Hubster SecretLifeOfComedy has sent us this wonderful “Taping ReporT” of their trip to the June 12th, 2013 taping of “The Colbert Report”, featuring Sir Paul McCartney.
Hello internet.
I think this website is awesome, and John Hodgman once said in his podcast that you should participate in things that you enjoy so I figured I should make an account and actually contribute here. So welcome to my taping report.
The Paul McCartney taping was super early, I think it was 3 pm. I got to the city at like 8 in the morning because I hate rush hour, and I planned to walk around for the morning but there were already people lining up! I was kind of afraid that everyone on the crew would invite their friends and families and there wouldn’t be much room for us, so I walked up the block for coffee and then got right in line. For like 5 hours.
You know how it goes. We hung out in the alley, reading and people watching and meeting interesting new people. The only notable thing that happened show-wise was Paul Dinello chilling on the sidewalk with his dog. He’s got a major cool-hipster-dad look going and I approved. Also Paul McCartney’s roadies stacked all their cases like a block away in a giant pile which I thought was weird because I don’t think the show owns that property. It takes a TON of equipment to put on a concert even in such a tiny space.
Waiting area is the same as it’s been for a while. Fun pictures on the walls, a couple rows of benches, and that loop of greatest hits. It’s funny every time. My favorite is always Eleanor Holmes Norton’s ‘Better Know a District’ because she played along in the interview and dealt it right back to Stephen. She’s hilarious. Pre-show. Warm up comedian who’s name I don’t remember (I’m sorry, warm-up comedian!) I remember him being funny but I don’t actually remember most of what he said. He chose this one guy and asked if the girl next to him was his girlfriend, and the guy goes, “not yet.” The comedian asked him when they met and the guy said they’d just met in line, which was really ballsy of him. I hope they ended up dating. Also I remember there was a middle-aged woman who claimed she was Paul McCartney’s biggest fan ever, and she was there with her best friend which I thought was cute. The only other thing I remember from the warm-up was a guy who had a tattoo of Paul McCartney’s face on his arm.
Stephen came running out to the usual Cheap Trick which I love. I’m sorry that I don’t remember more of his Q & A. Somebody asked if he could translate any Paul McCartney song into Elvish, which one would it be (which was a great question). I forget his answer though. Somebody else said she was a ‘Strangers with Candy’ fan and Stephen told her she must be a sick person then. She said she heard he can do a great Jerri Blank impression and could he show us, and he did and it was AWESOME. Spot on. That’s all I remember from that.
They taped the show out of order, doing all the news parts first, then the interview, then all the songs. Stephen did all the news segments consecutively with no mistakes, but with a break between each segment. During the breaks four or five people went up to Stephen’s desk and went over notes, nothing really interesting except I thought it was weird when during the first break Stephen grabbed a fistful of tissues from under his desk and blew his nose while talking to them, for like a long time in a sort of gross way where afterward he stuck them up into his nose and basically picked it. They all acted like this was totally normal behavior, I don’t know why but I thought that was weird.
I loved the Citi Bike story. Dorthony Rabinowitz’s interview was wonderfully over-the-top, and everyone including Stephen was cracking up at the part when she said the neighborhoods were being “begrimed”. Later, Paul McCartney referenced that joke by using the word “begrimed”, but the joke was lost on viewers because the McCartney interview aired before the Citi Bike segment. Most people probably just assumed it was something British people say.
Paul McCartney came into the studio before his interview and we gave him a standing ovation. He was very friendly, and he looked great. I was surprised how much younger he seems in person than on TV. Stephen explained that they were going to do a green screen graphic for the part where he runs from his desk to do the interview. They had hung a big piece of green fabric on the left side of the studio. During the countdown right before he taped the interview, Stephen looked into the audience and mouthed “Oh my God!” and pretended to be (probably really was) super starstruck.
The interview was fantastic, Paul McCartney was funny and charming and it felt very honest when he was talking about what it was like to experience Beatlemania. I liked what he said about how they wanted to play music, and they wanted to be successful, but at a certain point it was just them going to concerts and getting screamed at to the point where it wasn’t fun anymore so they took a break. Mostly the interview aired as it was taped, except there was a part that got cut about Stephen suggesting that there should be a sequel to “Yesterday” called “Today”, and he had some lyrics for it which I forget but they were funny. I was happily surprised that they left in the part about how to pronounce “schedule”, since that was a genuine mistake.
THE CONCERT. So surreal, to be in such an intimate Paul McCartney concert. He played tons of songs, I think probably like 6 or 7, and I think their aired all of them/put them on the internet but I’m not sure. During the concert lots of crew/staff came out to watch, all standing on the left side of the stage by Stephen’s desk, which I think was why they never showed that part of the studio on TV. About half the audience stood up and danced, and it was sort of awkward because my section mostly didn’t stand but I wanted to (because how often are you at an intimate concert with Paul freaking McCartney?!) so I pretty much danced by myself. But I had a great time, and Matt Lappin (the short guy who’s always photoshopped) was also dancing by himself, and he is my favorite dancer at the Report now. He just really went with it, whereas most people around him including Stephen were just standing and watching. At the end, Stephen taped the part about the diary and then left, and Paul McCartney thanked us. The whole thing was totally unbelievable and I’m so grateful to the show for making it happen. A once in a lifetime experience for sure. Thanks for reading, feel free to ask me anything and I’ll try and remember details as best I can!
