Jimmy Fallon proves superstorm won’t keep him down

New York City was shut down Monday night. While the power went out in much of the city in the evening, the afternoon tapings of two late night shows went on as planned. For Jimmy Fallon and David Letterman it was business as usual. Almost.

Both hosts sent their audiences home. In the morning, Fallon reported from his personal Instagram account that they had 10 audience members willing to brave the storm. In the end they were turned away. Giving his own writers the option to stay or go home, Fallon said his dedicated staff opted to wait out the storm because as they say in the theater, the show must go on.

During his opening monologue Fallon paused for imaginary laughter and the scaled-down version of The Roots played songs about rain, storms and even Sandy herself.

Guest Seth Meyers described the show best. “This has been like watching Charlie Rose if he had a band and everybody was a little bit high. It’s like you and [announcer Steve Higgins] are little kids doing a show out of your basement.”

Myers, the head writer for Saturday Night Live and the host of “Weekend Update,” said that while actors were told to stay home during the storm because it was “too dangerous,” the show’s writers were expected in at 5 p.m.

Padma Lakshmi, who recently had a prolonged stay in Seattle came out next to join Fallon on his Wayne’s World type solo show. The typically glamorous “Top Chef” host wore jeans and a sweater while comparing the wind and rain to her recent stay in the Emerald City.

The musical guest did have two special “audience members,” who when seen on camera only added to the weirdness that came along with the echo of Fallon’s laughter in the bare studio.

Without an audience the show wasn’t the same, but it was oddly refreshing to hear Fallon harken back to his days when he was the star of Saturday Night Live: cracking up at his own jokes.