Conan Came Down to Georgia

In case anybody missed the billboards in the Every Damn Where neighborhood of Atlanta, Conan O'Brien has been in town the past few days to tape a week of shows.

I’ve been lucky enough to see three previous Conan tapings: two at the old NBC Late Night in New York and one for the TBS Conan show in Burbank.

We also saw the “Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television” tour in Atlanta and got to see Conan when he visited the Turner campus, a moment forever immortalized on the Conan Wikipedia page YES THIS IS REAL:

Nevermind the fact that I’m four feet from Coco himself and not looking, you know, at him.

Anyway, going to one of the Atlanta tapings seemed like a given, but my husband lost the Turner employee lottery, and we both lost the regular-people lottery.

Then, fortune and generosity struck, and a friend connected to the show was able to get us tickets–on my birthday, no less!

I was so happy, I did this:

We found our seats right next to the band. Awesome! If we’re right next to the band, we’ll probably get on TV. And we did! (Note: I was probably making the same exact face as above.)

For all the excitement of the show itself–Conan singing with a gospel choir, a Jack McBrayer cameo, Seth Rogen talking about pot–the part that always gives me goosebumps at any TV taping is the final countdown right before the show starts.

“We’re ready!” says comedian Jimmy Pardo after warming up the crowd, as the stage manager walks up. He holds up his hand.

It’s like crossing into another dimension. On one side: guy in a headset directing a silent theater, hidden from the world. Literally one second later: drums, horns, roaring cheers, hot glowing neon electric TV.

Watching the episode at home, I found myself getting a similar chill when the Georgia media logo came up at the end.

My memories of watching Conan go back to my family’s house outside Chicago, and now after 15 years here, Atlanta is home. Seeing one of my favorite performers embracing this place I’ve come to love, I felt a surprising swell of civic pride.

Thanks for shining a light on our fair city, Team Coco. Y'all come back now, ya hear?