Seinfeld10:    I would like to start off by saying thank you Andy for taking the time to do this interview.
JohnTrvlt1:    Anything for Seinlanguage
Seinfeld10:    Today folks is a special interview with Andy. Last week, wednesday - May 2nd, Andy saw Jerry Seinfeld live in his hometown, Baltimore. And he has plenty to talk about! Andy, let me start off by asking you, where exactly was this at?
JohnTrvlt1:    This one night only event was performed in Baltimore's renowned Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, which is normally home to some of the most prestigious concerts and events held by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.  So all in all, I'd say a most fittingly special place for Jerry Seinfeld to do what he does so well.
Seinfeld10:    So, was there an opening act or did Jerry just come right on stage?
JohnTrvlt1:    There was a brief opening act, approximately 20 to 25 minutes.  His name is Mario Joyner, he's a mid-aged black comedian who most recently appeared in the Chris Rock feature film "Down to Earth."  He definitely looked familiar, and he was extremely funny.  And as some of you may be thinking, he was nothing like Chris Rock.  This man was as close to Jerry's trademark comedy style as one can get.  He made the same mundane, everyday observations that Jerry does, but in his own unique way- and he didn't... 
JohnTrvlt1:    even have to resort to cuss words to maintain a respectable level of humor.  He was the exact prepping that Jerry wanted to prime the audience for his own material- much better than Kenny Bania I must say =)
Seinfeld10:    Sounds like he was some act! Nothing compared to Jerry, of course. So, tell me...how did Jerry come on?
JohnTrvlt1:    Well, it wasn't quite what I expected- not to say that his entrance was bad, but it was different.  First of all, the man who normally introduces him from backstage ("Ladies and Gentlemen, Jerry Seinfeld.") came out on stage when the show began.  It was the first time he'd ever come out onto the stage so we could see what he looked like.  He introduced the opening act, and then Mario Joyner did his thing, left the stage, and the theater darkened.  I thought there may be a small intermission or break, but...
JohnTrvlt1:    Then I saw a man dressed all in black (stage hand I assume) bring out Jerry's trademark stool and glass of water, filled to capacity.  This guy left the stage, but I saw him the whole time because I was three rows back.  Two seconds later, BOOM, Jerry walks out on stage, the spotlight had a brief delay but it found him immediately.  He walked right out to the center, took his initial bows, and he got a partial standing ovation.  I of course was standing along with other scattered individuals, I guess I...
JohnTrvlt1:    felt like Elaine at the Yankees game (wearing the Orioles cap), but in all honesty, I didn't care.  I was star struck, and I couldn't believe I was seeing THE man like 10 feet away from me, larger than life.  He did look my way and eyeball me as if to say, "thank you for standing up because I know that's hard to do."
JohnTrvlt1:    I can honestly say, with absolute certainty, that his whole standup routine, every single bit, was brand new.  I know all of his old routines like the back of my hand.  The only routine that he repeated was the one he did on 'Letterman' a few weeks ago about how "babies are only here to replace us."  Aside from that, his routines were fresh, upbeat, and hysterically funny (as always).  He held that audience in the palm of his hand- 3 years out of practice, he didn't show one ounce of rust- he rocks...
JohnTrvlt1:    Would you like a few examples of some of his bits?
Seinfeld10:    Sounds like it was some show! Sure!
JohnTrvlt1:    It was the best hour and a half of my life.  Jerry is my idol, and I can't tell you what I love more- the show or his standup act.  But regardless, this was about Standup, with minimal references to the show.  Now of course I can't begin to recount the entire show word for word, bit by bit.  However, certain new routines do stand out in my memory.  Some of these new routines actually borrowed from the concepts of old routines, such as women & their looks, sex & relationships, birthdays...
JohnTrvlt1:    And of course- gay ("not that there's anything wrong with that").  Actually, that brings to mind a certain instance in the show.  He was doing a bit and he brought up the fact that women are enhancing their looks with makeup, but so far they are only appealing to the "gay" men, to which he immediately replied "and as you all know, I have no problem with that," which received a wild burst of spontaneous laughter.  That was of course a show reference to "The Outing."  Anyhow, later in the show, the subject...
JohnTrvlt1:    of gay came into play again when he was talking about the old neighborhoods in New York (after he moved back from L.A., where he spent 8 years, he "was working on a little project out there" as he so nonchalantly inferred his most successful TV phenomenon, to a big round of applause).  Well, his second reference to "gay" spawned a spontaneous response by a woman in the audience "Not that there's anything wrong with that."  Well he turned to her, oh so confident and sly, and responded "thank you maam...
JohnTrvlt1:    I believe we covered that a while ago."  So his range of new routines included weddings & divorces, voice intonation, TV Awards Shows (especially the Oscars), women's use of lip liner to outline their lips (as if to help us men locate them), people who need coffee first thing in the morning (the new spin on the Folger's commercials- "The Best Part of Waking up, is Shut the Hell up."), and a hilarious spin on nose hairs, prescription drug commercials, and colonoscopy/prostate exams for middle-aged men... 
JohnTrvlt1:    I remember he actually said he should get that exam because he is 47 years old; but the idea of having a camera inserted up his ass is less than appealling to him- and he imagines that it can't be any joyride for the doctor either- "he has nothing better to look at than my ass, from the inside out... Hasn't the press invaded my personal life enough?  That's what I like to call the "pooperazi."  =).  So those are some of the best routines I remember off the top of my head- there are more though...
JohnTrvlt1:    I can't mention them all now, although I would like to =)
Seinfeld10:    Sounds like it was some night. I only wish I was there. :o)  So, how did Jerry look? What was his personality like? Did he do anything unusual?
