I’ve spent a LOT of the pandemic digging around YouTube, looking for ANYTHING to push the serotonin levels up. That’s when I uncovered Jena Friedman’s YouTube channel. Insomnia + depression + anxiety are all great for political satire, and I really fell head over heels for what she was doing. Little did I know that she was a writer on The Daily Show, but it all kind of made sense after that. In another depressed fit, I ended up preordering her book Not Funny, and despite not feeling depressed when I read it, I still enjoyed it. So, of course, when SF Sketchfest presented me with the opportunity to see her live, I figured it was something I needed to do. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Jena Friedman: Not Funny with Brittany Carney at The Gateway Theater, 1.26.24”
Category: Comedy
How Did I Get Here? with Jamie Loftus
Jamie Loftus is a writer, actor, comic, cartoonist, podcaster, and probably has about 3500 other jobs that we never covered on this episode because, well, there is only so much time in the day. In this episode we discussed her early playwriting days, stand-up comedy, the difference between eating dog food and condensed cream of mushroom soup, and, since this is Spinning Platters, we even talked about music!
She’s taking her podcast, The Bechdel Cast, on the road! Tickets and tour dates are here, and it all kicks off with a visit to SF Sketchfest on February 1st at 7:30! You can also pick up Loftus’ amazing book, Raw Dog, here. And, of course, you can find all other things Loftus here! Oh, and this is where you can enjoy the CVS Bangerz playlist!
How Did I Get Here? with Dulce Sloan
We are trying something new with this episode. I am NOT doing any preroll. No theme song. No “warm open.” Let me know what you think.
Dulce Sloan is best known for being a correspondent on The Daily Show and often killing it in that role. We chatted about her move from theater to stand-up, the folks that inspired you along the way, and, of course, The Daily Show and her upcoming book, Hello Friends! Stories Of Dating, Destiny, and Day Jobs coming your way on February 6th (Preorder Here!)
Sloan is in SF this weekend to play a slew of SF Sketchfest events, including a headline set at Brava Theater on Saturday, January 20th at 9:30 pm. Her full schedule can be found here. If you choose not to leave home, she’s also starring in The Great North, which can be seen on Hulu as well as Sunday Nights on Fox!
A Nerd’s Guide To SF Sketchfest 2024
Whoa! This is my 12th Nerd’s Guide to SF Sketchfest! And after 14 long years (including two really, really long years not too long ago) of writing these, I can declare that SF Sketchfest has finally done it! They’ve booked the holy trinity of surreal sketch comedy! Eric Idle (of Monty Python fame), Kids In The Hall, and The State are all appearing! These three are the unifying forces that brought together both the stoners and the kids afraid of weed. AND I AM HERE FOR IT! Honestly, this year’s SF Sketchfest, which I believe is the 21st edition of the event, is probably the most bonkers year yet. I have barely started to figure out what gigs I’m seeing… I need to write this almost for myself as much as for you, my loyal reader.
A complete schedule and links to tickets can be found here!
Thursday, January 18th Continue reading “A Nerd’s Guide To SF Sketchfest 2024”
SF SKETCHFEST 2024 LINE UP!
Way back in 2019, I ended up seeing Phil Collins with SF Sketchfest founder David Owen, and I told him that all I wanted at SF Sketchfest was to get a reunion of The State. Well- in 2024- WE ARE GETTING THE STATE DOING A WHOLE SET OF NEVER BEFORE SEEN SKETCHES AND “MIS-FIRES”!!! WHOA! 12 year old me is SO STOKED!!!! We are also getting two different shows from The Kids In The Hall, as well as an evening with Monty Python’s Eric Idle. So the “Sketch Comedy forever warped my pubescent brain” trifecta WILL BE REPRESENTED!
