www . steelnotesmagazine . com
Steel Notes Magazine
As 3:30pm approached , we made our way back to the Apollo entrance to get in line to head into the theater and be seated for the show . Walking into the Apollo , I saw for myself just how breathtaking the interior is . There are these absolutely gorgeous chandeliers as you make your way in , along with a huge mural of so many legendary soul artists on the wall of the lobby . It was something very special to see this beautiful and historic theater where so many of my favourite singers and performers got their start and continued to perfect their craft . Walking through the same building where people saw Etta James , Billie Holliday , Marvin Gaye , Sam Cooke , The Supremes , Buddy Holly and where one of my fave TV shows , “ Showtime At The Apollo ” was filmed was a deeply moving experience . I ’ m grateful Conan filmed there and gave me the opportunity to experience that . Making our way toward the entrance closest to our seats , I spotted the merch table and stopped to get a t-shirt and a key ring . The guy running the table sales was a joy to talk to — turns out he was also a huge Ramones fan and as he rang me up , we talked about how much the band and their music meant to us . It was another lovely surprise in a day full of so many already .
An usher was there to show us to our assigned seats when we reached our entrance . We walked further and further down until … we were at the end of the 2 nd row !! Directly next to the Basic Cable Band !! I honestly could not believe that not only was I finally there to see Conan , but where I was to see Conan !! As I looked at just how close we were to the stage , the magnitude of it all hit me . I had gone through * so much * over the past 23 years to be sitting there . I was so moved and thoroughly overwhelmed by emotion that it took everything I had not to cry ( although remembering I would ruin my skillfully applied eye makeup certainly helped ). I turned to Jerry with tears in my eyes and said “ Whenever I look back on my life , this is definitely going to be one of the times I remember most ”. He replied “ Please don ’ t start crying now . You finally made it . We ’ re here and in some of the best seats in the house ”. I ’ ve never been so grateful that I made overnight bus reservations as I was just then .
We were seated for about an hour as people continued to file into the Apollo for this completely full show . Tickets for this were so hard to get , in fact , that there were incredibly long lines for even the standby line . Suddenly the lights went down and the crowd got loud , concert loud . The warm-up comedian was not only very funny , he did a great job of explaining what ’ s expected from an audience at a live TV show taping . They definitely encourage audience members to be enthusiastic , laugh loudly and often and react to the show . All of that was really easy for me — anyone who ’ s ever watched Conan with me knows I happily do all that and then some as a home viewer regularly anyway , so it was good to know it was welcomed as a live audience member . When the Basic Cable Band was introduced , the cheering was easily as loud in there as it was at any comparable sized concert . And when they started playing — wow !! I already knew these guys are the best band in late night by a long country mile , but hot damn — when they took the stage with their version of Curtis Mayfield ’ s classic “ Move On Up ”, it was nothing short of
Steel Notes Magazine www . steelnotesmagazine . com
39