Leno films this show at 4p every week day. Like the Talk it's "live on tape". They film everything as if it were a live show warts and goofs and all. They take 2-4 minute breaks where commercials would be and add those later.
With this show they ask you to show up at 230p. It is filmed in a much bigger area that seats nearly 300. Not alot of parking. On the website they suggest you park on the street nearby. We chose to pay to park in the garage a block away. We got there early to scope things out and found a line already forming in a designated area of the parking lot.
They took us into the outside waiting area around 145p. This again was where we were reminded how deadly it would be to make the mistake of taking pictures of this big parking lot.
I took the picture of the sign while waiting. The lady coming down the stairs in the picture on the right sprinted over and said they'd take my youngest child if I took another. I asked if I could trade him for a couple pics inside. They said no. She did not think I was funny at all.
Close to 3p they started taking us into the filming area. Once again they seat you by demographics. Cassie and I had numbers 18 & 19 out of 300. We got good seats in the second section with a clear view to Leno and his desk, but did not get seats on the floor like I wanted.
Around 345p Jay walks out with no fanfare dressed in jeans and his denim shirt and warms up the crowd. He is funny and very friendly. He lets a few females come down and take pictures with him. He leaves only a couple minutes before the show starts to change into his suit. The band comes out barely a minute before the opening and go right to it.
There is another guy that tells jokes and keeps the crowd going. He tells us when to clap. Cassie and I both admit our hands are sore from all the clapping the day before at the Talk. This guy throws t-shirts too but I can't get to them.
Jay comes out and does his monolog and kills. His funniest bit was when he messed up telling a joke and had to start over. A commercial break comes and a cue card guy sits a the desk with Jay scrolling thru the cards for the next bit. A comedy bit is on Police Blotter. Jay shows funny/stupid things that have appeared in local newspapers describing crimes. I found it funny that many of the band members stared off into space or even checked texts while Leno did his thing just waiting for their time to come back.
In the commercial breaks the band does play songs and are very good. There are 15-20 security people that come out of nowhere to protect the stage incase a crazy person wants to storm the stage.
The first guest is Michelle Williams. I am not a fan of hers. She is kinda tall and stick skinny. I would be surprised if she weighs 90 lbs. Her super short haircut make her look even more thin. She is there to push her new movie My Week with Marilyn which Jay seems to have liked alot. She is very shy in interviews and it shows. Jay gives her one segment then prepares for the next guest. One producer comes out and chats with Michelle during the break as another one talks with Jay in what looks like a set of questions for the next guest.
The next guest is the reason Cassie came to the show. Josh Lucas was a star of one of our favorite movies, Sweet Home Alabama. He comes dressed in old blue jeans, a flannel type shirt that looks like it was pulled from the hamper and a three day growth of beard. Yet Cassie still melts into the seat every time he looks out our way. He tells some goofy story of how he was almost eaten by a mountain lion and somehow that convinced him to ask his girlfriend to marry him. Guys in audience groan. Females bat their eyes and swoon. He is far more interesting than Michelle and gets two segments. He has a new tv show coming soon called the Firm that Jay says will save NBC. In the commercial break between segments Josh and Michelle chat like they are old friends as Jay looks left out and stares into space.
The musical guest is some guy I have never heard of and can't remember his name. He was better than I thought it would be.
After the show Jay does a couple promos and Josh seems friendly as he waves to the crowd while leaving. They dismiss everyone with the security people looking like they are ready to shoot anyone stupid enough to try to take a picture of the now empty set.
As we were walking to our parking garage Jay drives by in a light green old Rambler and honks and waves at us. That was kinda cool.
Good time was had by all.
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