October 6, 2005
In October, I flew to Massachusetts so my sister and I could attend the first Madison Square Garden show of the fall tour together. On an @U2 tip, I learned that U2 would be the exclusive guests on Late Night with Conan O’Brien the day before their concert, so we altered our original plans to try for tickets.
We took a somewhat comical bus ride from Boston to New York, made our way to our hotel and then went to the movies. I even remember what we saw: A History of Violence.
We woke up super-early the following morning and took the subway to Rockefeller Plaza. We were 55 and 56 in line, which meant that 55 or 56 people with tickets had to not show up for us to get in, but we were assured by staffers at the studio that sometimes the no-shows were in the hundreds.
The line was jovial—over a hundred U2 fans (including a few who had slept on the sidewalk overnight) were gathered, sharing stories and discussing the upcoming shows.
Shortly after 8:00 a.m., we heard cheering from the front of the line, so I went to investigate. It was Conan himself, who arrived with a film crew to capture our excitement for a segment on the show. He played his guitar for us, hosted U2 trivia and chatted with fans.
He was talking with one of his producers during a break and I shouted to him from the line.
Me: “I work for a U2 website. Will you sign my business card?”
Conan: “Where are you from?”
Me: “I live in Seattle.”
Conan: “My wife’s from Seattle!”
Me: “I know. I’ve seen you around downtown.”
Conan (with his guitar still in tow): “Can you sing?”
Me: “I can—but I don’t really want to sing on the show today. It’s early.”
Conan: “I don’t blame you, but I’ll be happy to sign your business card.”
He really couldn’t have been nicer. He stayed with the line for at least a half an hour, telling jokes and thanking us for being such dedicated fans, then we were given our numbers and told to come back at 3:00 in camera-ready clothes.
My sister and I promptly went to Saks Fifth Avenue, where the new Edun line had just launched, and bought new outfits. Note: Edun is an eco-conscious clothing label that was founded by Bono and his wife Ali.
I remember needing to lay down after the morning’s excitement, so my sister went out and bought me a curling iron (something I’d neglected to pack), then in early afternoon we headed back to the studio to get in another line.
It was devastating. Every 15 minutes or so, NBC staff would come out, go to the back of the line and cut a chunk of people. We made three cuts before the Late Night grim reapers approached us and confirmed the inevitable: we wouldn’t be getting into the show that night to see U2.
I choked back tears (my sister was disappointed, but more composed) and we walked out into the brisk, cold New York air.
I wanted to head immediately back to the hotel so I could call my boyfriend and post an update on the @U2 blog, but when we arrived at the subway station we were met by cops in riot gear. It seems there was a credible terrorist threat and as a safety precaution, a few of the stations were temporarily out of service.
We ended up walking back to the hotel, then drowning our sorrows at the Irish pub down the street.
It was still an exciting day and what helped make it so was the nice talk show host.
My boyfriend taped the show for me and I was happy to see our morning-in-line segment made the cut, even though we did not.