re: Have any of you ever been in the audience of a late night talk show?

I went to see Leno a few years ago. Was one of those things that I was glad that I did but wouldn't do again. I had always wanted to see the Tonight Show live since I grew up in the 80's with Carson so this was a semi-bucket list type deal.

Had to get there early to get a ticket and then wait in line for hours in order to have a decent seat.
Leno talked to the crowd beforehand and gave a little speech which I'm sure he'd done a thousand times before. Then they had a guy come out and warm up the crowd followed by a little dance competition where they pulled people from the crowd.

It was weird seeing the production and being on the other side of the camera. Fallon's studio looks a little more open and the crowd seems more involved. It was also strange to see that there were some Tonight Show groupies who would go through that process every day.