Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
It’s another week of live music, and, although it might seem to be a little slow, since every is getting amp’d for Noise Pop, there is still plenty of awesomeness. You may even get some things that you will never see again!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 2/2/12-2/8/12”
Comedians live some pretty crazy lives… I guess you need a certain amount on insanity to inspire the occupation of the jester. Kevin Allison’s podcast Risk! True Tales, Boldy Told ranks up there with WTF with Mark Maron as one of the few places where you can hear comedians speak frankly about the life decisions that brought them to where they are now. This installment of Risk! allowed us the opportunity to hear from five comics about some of the stranger things that have happened to them.
Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Risk! Live Podcast at The Eureka Theater, 1/27/12”
There are three televisions series that I have every episode of committed to memory. Those are My So-Called Life, Police Squad, and The State. Of course, I made sure to follow the careers closely of all those involved. Yes, that meant weeding through a ton of Spy Hard’s, Stardust‘s, and VH-1’s I Love The Best Time Ever’s out of devotion, waiting for that genius to come about again. So, of course, it was a special treat to me when I found out that three of prime creative forces behind The State were going to have a discussion of their history in television. I was pretty stoked. (Excuse the slang)
Sketchfest brought made it’s way to Oakland for the first time. The performer that brought the fest across the incredibly long bridge was legendary performance artist Ann Magnuson, debuting her new show, A Salon des Beaux Arts for the Fin du Monde 2012. SpinningPlatters were lucky to be able to enjoy this intimate show at Oakland’s legendary jazz club/Japanese restaurant Yoshi’s.
Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: An Evening With Ann Magnuson at Yoshi’s — Oakland, 1/24/12”
During Sketchfest, it’s interesting how one could make show decisions. There are the headliners, and there are the special guests. No matter what, you will find something new. I stumbled across Superego because of the advertised guests. Paul F Thomkins is a genius, and I really enjoyed Erinn Hayes in Parenthood. So, I stumbled out of bed at 11:30 in order to go see comedy on a Saturday early afternoon. Which really isn’t a time that comedy should happen.
Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Superego Podcast at Eureka Theater, 1/21/12”
The Kids In The Hall have been having a difficulty time of things when they’ve come through our town on solo projects. Last year, Dave Foley did a solo stand up set at Cobb’s, and, well, it was a bit messy. Later last year, Scott Thompson and Kevin McDonald played a set at Free Comedy Day that was also less than well received. Although, yes, I am a fan of classic Kids In The Hall, I was a little apprehensive about McCulloch’s set on the second night of Sketchfest. But, I still made me way through the Friday night rain to see what he’s been up to.
Ann Magnuson is a cult hero that has been involved in nearly every artistic movement of the last 30 years. She has been a part of the punk world, the rave movement, starred in network sitcoms, and has done pretty much everything. She is debuting her latest show, The Drawing Room Apocalypse at Yoshi’s in Oakland on Tuesday, January 24th and Wednesday, January 25th as part of San Francisco’s Sketchfest. Tickets are available here! Spinning Platters had a chance to talk to talk to her about her many projects.
Although SF Sketchfest begins this week, there is still plenty of music in the city this weekend, too! It’s time to get your ear plugs warmed up — mostly cause it’s really cold out — and get moving!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 1/19/12-1/25/12”
For 11 years, San Francisco has had the opportunity to witness the best in comedy. And, for the third straight year, we’ve helped you dig through the 500,000,000 amazing shows to find the best shows for only the nerdiest of San Franciscans. And, since I am a man of exquisite taste, you will trust my guidance.
You can purchase tickets for these and all of the other shows at SFSketchfest.com. Many of these sell out, especially the ones that I want you to go to, so decide quickly!
In 2002, three Bay Area comics organized a festival featuring some of their favorite local sketch groups. They dubbed it Sketchfest, and it was a success. The next year, comedy legend Fred Willard joined the event, and every year subsequent year, the event became bigger and bigger. This year’s festival has grown to 2 1/2 weeks long, and features the biggest line up yet, featuring the likes of Eddie Izzard, Amy Poehler, Wil Wheaton, Barry Bostwick, and scores of other people so famous that even your grandparents know who they are. (You may need to ask your grandparents who Barry Bostwick is)
SpinningPlatters had the opportunity to chat with founders David Owen, Janet Varney, and Cole Stratton about the evolution of the festival, the struggles of putting it on every year, where to grab a burrito, and a whole ton of hypothetical situations that were good fun to ask. Be sure to go to SFSketchfest.com to check out the line-up and purchase tickets.