On top of that, we will also get an Amber Ruffin Tribute, Paul Giamatti’s CHINWAG Podcast, Actor Michael Shannon alongside Jason Narducy doing REM’s Murmur and Reckoning albums (!), Pylon Reenactment Society which is pretty much as close as we are ever gonna get to a Pylon reunion, a return of kid’s programming with Mo Willems doing a story time with W Kamau Bell, Dulce Sloan, and Weird Al Yankovic (!), Tim Capello doing the music from The Lost Boys with the Red Room Orchestra and too much more for me to even begin to highlight. As usual, we will get our Nerd’s Guide up in early 2024. Tickets for all shows are on sale Sunday, November 19th at 10 am.
Here’s a full list of all the wonderful stuff they’ve got in store. I literally haven’t been able to take in all of it: Continue reading “SF SKETCHFEST 2024 LINE UP!”
TALKIES is BACK IN THE BAY AREA (BRIEFLY)
Y’know, as often as I try to keep on top of hip, new things, I’m 43 years old (going on 44 next month!), and I DEFINITELY reminisce about the Bay Area of my youth (Read: 30’s). And Talkies at the old Cinecave (The best comedy venue in history, RIP) was something that I always loved. Well, ever since George Chen moved to LA, the show moved, too. We’d only get to enjoy the blend of film, PowerPoint, stand-up, sketch, and storytelling that is TALKIES during his annual Sketchfest visit. Well… FEAR NOT! TALKIES is ON TOUR and it’s coming home during the off-Sketchfest season!
TALKIES is hosted by Nick Stargu, Aviva Siegel, George Chen, and Land Smith-Abbinate. Special Guests for these shows will be Drennon Davis and Jack Brown, along with Ashley Monique in SF and Jessica Sele in Sacramento and Santa Cruz. (BTW: I bloody love those last two comics AND don’t drive, so, yeah, I’m a little sad about them being on different shows.)
Next week, they are bringing the show to Punch Line in SF on October 3rd, Comedy Spot in Sacramento on October 4th, and Blue Lagoon in Santa Cruz on October 5th!
SF Sketchfest Review: Going Up with Sara Schaefer at Gateway Theater, 1/29/23
The brilliant writer and comedian, filled the theatre Sunday night: a one woman Pyramid Scheme scrambling Tony Robbin’s pitchman energy. Sara started a podcast during COVID. She had saved up a lot of clues from her Twitter trolls, mostly peer comics and fans that they had sicked on her, and information about the so-called the way to make it in comedy. The industry model. Multi Level multi-discipline classes in avoiding misogyny in the comedy business. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Going Up with Sara Schaefer at Gateway Theater, 1/29/23”
SF Sketchfest Review: Janeane Garafalo at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/28/23
No, that’s not an unhoused person. It’s Janeane Garafolo! A clan of the cave bear silhouette, Janeane shuffled out from the side stage with self-proclaimed “unsolicited dreads” and control top tights & shorts. Two separate nude concealing undergarments, mind you. She claims that when she got hit by a car, Spanks™ saved her from going to the hospital. Which she just won’t do anyway. She claims to be a “Pedo~file:” she walks everywhere, hates working on her core, and refuses checkups and physicals. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Janeane Garafalo at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/28/23”
SF Sketchfest Review: The Crossword Show at the Gateway Theatre, 2/3/23
If you’re reading this, there’s a chance you may already know that those of us who contribute to Spinning Platters are known around here as “music nerds.” While I absolutely identify as such, there’s another term that describes me even better: word nerd. I delight not just in clever wordplay but languages in general, etymology… you name it. So when I heard about Zach Sherwin‘s Crossword Show, which promised a night full of crossword puzzles, trivia, comedy, and fun, I knew I couldn’t miss it!
Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Crossword Show at the Gateway Theatre, 2/3/23”
SF Sketchfest Review: Red Room Orchestra does “Repo Man” at Great American Music Hall, 2.3.23
I should confess… I’ve never seen the movie Repo Man. I worked at a corporate music store in the late ’90s, and I recall stocking a CD called Repo Man and putting it in the punk compilations. Because, looking at the track listing, I just assumed that the “movie” was a fake movie for what was an AMAZING compilation of LA Punk. I honestly just assumed it was an early ’80’s version / LA version of the classic Kill Rock Stars compilation in the early ’90s / Pacific Northwest. I probably owned that CD for over a decade before I learned it was a real movie.