June 12th, 2013: The Taping ReporT!
Hello internet.
I think this website is awesome, and John Hodgman once said in his podcast that you should participate in things that you enjoy so I figured I should make an account and actually contribute here. So welcome to my taping report.
The Paul McCartney taping was super early, I think it was 3 pm. I got to the city at like 8 in the morning because I hate rush hour, and I planned to walk around for the morning but there were already people lining up! I was kind of afraid that everyone on the crew would invite their friends and families and there wouldn’t be much room for us, so I walked up the block for coffee and then got right in line. For like 5 hours.
You know how it goes. We hung out in the alley, reading and people watching and meeting interesting new people. The only notable thing that happened show-wise was Paul Dinello chilling on the sidewalk with his dog. He’s got a major cool-hipster-dad look going and I approved. Also Paul McCartney’s roadies stacked all their cases like a block away in a giant pile which I thought was weird because I don’t think the show owns that property. It takes a TON of equipment to put on a concert even in such a tiny space.
Waiting area is the same as it’s been for a while. Fun pictures on the walls, a couple rows of benches, and that loop of greatest hits. It’s funny every time. My favorite is always Eleanor Holmes Norton’s ‘Better Know a District’ because she played along in the interview and dealt it right back to Stephen. She’s hilarious. Pre-show. Warm up comedian who’s name I don’t remember (I’m sorry, warm-up comedian!) I remember him being funny but I don’t actually remember most of what he said. He chose this one guy and asked if the girl next to him was his girlfriend, and the guy goes, “not yet.” The comedian asked him when they met and the guy said they’d just met in line, which was really ballsy of him. I hope they ended up dating. Also I remember there was a middle-aged woman who claimed she was Paul McCartney’s biggest fan ever, and she was there with her best friend which I thought was cute. The only other thing I remember from the warm-up was a guy who had a tattoo of Paul McCartney’s face on his arm.
Stephen came running out to the usual Cheap Trick which I love. I’m sorry that I don’t remember more of his Q & A. Somebody asked if he could translate any Paul McCartney song into Elvish, which one would it be (which was a great question). I forget his answer though. Somebody else said she was a ‘Strangers with Candy’ fan and Stephen told her she must be a sick person then. She said she heard he can do a great Jerri Blank impression and could he show us, and he did and it was AWESOME. Spot on. That’s all I remember from that.
They taped the show out of order, doing all the news parts first, then the interview, then all the songs. Stephen did all the news segments consecutively with no mistakes, but with a break between each segment. During the breaks four or five people went up to Stephen’s desk and went over notes, nothing really interesting except I thought it was weird when during the first break Stephen grabbed a fistful of tissues from under his desk and blew his nose while talking to them, for like a long time in a sort of gross way where afterward he stuck them up into his nose and basically picked it. They all acted like this was totally normal behavior, I don’t know why but I thought that was weird.
I loved the Citi Bike story. Dorthony Rabinowitz’s interview was wonderfully over-the-top, and everyone including Stephen was cracking up at the part when she said the neighborhoods were being “begrimed”. Later, Paul McCartney referenced that joke by using the word “begrimed”, but the joke was lost on viewers because the McCartney interview aired before the Citi Bike segment. Most people probably just assumed it was something British people say.
Paul McCartney came into the studio before his interview and we gave him a standing ovation. He was very friendly, and he looked great. I was surprised how much younger he seems in person than on TV. Stephen explained that they were going to do a green screen graphic for the part where he runs from his desk to do the interview. They had hung a big piece of green fabric on the left side of the studio. During the countdown right before he taped the interview, Stephen looked into the audience and mouthed “Oh my God!” and pretended to be (probably really was) super starstruck.
The interview was fantastic, Paul McCartney was funny and charming and it felt very honest when he was talking about what it was like to experience Beatlemania. I liked what he said about how they wanted to play music, and they wanted to be successful, but at a certain point it was just them going to concerts and getting screamed at to the point where it wasn’t fun anymore so they took a break. Mostly the interview aired as it was taped, except there was a part that got cut about Stephen suggesting that there should be a sequel to “Yesterday” called “Today”, and he had some lyrics for it which I forget but they were funny. I was happily surprised that they left in the part about how to pronounce “schedule”, since that was a genuine mistake.
THE CONCERT. So surreal, to be in such an intimate Paul McCartney concert. He played tons of songs, I think probably like 6 or 7, and I think their aired all of them/put them on the internet but I’m not sure. During the concert lots of crew/staff came out to watch, all standing on the left side of the stage by Stephen’s desk, which I think was why they never showed that part of the studio on TV. About half the audience stood up and danced, and it was sort of awkward because my section mostly didn’t stand but I wanted to (because how often are you at an intimate concert with Paul freaking McCartney?!) so I pretty much danced by myself. But I had a great time, and Matt Lappin (the short guy who’s always photoshopped) was also dancing by himself, and he is my favorite dancer at the Report now. He just really went with it, whereas most people around him including Stephen were just standing and watching. At the end, Stephen taped the part about the diary and then left, and Paul McCartney thanked us. The whole thing was totally unbelievable and I’m so grateful to the show for making it happen. A once in a lifetime experience for sure. Thanks for reading, feel free to ask me anything and I’ll try and remember details as best I can!