Here is a ticket to a Conan show that never happened.
I was originally supposed to go to this taping,
but instead I went August 12th.

On Tuesday, August 12th, 1997, after seeing "Late Show with David Letterman" 3 times, I, Bill Lehecka, went to see "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" at the NBC Studios in New York City. For this trip, I took a fellow co-worker from Camp Alvernia, John. We were both very happy to get away from the camp since we both hated it in our own special way. Anyway, we took the Huntington train (LIRR) to Penn Station. Then I took the usual 1 or 9 train to 50th and Broadway. Instead of walking to the Ed Sullivan Theater, we walked to 50th and 6th Avenues to the NBC Studios. We arrived in the city around 3:00, later than the Letterman trips. John and I finally got to the NBC Studios at 3:30.

Now I was supposed to pick up my Conan tickets at 30 Rockerfeller Plaza at the NBC Page's desk. I go over there, and they tell me to go to the line. At the line, I met a guy who asked if I had a reservation (Geez, I'm getting dinner here too?) I gave him my name. He asked me if I was going to use all four of my tickets. I said no, only two. We then were placed in line, and we waited. The wait was indoors, but it was still hot because of the mass of bodies around us. Around 4:15, were were all let up 15 at a time to the 7th floor (Question, why is it called Studio 6A when it's on the 7th floor?) John and I had to go through a metal detector. This thing was so sensitive, it picked up the metal in my glasses (I go through airports and this NEVER happened). Finally we were let up to the 7th floor. A page greeted us there giving us the ground rules. One of them was no gum (There goes my Letterman try... :-) ). We then were let in line. I told everyone that Slyvester Stallone was a guest. People were shocked. I was shocked as well. Finally, John and I were let into the studio at 5 PM.

The logo for Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Hey, I don't have pictures, so lay off! :-)

It was weird going into the old studio Letterman used to use. It was certainly smaller than the Ed Sullivan Theater. I just couldn't get over how small this studio was. History was made in such a kiddie toy studio, it was unbelievable. Once seated, we were greeted by the warm up comedian, writer Mike Sweeney. He was hilarious. I laughed so hard, I couldn't believe a show was coming up next. Mike then introduced the Max Weinberg 7. Instead of Max coming out later like Paul Did, Max came out with the rest of the band. They played great. The CBS Orchestra and the Max Weinberg 7 are very comparable. Then Conan was introduced by Mike, and the fun began.

Conan's preshow is definitely unique. He comes out, his microphone is on echo, he pulls a person out of the studio audience, and they dance in the aisle with the band playing in the background. After Conan finishes, he tells the person he danced with sheepishly, "I'm so sorry." Then he goes on to tell everyone about the show. He's like "You're here on a special night. Larry Storch from F-Troop is on tonight!" We all gave a mock cheer. Conan was amused. He said, no, we have Slyvester Stallone. He then goes back to the girl he picked out in the audience and says we should give you a gift. He gives her a soggy bag of crackers. Conan also introduces Andy. Andy comes out, and they talk about the show. then Conan asks everyone to get naked (jokingly) and dance. Some guy starts to take off his clothes and Conan stops the music. Conan says "I was hoping a girl would take off their clothes." It got a good reaction from the crowd. Then, back to the girl before, he gets the band to dance with her and her brother in the aisle. In all, Conan's preshow lasted more than 5 minutes. It was a lot of fun. He then leaves to begin the show. The Band plays two more warmup pieces, then the show begins at 5:30 PM.

Conan had on the show Slyvester Stallone, Loretta Lynn, and a band called Cool for August. During the commercials, Conan could be seen getting make-up on (must have missed a spot, or they shellac it, I was thinking), or communicating with people in the audience (hand gestures). He seemed genuinely happy. The whole show was a riot. At the end he says good-bye to everyone, and we all leave. I recommend everyone should go see a taping of Conan. It's a load of fun!