Conan: May 22 2014

Conan show ticket: 2014 05 22

As part of our recent trip to LA Team Phungo met TeamCoco. TeamCoco is the name for the fine group of folks that put together the Conan O'Brien show aired by TBS.

I think this is the first time I ever got to see a show taping. It was an interesting and fun process. The Guests for our show were Ellen Page (who we knew from "Juno" but was discussing X-Men ), Comedian Bob Saget who was plugging his new biography "Dirty Daddy", and Country artist Jennifer Nettles.

Conan's monologue was solid, timely and he worked well going to the audience to show off some of his improv skills.

The show also included 2 video segments and one featuring Andy putting together his outdoor furnishings for a barbecue (essentially an ad for Lowe's) and a second with Conan (a non-gamer) reviewing the upcoming "Watch Dogs" 

During the show I didn't feel that any segment was outstanding. This is partially because I was watching the workings of the show, also it is a bit disconcerting to see Conan looking into the camera rather than to the audience. But when I re-viewed the show that night I really enjoyed it.

Pre-Game
One of the things you don't get to see at home is Jimmy Pardo warm up the audience for the show. What Pardo does is much more similar to what a standup comedian may do during a comedy club gig. He has maybe 15 minutes to make you laugh and really can't bomb.

During his bit he also covers some legalese - no cameras/phones don't be a jackass etc and he also introduces a fire chief who lets you know to behave if there is an emergency. The whole day at Conan struck me as getting ready to board a plane - you stand in a line a lot, go thru a metal detector, and just before take off somebody tells you what to do if there is an emergency.    

Pardo is assisted by the very capable Basic Cable Band led by Jimmy Vivino. They do a terrific job firing up the audience. Different members of the band parade through the aisles of the 300 seat theater while playing a rousing version of the Conan theme.      

One odd thing happened during Jimmy Pardo's pre-show bit. He was bonding with the audience and one of the folks he talked to was a rapper, Asoka.  I don't want to accuse him of being a plant but it just so happens that Asoka had a song featured on a Conan Christmas Album


Conan Tickets

Getting tickets for the our show was not a problem. We went on-line picked out a date and filled out a request. A few weeks prior to the show I received an email containing a pdf "voucher" which was used to get the ticket above.

The day of show formalities are a bit of a hassle. You need to get to the lot (actually a parking garage) fairly early in the day - they recommend between 1:30 and 2pm with a hard cap at 2:30. Since we were unfamiliar with the area and LA Traffic is unpredictable at best we got there on the early end. Unfortunately The Conan show doesn't start till 4:30 and a Conan Ticket does not entitle one to get onto the Warner lot. This creates the issue of being stuck in Burbank with nothing to do but wait. As noted LA Traffic is a hassle so you don't want to get to far away, and other entertainment options near the Warner lot are limited.  We did run some errands during the middle couple hours and checked out the scenic LA River.

Post Show
Following the show Pardo returned to introduce a clip from the Pete Holmes show which airs after Conan on TBS. I had never heard of the show but the clip (a fish barrel parody of the Duggar family show) was a) Terrible and b) unbearably long. A Day later I read the Pete Holmes show had been cancelled.

Yes the Pete Holmes Show really did exist - and it shared a parking garage with Conan and "2 Broke Girls". 

Tig Notaro, Bill Burr and Laura Kightlinger @ Largo at the Coronet 2014 05 22

Pardon my vagueness in the following, the show was six weeks prior to me finally filing the review. 

Last month during our LA trip we got to see an excellent comedy show. Tig Notaro hosts a monthly production at the Largo at the Coronet. She invites other comics to join her as openers for the an evening which is dubbed "Tig has Friends".

Notaro's notoriety ballooned a few years ago when she announced she had cancer during a set at the Largo. The Largo is a small 300 seat theater, but one of the folks watching the show was Louis C.K. who tweeted "In 27 years doing this, I've seen a handful of truly great, masterful standup sets. One was Tig Notaro last night at Largo." Suddenly everyone who followed comedy knew who Notaro was and that she had cancer.

Notraro's guests for the show were Bill Burr and Laura Kightlinger who provided an interesting contrast. Kightlinger's opened the night, much of her set was dedicated to derailed relationship stories and parent-bashing. I found her set to be funny at times, but it was the most wanting of the three - It sort of felt like a "Sex and the City" script read - updated to include Sexting jokes.

Bill Burr dedicated a significant portion of his set to a story about a man who attempted suicide by jumping out of a tour helicopter - yeah I know not so funny stuff, but Burr makes it funny. Beyond that much of his humor dealt with current events and a focus on sports. He did a bit on LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling. He also targeted first ladies Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama with a couple of jokes - a tough sell in a room that was there to see Tig Notaro and had a bit of a feminist bent.   

As I mentioned the two opening acts provided an interesting contrast to the Tig Notaro headlining set. Laura Kightlinger interacted with the audience the least and provided personal stories. Burr was more involved with the audience and went to the audience asking us to question our own standards.

Notaro had a few set pieces but they were loosely connected by a lot of improv and Questions for the audience. At one point she invited an aspiring actor up on the stage to show off his skills - the two of them had mixed results. At another point Notaro had a large fly buzzing around the stage and worked that into her show.

Notaro concluded the night by relating a story of an excursion she had with her writing partner, Kyle Dunnigan. It involved looking for a Santa Claus impersonator for a short film. Notaro pokes fun at their own glee at finding the perfect Santa, but things don't work out. The interesting thing about the bit is that it is the kind of story that if mishandled turns into a "You needed to be there" moment - an inside joke that is really only funny for the participants.

I had seen Notaro use these writing partner stories on youtube and it makes for an interesting basis for a routine. She does a good job of filling in the details and bringing out the funny aspects of the story.

Overall I highly recommend the Tig has friend shows if your in LA. The comedians are top notch, to some extent they are working through material so it can be a bit hit/miss, but it is enjoyable to see the comedic writing/performance process in motion.

Largo at the Coronet
I really enjoyed the Largo as a venue. The small theater has assigned seats, but you don't get your seats until you arrive. Once you pick up your seating assignment your free to roam elsewhere in or outside the venue. They have a tiny b-stage that has a small service bar - This smaller theater is where the Sarah Silveman HBO special "We Are Miracles" was filmed in front of just 39 people.

We arrived 45 minutes prior to the show and received tix 4 rows from the stage, although they were on the wing of the double aisled theater. Staff was courteous and professional, drinks at a bit of a markup but were not unreasonable.  

Sources
Fresh Air
This American Life
YouTube
HBO