Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
This is the 13th year of the SF Sketchfest, and it seems to be getting bigger every year. The event’s founders, David Owen, Janet Varney, and Cole Stratton tooks a few minutes out of their day, busily putting together another epic line up, in order to chat with me. Tickets for all dates go on sale on December 15th, and you can find a full line up of festivities here:
I laid there comfortably. I was coming off of some great painkillers thanks to a little minor surgery and moving had become a bother. It was beautiful outside but I had settled into a 6-hour marathon of ‘The Cosby Show’. It was one of my favorite episodes where Claire Huxtable tries to lose weight to fit into a dress as Debbie Allen played her no-nonsense trainer. The episodes fluctuated between seasons: from Rudy young to Rudy pre-teen from Lisa Bonet’s short ‘do to her long, flowing, dread-full (see what I did there) locks. I even experienced a little ‘jump-the-shark’ Olivia. I was enthralled. The episodes were funny, heart-warming, and insightful. They were timeless.
Continue reading “Let’s Not Make This Awkward: A Survey of Dave Chappelle and Bill Cosby”
The year was 1998. The State, MTV’s highly influential sketch comedy show had just gotten the axe. Three cast members: Joe Lo Truglio, Michael Showalter, and David Wain were asked to if they had a play they could do for a theater festival in New York. They were given a week to write, cast, and rehearse it. The name came first: SEX aka Weiners and Boobs. Because if you are going to title something, that’s about as good as a title can get. Fast forward 15 years, and the good people of Sketchfest managed to put together nearly all of the original cast for an encore performance of this fine piece of theater.
Garfunkel & Oates have played Sketchfest twice before. In 2011, they were part of Chris Hardwick’s (No Relation) Music Night as one of several acts performing. In 2012, they opened for the great Reggie Watts at Mezzanine. Tonight, however, we got to experience them play their own headlining set. It meant that every single person in the crowd was their just for G & O. And, considering this show sold out several weeks in advance, it only proved that the good folks of San Francisco were quite thirsty to see these wonderful woman play a full set.
Can you think of any way to spend a Saturday afternoon that’s more fun than in a crowded Castro Theatre with everyone’s favorite stoner and funny man Doug Benson making snide and silly comments over some of pop culture’s most fun (and fun to trash) films? I couldn’t either. Announce that, among films like Anaconda, Catwoman, and The Notebook, he planned to also poke fun at the hilariously and fabulously terrible Twilight, and I was putting my shoes on. Throw in that he was bringing in big comedy guns Greg Behrendt, Patton Oswalt, Michael Ian Black, and Zach Galifianakis, and I’m the first one to arrive. (Well, not really…it’s really hard to find parking in the Castro. I actually missed the introduction and had to sit on the floor. But I digress.) Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: The Doug Benson Movie Interruptions: Twilight at the Castro Theatre, 2/9/2013”
Confrontation comic Billy Eichner, the screamingest queen to ever brandish a microphone in a bewildered stranger’s face, curated a comedy showcase called Billy Eichner and Friends at Cobb’s on Saturday night as part of SF Sketchfest 2013. Eichner has been a rising star on the New York comedy scene for several years, building his uniquely abrasive brand through popular YouTube clips that gradually led to getting his own show, the Funny or Die production Billy on the Street, currently airing its second season on Fuse. The vast majority of the show’s content features Eichner and a cameraman running up to strangers on the streets of New York and screaming at them; sometimes it’s pop culture opinion/trivia, and occasionally it’s something absurdly basic that somehow proves challenging given the intense nature of the situation (he once famously stymied Rachel Dratch by asking her to name 20 white people; a clip he showed on Saturday showed a young woman failing to meet Eichner’s command to “name any woman”). He has become a talk show staple, and is turning into a regular on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, on which his gay-leaning cultural obsessions seem to find the most receptive audience. So given all this, what kind of performance did Eichner have in mind for Sketchfest?
Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Billy Eichner and Friends at Cobb’s, 2/2/2013”
Pete Holmes’ podcast You Made it Weird is funny, deep and as the title suggests, weird. The greatest thing about it though is how the podcast can be so funny and so personal at the same time. Since all my favorite parts of the podcast are the little personal moments, I was a little apprehensive that the deep moments might be dropped for more humor with the live audience there. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 2/2/13”
Garfunkel & Oates are Riki Lindhome and Kate Miccuci. On their own, they are both well respected actresses, musicians, and writers. Of course, when they work together, it’s pure magic. No matter who you are, somebody has posted one of their videos on your Facebook wall. They are bringing their live show to Rickshaw Stop on Saturday, February 10th to close out this year’s installment of Sketchfest. We had a few moments to talk to both Garfunkel and Oates. Since you weren’t there with me, I’ll let you read about it:
Continue reading “10 Quick Questions: an Interview with Garfunkel & Oates”
Sara Benincasa is one of my absolute favorite comedians that I have never seen live. She has one of the finest YouTube channels, filled with brilliant characters, excellent political humor, and two great vodcasts: Advice Time, where you get actual advice about issues you may be going through and Gettin’ Wet, where Benincasa interviews important cultural figures from her bathtub! Her Twitter (@sarajbenincasa) feed is pretty on point, too. She probably doesn’t remember this, but her Twitter introduced me to Die Antwoord many years ago. She’s currently working on her second book, and will be performing this weekend all over Sketchfest! She will be performing as part of The SF Sketchfest Dozen with Jonah Ray and Dave Thomasan Friday, February 1st at 8 PM and Saturday, February 2nd at 9:15 PM. She will also be doing You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes alongside Kumail Nanjiani at a special matinee show on Saturday, February 2nd at 1 PM. We had a few minutes to chat with her ahead of these shows, and this is what we talked about!
Continue reading “10 Quick Questions: an Interview with Sara Benincasa”
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!