paul f tompkins

Don't miss it!

Don’t miss it!

This time last year, I hadn’t yet experienced the delight that is The Thrilling Adventure Hour. Since then, I’ve become a bona fide fan, even subscribing to their podcast. I admit, I was disappointed when the lovely Busy Philipps confirmed via Twitter that she would be missing this year to attend the SAG Awards in LA, but the addition of Rider Strong was a happy consolation. And really, what better way to spend a Saturday night solo in San Francisco than at a charming comedy show? I couldn’t think of anything, either, so I schlepped over to Marines’ Memorial Theatre last night at 7pm sharp and prepared for the fun to ensue!

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Spinning Platters loves Sketchfest. San Franciscans are generally really lucky, but for two and a half weeks every year, our lives get even brighter and more chaotic, because the best live comedy programming one could imagine is here, in the greatest place on Earth. Of course, it can be awfully intimidating. Hence this guide, to help you sort out everything that you should go to. For a complete schedule and tickets, please click here!

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Photo By Jakub Mosur

Eugene Mirman’s show Pretty Good Friends turned out to be a great start to my SF Sketchfest experience, in spite of the grim start to the evening.  At 10:20 it was pouring rain and the line to get in to Cobb’s Comedy Club was around the block.  I was umbrella-less, water dripping off my nose and actually thankful that I had forgotten my camera.  But then the nice people behind me offered to let me huddle under their umbrella and I ended up meeting some fellow comedy nerds.  And to think I was dreading going to a comedy show by myself. [read the whole post]

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No photography allowed! Thanks to thrillingadventurehour.com for this pic of some of the players!

I admit it. When I took my seat in the Marines’ Memorial Theatre last night, I didn’t really know what to expect. I requested this show because I wanted to be a part of SF Sketchfest (last year I saw Maximum Volume with Greg Behrendt and Matt Nathanson with a friend, and there met Gordon Elgart, which eventually led to my writing for Spinning Platters). Furthermore, I was excited to see Colin Hanks, Busy Philipps, and Paget Brewster (to name a few). Though the title probably should’ve tipped me off, I didn’t know I would be seeing a staged production like an old-school radio show, nor that it would be chock-full of familiar (and abundantly funny) faces.

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Can you tell that you're in San Francisco yet?

Can you tell that you're in San Francisco yet?

(For our coverage of Day 1, here’s a link! Or maybe Day 3?)

It makes sense that for a weekend, Saturday is the most popular day. It’s the middle point; you had a night off before and a day off afterwards, so there’s no reason not to go wild and throw a big party. It therefore makes perfect sense, for a weekend-long musical, to host some of your biggest acts on the second day. The fine folks at Outside Lands rose to this challenge magnificently, and in addition to the heavyweights on the Land’s End stage that kept the Polo Field occupied for most of the day, some excellent surprises were thrown in for those who decided to venture out into the smaller and SLIGHTLY less-packed areas of Golden Gate Park.

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This is a picture of Chris Hardwick. He's not related to me, but he will be in San Francisco for Sketchfest. I will be hitting him up for birthday money, anyways. Hopefully I can fool him.

To the uninitiated, San Francisco’s Sketchfest is probably the most overwhelming 2 1/2 weeks out of the entire year, in terms of live entertainment booking. Its closest cousin is probably Austin’s SXSW festival, where you have a wide array of up-and-coming talent mixed with veterans, all playing some very intimate spots.

As a person that considers himself to be an expert of sorts on taste, I am going to sift through this year’s line-up, and let you know what you should be going to at this year’s Sketchfest. I will guide you through which Emmy winners or CSI corpses (both of which are well represented by this event), in my humble opinion, is most worthy of your hard earned dollar.

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SF Sketchfest Review: The Paul F Tompkins Show w/ Grant Lee Phillips, Dave Foley, Illeana Douglas, Dave Gruber Allen, and Picnicface

January 16, 2010

I have always considered music and comedy to be kindred spirits. Both art forms require a mastery of rhythm and delivery to pull off well, and much of music and comedy seems to be inspired by the same general subjects: relationships, politics, and religion. This may be why some of the funniest people on earth [...]

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A Music Nerd’s Guide To SF Sketchfest 2010

January 12, 2010

As San Franciscans, we love festivals. We also love music and laughs, and it seems that line is blurring between the two worlds more & more everyday. And, although our music festivals have been littered with comedians quite a bit lately, especially with Tenacious D functioning as headliner at least year’s Outside Lands Festival, the [...]

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