JohnTrvlt1:    Jerry Jerry Jerry.  Well he looked exactly like he did on Letterman a few weeks back.  His hair is still a lot thinner than it was on the show, but it's still there (he's a far cry from George :-).  He was wearing his trademark black suit, with blue tie.  Other than that, he doesn't look at all older than 47.  He looks younger.  Did he do anything unusual?  Well he held his own- he held his ground and composure.  But there was an instance or two when he actually lost his train of thought and actually had...
JohnTrvlt1:    to turn to the audience and say "what was I talking about?"  And we had to remind him where he was- he went off on unplanned tangents a lot, but it was all well and good.  I loved every minute of it, make no mistake about it.  
Seinfeld10:    Well, I'm sure it's kinda difficult to remember ALL the stand up. Too bad you didn't record it, hehe. But, what you have mentioned sounds pretty good. His stand up sounds pretty fresh and funny. Then again anything coming from Jerry is funny. :o)  So please tell me Andy, do you remember how Jerry ended the show?
JohnTrvlt1:    Yes- he went out on an upnote, like he always wanted to as we all remember from "The Burning."  He finished up with a routine about the words "Great" and "sucks" which he now perceives as extremely close in meaning (by the standards of our generation) and in some instances they mean the exact same thing.  "Think about it: you get a double scoop of ice cream on a cone, you go to take that first lick and it falls off and ends up on the street in front of you... now that sucks.  And the first thing you do...
JohnTrvlt1:    is look down at it and say "GREAT."  Thank you very much you've been a wonderful audience.
Seinfeld10:    Sounds funny. Now that I think about it, the two can go together.  :o)  So, Did he recieve a standing ovation? Was there an encore? Did he do a question/answer thing? And if so, did he do the all famous "Hello Newman?"
JohnTrvlt1:    Hmmm: yes, yes, yes, and yyyyes =).  To elaborate- he received a standing "o" (a full standing ovation) when he came back out on stage.  He walked ever so slowly back to that microphone and quipped (in typical Jerry fashion), "I know what you're thinking- how much material does this guy have left?  Mr. TV."  To which he received an enormous sitting ovation and resounding laughter.  At which point our curiosity had been piqued, so he granted us entrance into his personal life...
JohnTrvlt1:    in areas which the press fails to cover.  Questions included "how do you like the Michael Richards show (Well it's cancelled), do you still talk to George, Elaine, and Kramer (not as much as you might think... they're FICTIONAL CHARACTERS... I think some of you might be surprised to learn that most of what you see on TV nowadays is NOT REAL), and how much money he had in his wallet"... to which he confidently replied, "Oh I'm covered."  He pulled out an American Express card, and that was that.  He also...
JohnTrvlt1:    made a reference to "The Wallet," in discussing his monetary possessions.  One of our local television executives walked up to the stage to present him with a card to let him know that his show airs here in Baltimore every night at 7PM on UPN 24, to which he hilariously & yet disgruntled with this reply... "UPN 24... you mean I didn't even make the teens?"  And of course, what Jerry stage show would ever be complete had he not ended with his most famous of all witticisms- the one, the only...Hello Newman.  
Seinfeld10:    Hello Newman, of course. :o)  Were you able to get a question in and an answer out of him?  :o)
JohnTrvlt1:    To be completely honest, I tried to get a question in, I had my hand raised the whole time, although it was highly unorganized, as people were just shouting out questions at will, and he was answering whatever he could hear.  Many people beat me to the questions I would've asked, except for the question that I consider the creme de la creme (cream of the crop)... what's your favorite Seinfeld episode?  They always ask the question and he always answers the same way (They're all kind of my babies, I did...
JohnTrvlt1:    the best I could with each one.  Comedy is a tricky business, it's about survival- it's like if I were to ask you what's your favorite breath of air, you'd tell me whichever one you take that gets you to the next).  But all in all I'd say my curiosity was satisfied fully.
Seinfeld10:    So, was that all? Was the night over for you? 
JohnTrvlt1:    No, as it turned out, my night was just beginning there.  I knew where he'd be coming out (through the theatre) so I tried to wait on the inside, but the usher (not to be confused with the ticket seller or ticket ripper) kept eyeballing me, so I had to get out.  I walked to the lobby and saw a man who was going from person to person asking them what they thought of the show.  So like a woman trying to intrigue a man, I kept trying to lure him over my way to talk to me, but he didn't pick up on it... men...
JohnTrvlt1:    =).  But as it turned out, I didn't need that little guy's help.  I drove around to the back of the theater and double parked across the street.  And what before my wondering eyes appeared but a black stretch limo with security guards and Baltimore's worst guarding it.  I knew it was his, so it was only a matter of time.  15 minutes passed, and I saw this man in a casual shirt, jeans, a baseball cap, and he looked strikingly like Mr. Seinfeld... I believe I was right.  Yep, it was Jerry, he went from...
JohnTrvlt1:    being 2 feet away from me inside the theater, to 2 inches away from me on a mean Baltimore street.  There were about 50-75 other people there waiting for him, so it wasn't overbearing.  So I saw him start to sign autographs, and I pulled out my ticket stub and reached in- but those stupid security guards were blocking me, so I had to move fast or I'd miss my opportunity.  So I moved over to where Jerry was standing, and all that separated me from him was a guy in a wheelchair.  Next thing I knew...
JohnTrvlt1:    I reached my hand out, he smiled at me, looked me directly in the eye, took the ticket, signed it with is own permanent marker, and gave it back to me.  I shook his hand, and then, Ivy & fellow Seinlanguage Subscribers- I think you'll be proud of me.