A FREE NIGHT ON THE TOWN: Marianne Moro goes behind the scenes of: Jimmy Kimmel Live!

I'd never been in the studio audience for a TV show since I was a 7 year  in the bleachers for a local kiddie show back in Chicago.  A few weeks ago, I ventured back into showbiz as a member of the studio audience for the Jimmy Kimmel Live. The show was broadcast from the picturesque El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, and the tickets were free. Late of The Man Show and Win Ben Steins Money. Kimmel's  dry, intelligent sometime perverse humor is remarkably free of pretense, at least the night I was there. Apparently, I missed the show were he was allegedly drunk, and no, Adam Carolla was not a guest.  As retired 1980s L.A. rocker girl, I deliberately chose to go the week Slash was co-hosting.

For awhile, I did hook up with one of Slash's more vocal fans who was in attendance. She had a bagful of gifts for him and his Mrs. I never quite figured out why one would buy gifts for the famous -a homemade macramé vest from a doting fan is one thing, but anything else seems extraneous. The audience was primed for the show and seated in an irreverent version of a military drill.   Boy, wouldn't you like to be the warm up guy before the show trying to get the audience riled up. Especially when Pepsi is the hardest drink served at the pre-show bar! God forbid that guy should ever get depressed or grouchy, he'd be out of a job. A cute aside - the applause sign says  "Clap, you bastards" while the all quiet sign says "Shut the fuck up." A nice, post-modern touch.

For all the glamour and equipment the seats are nothing more than folding chairs, giving the whole scenario a high school auditorium kind of feel. There are screens to either side of the stage for audience members to view taped skits. Jimmy interviewed Thora Birch and Doug Benson, a comedian who gave a hilarious review of The Core.

After the sit down talk segment, the studio audience shuffled to the upstairs bar/concert area in an orderly fashion. An all-star "jam" band called Camp Freddy, consisting of Dave Navarro, Donovan Leitch , Matt Sorum, and Billy Morrison ended the telecast with covers of Ballroom Blitz and Should I Stay Or Should I Go? Slash and a performer named Johnny Fayva joined them for a few numbers.  Fayva's flashy outfit and cheesy Vegas rat pack persona added rock 'n' roll comic relief to the evening's festivities.The band stayed and played a few songs after filming ended. All in all, an entertaining and cheap evening in a town where money can disappear as quickly as you can earn it.