Letterman a perfect wrap

Taking the stage for the pre-show warm-up, he ran out like a champion fighter with surprising speed and grace.

And then he leaned over in anguish, feigning lower back pain.

He coolly grabbed the microphone like a rapper about to spout off the dopiest lyrics.

And then he lifted his dorky penny loafers up on one of the TV monitors.

He revved up the crowd with a fun riff on allergies but hit a pothole pontificating their scientific origins.

And that's when it became very funny.

"You're probably thinking you came to the wrong programme," he deadpanned.

Nope.

We all knew exactly what to expect when we went through the hassle of getting into the Ed Sullivan Theatre.

Landing a ticket to The Late Show With David Letterman - I called the standby list that morning, akin to winning a radio contest - was the perfect wrap on a stellar trek to New York that weekend, one that started with a trip uptown to the historic Apollo Theatre for a show by Brooklyn's powerhouse soul band Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.

I honestly couldn't think of two more quintessential-NYC shows to see right now.

We also contemplated the Broadway adaptation of Green Day's American Idiot, but something about paying $100 to hear show-tuney dance versions of punk-rock songs makes me feel a little sick.

I also couldn't think of a better time to see Letterman in action.

It was the day after Conan O'Brien appeared on 60 Minutes and brought back one of the year's most over-reported stories.

And it was two days after Jay Leno made a widely panned appearance at the White House Correspondents Dinner, where President Obama reportedly drew bigger laughs.

Hey, Jay: You know you're a putz when even the president is poking fun at you for fallen ratings and questionable backroom deals.

Just as New York has 10 times the soul of Los Angeles, my first Letterman taping was way more electrifying than the time I saw Leno live.

I witnessed the mother of all Leno shows, too, his Battle of Midway.

It was the one with Hugh Grant after his bust with a hooker in 1995, which famously turned the late-night war in Jay's favour.

Like everyone else, the thing I remember most was Leno's opening question to Grant: "What the hell were you thinking?" I bet Jay spent the entire day thinking that up. The Letterman taping I saw was far more ordinary, yet way more memorable.

It was actually the Friday show that would air four nights later.

That's how good Dave is: He can tape a show four days in advance and keep it fresh.

But then, you don't have to be a genius to know that Arizona's new immigration law will still merit spoofing a week later.