Paying it Forward
When one of the RSA’s most loyal and dedicated skeletons, the always thoughtful @bgrhubarb was under the weather recently, she realized she would not be able to travel to Las Vegas last weekend as she had planned. Instead, she was able to make sure her VIP tickets to see Craig Ferguson at the Venetian got into the hands of another longtime Craig fan, the delightful @pixiepict2.  After a mix up with the tickets that resulted in Pixie and her party being asked to sit in different seats than originally intended, she got to see the show and meet Craig afterward.  Here is her story:

[stextbox id=”custom”]Adventure Over Safety

September 13, 2012 was a long, but adventurous and fantastic day. We (my family) had been given VIP tickets to Craig Ferguson’s show at the Venetian in Las Vegas by a wonderful RSA person @bgrhubarb. These, of course, included the “meet and greet” with Craig after the show.

The day started early (7 am) because mom had to work that day until 4 pm. My son (who had just turned 18) and I spent this time getting packed and ready. My son was going to wear a suit to Craig’s show.  A suit! I wore black and plaid outfit. My mother wears business casual attire, so she had the easiest time with her dressing decision.  We ended up on the road a wee bit late, but not very late. We had plenty of time, or so we thought. Between here and there is a particular bridge that is at an unspeakable height. I was ordered by my mother not to scream when we had to cross it. It’s the Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which cuts off about thirty minutes of your trip to Vegas. If you miss the I-215 exit, heading for The Orleans… well, to put it briefly, your shortcut plan is screwed. You just keep plowing away until you finally end up on the traffic-ridden Las Vegas strip, trying desperately to get to Tropicana in time for a shower and change after check in, then back on the Strip to the Venetian for Craig’s show.

By the time we made it to The Orleans (where we stayed the night) we were down to an hour before the show. You would not believe how quickly you can move when it comes to seeing a Craig Ferguson stand up show that includes a “meet and greet!” We rushed to the truck because there was no time waiting for the hotel shuttle to get us to the show.  We finally arrived at the Venetian and had to rush to the showroom. The showroom is nowhere near the entrance so there we three were just about galloping through to get there. Please keep in mind that I was wearing ‘Pin Up’ girl shoes this entire time. After some hallways, tortuous stairs, and some slick turns we were finally there. We had made it!

The ‘Will Call’ staff was very pleasant. However, there was a problem… one of the three tickets wouldn’t print out! Murphy’s Law was pulling trip wires yet again. We stood there, waiting for what seemed like forever being as patient as we could for the third ticket. Eventually a gentleman came out of nowhere and a handwritten the third ticket and said that the real one would be brought to our seats and to please follow the usher inside. I was beginning to think that it was going to take an act of God to get in to see Craig’s performance.

The lady who ushered us into the show fashionably late as we were suddenly stopped us in a mid-aisle and in dismay told us that there were people sitting in our seats! She double checked our tickets and proceeded down to the people who were sitting in our seats who showed them their tickets. Amidst this confusion we were enjoying the show and waiting to see what Craig was going to do and say next. Of course we were laughing at his wonderful jokes while trying to keep our patience. We were ushered in and out a couple of times while the staff was trying to straighten out the confusion. This made me feel badly for those having to put up with our predicament as well. The usher finally sat us in three seats almost directly behind the people in our seats and this was fine with us. We had a great view and got to enjoy the rest of the show uninterrupted! Murphy’s Law had disappeared for the evening.

Craig’s performance was nothing short of fantastic, hilarious, and certainly not politically correct! Who would expect anything else? Between high-stepping Nazis and a high-stepping Angelina Jolie with a burglar sack in the middle of the night, and the great Drew Carey joke, we laughed until we just about cried. We were all sorry when the show was over. His shows are never long enough. We could have sat there all night listening to Craig and laughing with his wonderful sense of humor!

The manager found us after Craig had left the stage and the lights came on (luckily because I was smoking an electronic cigarette which he thought was real) and explained the problem to us through many apologies. He also explained to us that though the people sitting in our seats were allowed to remain in them throughout the show, we were still going to get to meet Craig, get autographs on our tickets and my copy of American On Purpose, as well as get a picture with him.

Craig was wonderful to meet. I am not a tall person, or even close to being tall. I know that I’m short, but Craig sure made me feel like a midget! He is extremely nice and was even signed one of the tickets to @bgrhubarb saying “Get well soon” since she hasn’t been feeling well and that was how we were able to see his show. All in all, our Craig experience reminded me of what he says in his book about “choosing adventure over safety.”

This was our first time seeing Craig’s stand up show live, but it will not be our last![/stextbox]

CBS Party
Craig attended a CBS party Tuesday night, to celebrate the launch of the new fall television season. He tweeted:

I’m at the extremely glamorous CBS fall launch party. Outside. Apparently I’m not on the list. #notreally #freesnacks #CBScares #tacos // twitpic.com/aw573y  With my adorable CBS family

Late Late Music Gets Noticed

Nonesuch Records and Perez Hilton talked about Lianne La Havas and her appearance on Monday’s show. And Rolling Stone reported on Melissa Etheridge and her appearance on Tuesday night, backed up by only her guitar.



Ellen Reads Bridger’s Tweet
One of Craig’s production assistants on the Late Late Show, the hilariously gawky redheaded Bridger Winegar, sends out some funny tweets. And as the RSA’s Ruth noticed, Ellen Degeneres read one of his tweets on her show last Friday. Ruth writes:

She didn’t know how to pronounce his name, and didn’t mention his affiliation with the Late Late Show: “If you’re behind someone at an ATM at night, let them know you’re not a threat by gently kissing their neck.”

Video courtesy: Ellen

Tonight’s Guests
Wednesday on the Late Late Show, Craig’s guest is actress Sophia Bush, plus the CBS censor. LLS Producer Michael Naidus tweeted:

Meet the CBS executive who censors our show + @SophiaBush talks guns, sharks, hiking, and fake British accents. #TonightOnFerguson

On Thursday, Craig welcomes actress Nikki Reed and author Mitch Albom.

Guest Update

Added to the list of future guests for tapings are June Diane Raphael, Kelsey Grammer, Chelsea Handler and Allen Stone. For the most up-to-date listings, please see our Guests page.

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