This past week I was so graciously able to attend one of my favorite late night TV shows taping in New York City. But how did I get VIP you might ask? It all started with trying to get tickets when they came out on iota, and to our demise, the show was full but the monologue rehearsal was still open. So I sent in my request and a week or so later an email graced my inbox saying I had secured two spots to the rehearsal on Tuesday the 29th. I thought this was perfect! I could see Jimmy in a more laid back setting and it would be an experience to always remember.
But then on Friday the 25th a tweet popped on my screen about Fallon Ticket Friday; giving away 2 VIP tickets for his show the 29th. It was something I had heard a little about but I was not confident in my trivia knowledge. Knowing this was my only chance to see his show, I anxiously waited for the question to be sent out - knowing I was battling at least 10 other twitter users to decipher whatever was sent for a once in a lifetime experience.
The question was sent and I turned on intense-teenager-typing-fast-fingers to the MAX!! Having absolutely no clue what the answer was I went to my next reliable source, Youtube. After finding the video and fast forwarding to the answer I tweeted the answer in lightning speed.
*And a quick note to keep in mind is that I am doing all of this standing in front of a door, waiting to scan tickets for my churches event, Nights of Action. * Knowing I was the only correct response my heart felt like it might possibly beat out of my chest while I waited for the Tonight Show twitter to make their next move. A minute later I had a DM from them in my inbox and I was the winner of 2 VIP Tickets to see his show.
Now some of you may say, "she doesn't deserve it she doesn't even know the answer!", but I could careless because I was going to see an icon live and in person. The next sensible thing I did was tell almost everybody. And post it on instagram. And text my mom. At this point I really had no clue what VIP entailed besides getting priority seating. I tried researching on google and nothing came up besides websites selling or auctioning off VIP tickets. I did find one blog post about a lady's experience with the regular show taping, but still not VIP (kinda figured because it is a rare thing). So I set off to write my own and inform my friends and family about this really cool opportunity.
So there I was, waiting at the desired location after battling the cold weather and rain/snow. We waited by the area to be let in and were the first ones in line. After walking up a nice grand staircase they checked out our pass again and we waited in a line separate to those that had general/priority. By this point we were both freaking out and kept big smiles full of anxiousness and happiness, which made the security guards around us chuckle. Once the pent up anxiety had almost hit a high, we began getting checked in and went through security into the "Peacock Lounge". I was under the premise they didn't want us to take any pictures so my phone was in my bag because I was TERRIFIED to get escorted out.
We waited in our own VIP section and got to chill while everyone else was corralled into the subsequent two other sections. At this point, VIP meant: a separate line to check in and our own seating section. So far so good. As more people began to arrive a few strayed to our section and were asked to move, but after maybe 20 minutes it was too full to be on our own. I forgot to mention we were given white cards and everyone else had purple cards so they had a way to identify the cool ones vs the normals (a few pictures I "sneaked" in below).
Then began the time to go to the actual studio where we couldn't film anything and my VIP status was put to the test. The 8 VIP's were separated from the other 50+ general attendees and we then entered into a nice elevator where we went up to the studio floor. From there we were about to enter to the mystical studio. With all of its glory and mystique I was so excited to finally get a glimpse of this famous space. The nice lady at the front collected the white card from us, which I was kinda bummed out about because I wanted to keep it, and she directed us to another lady that was seating us. We ended up being about 5/6 rows from the bottom and seated at the isle.
This was the biggest plus I noticed about having a VIP status. This row and this seat ended up being exactly where I needed to be.
As Kate and I internally and externally freaked out, they had a comedian come to hype up the crowd and he was hilarious! It made me feel so comfortable and excited for the show. Then he introduced the Roots and they played a whole song a few minutes before the actual show started. It was really cool to see them in their groove and playing for a longer time than they are during the actual show. Then the show was in full swing. His intro video began to play on the screens above our heads and when Jimmy came out my heart felt like it was going to stop. He went straight into his monologue and messed up a few times (which was the coolest part, seeing the raw jokes and how he put his spin on them).
* You can hear my "woo" in the monologue when he talks about Colton going on a date with Cassie hehe*
From there, the show went on: Spike Lee did his interview, Maddie Ziegler did hers, and the figure skating champ did hers. Between each guest the mugs were changed, makeup and fashion fixed his tie, and the producer went over notes with Jimmy. It was interesting seeing the show flow and the people come and go with cue cards and clipboards while we all just sat in awe.
Then they needed to set the stage up for the musical performance (Yo Gotti and Lil Baby). He went straight from his desk, up the stairs and stood right next to me on our row. I was starstruck. He began chatting to the crowd and looking at me for feedback. We held eye contact, exchanged some shrugs and lots of laughs, and I was internally exploding. I love Jimmy Fallon so much and this was a once in a lifetime experience. If I would have not had that VIP ticket then I wouldn't of been that close or had that experience. He would go up a few steps, but he would always come back to our row; other audience members asked him questions, and I had one prepared, but I was totally fine with him not answering it because he was standing right next to me. He talked about the bit with Post and how they went to Olive Garden, even how after eating they went to a bluegrass bar and got up and sang with the band, and his favorite pizza places in the city.
Once the stage was set, he returned to his desk and introduced the artists. They ended up doing their performance twice and we had to sit through both which I was perfectly fine with because it was freezing outside and I was quite comfortable. Between the two performances he did his final ending and ran up and down both rows high-fiving the audience members. Once he got to us he gave Kate and I a high five and we were both ecstatic. After he exited and the second performance finally finished, the comedian from the beginning came back out and answered any questions while they slowly began to file out the rows from back to front. As we walked out of the studio my heart was filled with so much joy and gratefulness and pure happiness at the fact that I just got to talk to Jimmy Fallon and watch his show live.
I strongly suggest trying to get tickets to his show!! Even if it is the monologue rehearsal, watching the production live and unfiltered is something I wish everyone could experience. I was lucky enough to have this awesome opportunity as a VIP guest and it really was a cherry on top of an amazing trip.
xo Christy