Here’a a fun thing to do on a Saturday morning: attend a live radio show, and see what they’re laughing at when nobody has actually said anything.
“Whad’ya Know” is ostensibly a quiz show, but it’s actually more of an improv interview show. Michael Feldman never knows what will happen when he asks questions of members of the audience and of people calling in, but usually it’s funny or entertaining. And even if it’s not, Michael’s reaction always is. He usually has a “main” guest who’s done something interesting – written a book, usually – and then he’ll do a couple of quizzes, with one member of the audience paired up with one caller.
We were a “good” audience, in fact we were told in the pre-show that we had the potential of having achieved a kind of “audience zen” state, since we did so well practicing for the opening tagline. Michael always starts with some patter, tells a bad joke, and adds “Well, whad’ya know?” The audience is supposed to respond “Not much, you?” We did all right in the practice, but were thrown when we went “live,” because instead of the patter, there was supposed to be a taped soundbite from Pres. Bush’s recent visit to New Orleans. We almost missed our cue, but we all managed.
The show will be archived in the next couple of weeks or so – I’ve listened to a lot of shows and I have to say that this was a really good one, with only one “dud” caller. Well, a dud and a half: one caller was from a particular small town and was accused of being someone named Trudy from Euphalia, who’s called a few times already and should sit on her hands. The real dud was someone from Alaska, who notwithstanding the early hour, sounded like they were having a rough night.
It was a lot of fun watching the show being produced, seeing the musicians, and enjoy Michael and his announcer, Jim Packard, goofing on each other. Last week was the 20th anniversary show, which we were sorry to miss seeing “live,” so we’d settled for the next week as next best.
I’ll be laughing for a while at some of the funny little things that came up in the show, like the lady who sat in front of us who used to hoot at the howler monkeys at the Madison Zoo. It turned out Michael and she were neighbors, and he recognized her kids because they walk through his alley on the way to school.
There were people all around us who got picked to chat with Michael for a bit, or to actually do something like read the “Four Disclaimers.” That part surprised me – Michael just casually handed the paper to a man in the first row, and he stood up and calmly and clearly read them out like a pro. Good job, sir! Well done!
The audience was really “on” this week (not just because we were there); apparently Madison rejoices in having a well-educated, fairly erudite, fairly quirky population. We heard the ice-fishing report from a guy who didn’t know what he was talking about, other than he’d seen the guys out by the railroad trestle sitting on buckets. Michael remarked that it was pretty thin ice out there (which, if you’re going to host a live radio show, is probably always on his mind).
On our way out of town after the show, we looped around downtown (it’s very attractive, with plenty of great architecture) and actually ended up driving past the trestle to get back to our route, and there were all the idiots on the “ice,” sitting on upturned 5-gallon pails. There were a couple of light tents, but no huts – that would definitely be pushing their luck – and really, what’s the point? Sit out on the ice all day freezing your ass off, and all you get are a couple of measly fish? As Michael remarked, “I’d rather drink beer at home.”
It was a beatiful, sunny, mild day, and Madison looked its very best from its perch on the shores of Lake Monona and Lake Mendota. It’s only a 2-hour drive, and I have a feeling we’ll be heading up there again sometime.
Via: Flickr Title: Whad’ya know? By: GinnyRED57
Originally uploaded: 14 Jan ’06, 3.34pm PST