It's a little minidrama to get the tickets.  I was able to get them for the next two Fridays, but this week stayed in "Sold Out" status 'til the afternoon before.  I was at work, and my phone wasn't letting me log into the site, so I asked my girlfriend to go online and confirm them for me, which she was thankfully able to do.

I was a basket case - :) - about being able to get into the show, because the agency overbooks the tickets so they're guaranteed a full house, so if you show up too late there's a chance you'll get turned away once the house is full.  My friend kept assuring me that, since we were getting there really early, there was no danger of that.  I could only get general admission, though, so a lot of people were going in ahead of me.  So I still worried.  You never know.  It'd be my luck. 

My friend picked me up at work at 2 p.m., and we drove an hour to the Sony Studios lot in LA.  We had time to stop for food and to go and get bottles of water (they don't feed you, so you're "fasting" for up to 6 hrs). 

We pull into the parking garage and go down to the first holding area.  1iota hasn't set up the check-in lines yet, so I'm waiting with my friends at the front while they chat with other people they know.  I'm nervous.  I want to make sure I get a good place in line.  They form 2 separate lines - 1 for Priority and 1 for General.  As soon as I see people walking back to the General line, I decided to hurry over and claim my place.  We fill out a Non-Disclosure Agreement form (NDA), which means we'll be sued for $5 million if we saying anything about who's on the show or what the results are.

Waiting to get in feels like an eternity - especially when you get there almost 3 hrs early. :)  There a lots of 1iota people milling about, keeping the line orderly and socializing with the people waiting.  They're very friendly and helpful.  And beautiful.  We each get 1 of those wristbands you get at a concert or club, and we go thru a metal-detector.  I forget to pick up my water bottle after I go through.

We swing around and get in another line outside the parking structure.  Giant numbered sound stages are across from us and receding into the distance.  I'm still wondering if I'm going to make it into the show.  They split us into 2 lines - white wristbands and black wristbands.  We're all marched together around the corner and into an alley where we're dwarfed on either side by these giant buildings where countless films and TV shows have been made.  There's a loud hiss coming from somewhere.  I feel like I'm in a sci fi movie.  Somehow I end up toward the back of my line, and I have no idea how the hell that happened.  I'm worried.  The black wristbands are led in, and we still wait outside for what seems like forever.  I'm thinking that the studio is filled up and they're only goingto let a few more in.  Eventually, all the rest of us are led inside.

Inside the sound stage, there's an antiquey, musty smell that reminds me of Disneyland (these buildings are probably 80 yrs old - it was once the MGM lot).   We're led down a dark, narrow passage, where black curtains tower over us.  We emerge onto the set, and all of a sudden we're surrounded by a bright, glittery, colorful spectacle.  Blue and purple lights flashing everywhere.  Preshow music playing through the PA as though we were at a concert.  Everything looks smaller than I remember it looking on TV - but a lot brighter and more vivid.  I'm  ushered to a bleacher seat halfway up, on the isle, off to the side.  We have a great view, except that we'll only see the backs of the judges' heads.  The section directly behind the judges my friend calls the "hottie pit" - it's reserved for young, very beautiful women who will be a pleasing backdrop for whenever the judges are on camera.  The A/C is cranked up, so it's freezing cold.  I think they do that because of all the lights and equipment; otherwise, it'd get hot really fast.

After everyone's settled in, the floor manager (?) comes on the mic and talks to us.  He's the main guy responsible for working the audience.  He's freaking hilarious.  He talks about what we should expect, what they'll want from us, how a show-taping works, how long it might go, etc. 

He introduces the judges one by one, and we stand and cheer for each of them.  Ben Folds comes out, smiles quietly and waves, and takes his seat.  Shawn does the same.  Sara Bareilles comes out and goes up to each side of the bleachers to look at the people, acknowledge them, get them amped up.  She's full of energy and charisma, and the people respond to it.  Nick Lachey (sp?) is introduced once they're ready to begin taping.

I'm always dazzled when I'm this close to famous people.  There's just something magical about being in the presence of someone who's known by hundreds of millions of people I'll never see or meet.  There they are, in concrete reality - I can see the folds of their clothes, the strands of their hair, the light on their skin.  It's surreal.  I know intellectually that they're just ordinary people with very public jobs, but it's still thrilling.  There's an aura of excitement and wonder around them.

We get into taping, doing the show a segment at a time.  The only part about the show that has any spontaneity is when the groups are singing and the judges are commenting.  Everything else is very closely managed.  Still, it's a ton of fun.  I'm having a blast.  Great music, a lot of laughs.  And Sara B is only a few yards away. :)

During a long break at the halfway point, after the talent have left the set, the floor manager brings up a few audience members for a singing contest.  I get picked to go up.  I knew about the contest ahead of time, so I've been going thru songs in my head the whole time, trying to decide which one I want to do.  I sing fairly well, so I'm dying to get up there and sing.  I had grandiose notions in my head of doing one of my own songs and making Sara B cry and want to make music with me... Yyyyyeeeaaah, that doesn't happen. :)  It is surreal, though, to step onto that stage.  It's very smooth and shiny.  It's overwhelming to look out at the audience and the cameras and the judges' bench from that point of view, knowing that what happens in that space will be viewed by 10 million people or more.  I decide to do a Jeff Buckley song that has a great groove, and the people get into it, clapping along and whooping and hollering.  It's intoxicating.  I end up getting 2nd place - a $25 gift card.  Sara doesn't come in and take her seat 'til the last 2 people are singing.  Dang it.

The show goes on, and I'm loving every minute of it.  I don't have any means of keeping time since I couldn't bring in my cell phone, so I don't even realize when it passes midnight and then 1 a.m.  There's a long delay.  The people around me are starting to complain about being tired and cold.  The floor manager apologizes profusely and thanks us over and over for sticking it out with them.  Everybody who deals with the audience is really nice and helpful.  At one point Sara comes over to our section and goes up the aisle, chatting with people, rubbing the arms of people who are obviously cold, thanking them for still being here and toughing it out.  The European guy next to me gets her attention and starts a conversation with her, and she comes and stands right next to me.  I can't speak.  I can't even freaking look up.  Dang social anxiety.  He asks her whether she's going to put out any new material after "Love Song", and she politely tells him about the album she's made since then and that she's been on tour.  She's always gracious and polite in talking to him, even after he tells her he has no idea who any of them are.  She answers the questions as though she's never been asked them before, and she never comes across as being annoyed or irritated.  Always very professional.  I figure she must have this sort of thing down to a science.  They signal that they're finally ready to begin, so she goes back to her place.  And a lifetime opportunity is gone. :(  I'm going to at least 2 more tapings, but I probably won't be in that position, in that situation, ever again.

We finally finish taping, and we head back to our cars.  It's almost 2 a.m.  My friends and I are famished, so we go over to Denny's for an early breakfast and talk about the a capella world. 

I loved every minute of the experience.  But I will probably always kick myself for not talking to Sara when I had the chance.