Today I made what will be my one and only venture into downtown St Paul until after the Republican National Convention packs up and leaves town. Between half the streets being shut down and anarchist "protesters" rioting and damaging private property for no good reason other than to cause chaos, I will stick to restricting myself to Ang's neighborhood. The worthy exception, of course, was our trek today to see The Daily Show with Jon Stewart taping at McNally Smith College of Music's History Theatre.

Even though the ticket info (I reserved our free tickets months ago) recommended we show up by 3:30, we decided it was best to show up earlier. We got into line about 1:30 and already about 30 people were ahead of us. Over the next few hours, we watched dozens of protesters and marchers (not part of the organized march that started later) walk by. Some carried signs, some had colorful costumes and props, and some had actually bathed sometime in the last week (but not many). We lost count of the times that random people from these groups would ask us what we were waiting in line for. Invariably, whoever answered would answer while pointing in exasperation to the gigantic Comedy Central "Indecision 2008" banner hanging from the building behind us.

At one point, one beret-clad woman bathed in an aura the screamed, "Hey, everyone, I'M OFF MY FUCKING NUT!", walked the line asking if anyone had an extra ticket. I wonder if she even knew what the hell she was trying to get into because she asked Ang, "Is this a special thing?" No, The Daily Show tapes here all the friggin' time. And never mind that wouldn't work anyway. You don't get an actual ticket. You essentially get put on a reservation list. They overbook the taping to ensure a full audience, so you aren't guaranteed a seat. They go down the line, asking for your name, check the reservation list to make sure you're supposed to be there, and hand everyone in your party (assuming you reserved enough tickets for everyone in your party) a numbered ticket. Even if you reserved tickets, if you are too far back in line, and they reach the seating capacity, tough shit. You're out of luck. In other words, show up early. Though I hear tell that they had an overflow area set up in the building where latecomers could watch a closed circuit simulcast of the taping. So crazy beret lady gave up and left empty handed to go plop down in the grass to listen to some old hippie play a protest song on his guitar.

Once inside, we were informed that Jon Stewart would do a Q & A before the show and were half-jokingly instructed not to ask him any creepy questions. So that threw my, "Hey, will you sign my wang?" question right out the window. Why doesn't anyone sign wangs anymore? Anyway, Ang and I ended up in the 4th row on the left side of the theater (stage right), although the theater was small enough that almost any seat would have been fantastic. Our warmup guy was comedian Paul Mecurio, who did a great job whipping everyone up into a frenzy before Jon Stewart came out. During Jon's pre-show Q & A, an audience member asked him if he had been to the State Fair and tried the chocolate covered bacon. Without missing a beat, he responded no, but he had tried "a pig with a Twinkie shoved up its ass, deep fried, and shoved up my ass." And as always with these open Q&A things, you had a few stupid questions, and a couple of jackholes shouting random, nonsensical shit, thinking they were clever. Go out and set a dumpster on fire with the anarchists and shut the fuck up.

As for the show, you can check that out for yourself. I'm sure they'll be replaying Tuesday's episode in the wee hours of tonight and early tomorrow evening. But after taping concluded, we were informed that the building was locked down and that for the moment, we needed to stay put due to protests with the "potential for violence" going on outside of the building on Cedar. It didn't last long -- within 10 or 15 minutes, they said we could leave through an exit on Wabasha at our own risk. Everyone got up and left. We still needed to cross Cedar to get to Ang's car, but fortunately the march had almost completely moved down the street, leaving little behind but the eerie site of dozens of riot police and mounted cops wearing gas masks surveying the scene from their equine perches. All in all, it was a hell of an interesting day to say the very least.

See also:

KARE 11's Jana Shortal's report on The Daily Show. You see Ang and I briefly toward the end and a few other familiar faces throughout the piece.

Coco, who was also at The Daily Show taping, gets a taste of tear gas after the show.

Aaron has a great FAQ about what to expect when attending The Daily Show taping this week.