The New Hampshire

Issue date: 10/14/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Ralph, Mike Jimmy Fallon performed at the Field House

During a weekend filled with parades, carnivals and football games, Jimmy Fallon, best known for his time on "Saturday Night Live," came to the UNH Field House on Friday as this year's homecoming comedian. The show was the start of a brief college tour before Fallon's upcoming gig as the new "Late Night" host in March 2009, where he'll be taking over for Conan O'Brien.

Before the show started, the majority of people in line had the same consensus-they were either there because A). They had nothing else to do that night or B). They were just simply excited to see a celebrity, especially one from "SNL." The problem was students didn't have very high expectations for his stand-up routine.

"I'm excited because he was on 'SNL.' That's about it," said Erin Gayner, a sophomore who was first in line, having waited four hours with her younger sister. "But still, we're gonna rush to the front," she said.

Throughout the hour-long period from when the doors opened to the when the show started, the crowds slowly but surely filed in, yet the Field House never came to a jam-packed full house.

SCOPE wanted everyone to have a good seat this year without having an obstructed view or having people sit in the aisles. So rather than jam-pack the field house, they simply sold enough tickets for what was considered a "sold-out show" with 2,361 tickets, without overselling the show, according to SCOPE Publicity Director Sara Townsend.

"2100 people came, and we sold 2,361 tickets (for a sold out show), which we see as a success in college show standards, being UNH kids tend to bail out or find other plans, but the place was packed!" Townsand said in an e-mail.

Sporting a UNH sweatshirt, Fallon performed for just under 50 minutes, combining improvisation and song skills into his stand-up routine. Starting off with "Car wash for peace," originally a song performed for charity in 2007, Fallon got the crowd going.

"This is my first college show in like six years," Fallon said. "Lots of young kids here---that's good. This front row here looks like the cast of "High School Musical." I think that's Zac Efron right there," Fallon said.

As far as young kids go, Matt Kirshen, best known for being a finalist in Season 5's "Last Comic Standing," was Fallon's opening act. Most students didn't know who he was despite his fame on the NBC hit show, but that didn't stop the laughter.

Continued...

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