Author: Marie Carney

Sketchfest Review: You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes at Marines Memorial Theater, 1/23/2015

Rhea Butcher, Pete Holmes, Emo Philips, Cameron Esposito and Charlie Sanders after the show. (Photo from Pete Holmes' Instagram @peteholmes)
Rhea Butcher, Pete Holmes, Emo Philips, Cameron Esposito and Charlie Sanders after the show. (Photo from Pete Holmes’ Instagram @peteholmes)

You Made it Weird is a podcast where comedian host Pete Holmes talks at great length with his guest about love, sex and god, mixing in a lot about life in general. It can often get spiritual and deep which makes it a little more interesting and introspective than other comedian led interview style podcasts. But the live format is a little different, focusing more on the weird bits of life side than the deep talks about sex, love and spirituality. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. With five guests to get through in two hours and a theater full of people it is hard to get to the intimate places the podcast can get to, but it does allow for a lot more amazing jokes. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes at Marines Memorial Theater, 1/23/2015”

Show Review: Gerard Way at the Fillmore 10/12/14

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To be honest, I don’t think anything has made me feel older than waiting in line to get into a Gerard Way show, all alone, on a chilly San Francisco night. So many teenage girls with their moms who are closer to my age than they are. All pumped up with teenager energy and hormones. It was overwhelming and energy sucking. I can’t even imagine how Gerard Way must feel, looking at this crowd, when he is a year older than me, married and a Dad himself. It must be weird to say the least. I will say though that at least a lot of them looked like the disaffected youth that would have been the original fans of his former band My Chemical Romance. But now that being weird is normal, who knows if they have the same insecurities and pain that the original “emo” fans of his would have had, like myself. So, what kind of night would it be? Would all that teenage energy turn into something beautiful? Something destructive? Or just throb into something else completely? Continue reading “Show Review: Gerard Way at the Fillmore 10/12/14”

SF Sketchfest Review: The Benson Interruption of Twilight: Eclipse on 8/16/2014 at Castro Theater

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The Benson Interruption of Twilight: Eclipse was the second Benson Interruption I have attended, so I know I was in for a lot of silliness and belly laughs from some talented comedians who had never seen the movie before. And that’s exactly what I got, but it was even better and full of even harder belly laughs than I ever could have expected. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Benson Interruption of Twilight: Eclipse on 8/16/2014 at Castro Theater”

SF Sketchfest Review: The Muppet Movie on 8/16/2014 at Castro Theater

Q & A after The Muppet Movie (Left to right: Amy Goelz, Gonzo, Dave Goelz, Susan Juhl and Janet Varney
Q & A after The Muppet Movie (Left to right: Amy Goelz, Gonzo, Dave Goelz, Susan Jewel and Janet Varney

SF Sketchfest is one of my favorite things about San Francisco. So when I saw that they were doing a Summer Social, and that it involved two of my favorite things: Muppets and Doug Benson, I jumped at the chance to attend. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Muppet Movie on 8/16/2014 at Castro Theater”

SF Sketchfest Review: Set List: Comedy Without a Net on 2/8/2014

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Set List: Comedy Without a Net was my last show of Sketchfest and my hopes were high. The show is an improve stand-up show where the comedians have to do a stand up routine based on random and weird topics that are projected on a screen behind them. I decided to go because it sounded like an opportunity to witness greatness and tragedy. Which worked out perfectly because that’s exactly what we got. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Set List: Comedy Without a Net on 2/8/2014”

SF Sketchfest Review: The Fogelnest Files on 2/7/14

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Last night, Jake Fogelnest hosted his podcast, The Fogelnest Files, live for Sketchfest with guest Chris Gethard and they talked, as possibly only they can, about Manhattan Public Access Cable Shows. And it might go down as the best night of my Sketchfest. The Fogelnest Files is a podcast where they play some YouTube videos and discuss them. It might not sound like something really special, or even the best idea for a podcast, but it was a real honor to have two such passionate people talk sincerely about a bizarre art form that they so dearly love. It’s not often enough that I get to see that level of enthusiasm with that much clarity to the way it was presented. Of course, it was also a weirdly nostalgic evening for me, and left me with the strange longing and excitement of a teenager. But I’m going to save that personal stuff for the end and just start off by attempting to explain what a wonderful show this was. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Fogelnest Files on 2/7/14”

SF Sketchfest Review: Stardumb! on 2/1/2014

Bill Dwyer and Erica Rhodes, hosts of Stardumb!
Bill Dwyer and Erica Rhodes, hosts of Stardumb!

Stardumb! is a fake game show hosted by Bill Dwyer where actors and comedians are asked to answer varying levels of personal questions for points. When I read the description on the SF Sketchfest site I knew I had to see what this was all about. That and two of my celebrity crushes were scheduled to be there. How could I resist that? I’m so glad I didn’t. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Stardumb! on 2/1/2014”

SF Sketchfest Review: Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction on 1/31/2014

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Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction with Bryan Cook is the funniest, dirtiest, podcast I’ve ever seen live. Five comedians are asked to write a fan fiction piece on anything they want before the show and present it while five other comedians get suggestions from the audience and have to write a fan fiction piece on the spot. Each group has a winner crowned by the audience and everyone leaves, amused, maybe slightly disturbed, and possibly  sore from laughing. At least that’s how I felt last night. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction on 1/31/2014”

SF Sketchfest Review: Shitty Jobs on 1/25/2014

Well, four of these guys were there. I guess you only get the others in LA.
Well, four of these guys were there. I guess you only get the others in LA.

Shitty Jobs is a regular UCB show in LA with Sean Clements, Dominic Dierkes, DC Pierson and Charlie Sanders. It is another great example of the stuff people get in LA all the time, and we are thankful to get to watch during SF Sketchfest. This is an improv show where they interview the audience about their shittiest job then do an extended improv sketch about a particularly insane day at said job. This opens the show up for many brilliant possibilities and many awkwardly wonderful conversations with the audience. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Shitty Jobs on 1/25/2014”

SF Sketchfest Review: Comedy Film Nerds Podcast on 1/25/2014

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While preparing to go to the live Comedy Films Nerds show at Punchline today I came to the strange realization that I’ve been listening to the podcast for three years. Almost every episode. So you can say that I feel like I know the podcast hosts Graham Elwood and Chris Mancini and I was a bit apprehensive about how it would feel watching instead of listening to the action. Podcasts feel so personal, making you feel like the comedians are talking straight to you. But could it still feel like that in a theater full of people? I was about to find out. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Comedy Film Nerds Podcast on 1/25/2014”