her then-new album, and performed a number from the album. It was no "She-bop", but it was entertaining. Toussaint's piano skills were very impressive; I had heard some of his work through college in what was about a semester-long New Orleans kick.

All in all, a good program. I'm glad to have gone, and would gladly do so again. Tickets are free, if you're willing to wait a bit. A highly recommended excursion while Letterman's still plugging along.
A fun afternoon in the city with family.