Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Jackie Kashian is one of Spinning Platters’ most favorite comics. Her podcast Dork Forest embodies pretty much everything we stand for. She has another podcast call The Jackie and Laurie Show with Laurie Kilmartin, where they discuss the trials and tribulations of being a female touring stand up. She’s in town this weekend for three appearances at SF Sketchfest, presented by Audible. Those appearances can be found here! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Jackie Kashian”
There are a bunch of shows that seem to happen every year or almost every year at SF Sketchfest. Many of these things are nightclub acts that happen regularly in other markets, or are live podcast recordings. Almost all of them exist somewhere outside of Sketchfest. One of the few shows that don’t fit this mold is “Wheels Off with Rhett Miller.” Rhett Miller is the lead singer of The Old 97’s, and generally does about 200 shows a year if you combine his full band gigs and solo shows. However, with all of that criss-crossing the country, SF is the only place where we get this very unique show.
(Editor’s Note: At the time of publication we didn’t know that Miller was going to start doing Wheels Off as a podcast. Now you can enjoy this from the comfort of your own headphones)
Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Wheels Off with Rhett Miller at Swedish American Hall, 1/20/19”
Ahhh, Sketchfest. Where else can you show up 5-10 minutes before show time, dressed down in jeans, a t-shirt, and your favorite sneakers, and still host a live version of your hilarious podcast? This past weekend, that’s exactly what Chuck Bryant did, hosting an episode of Movie Crush with special guest Busy Philipps at the Gateway Theatre on Saturday afternoon. Philipps was, Bryant explained, his #1, 2, and 3 pick of his “dream top 3” guests he submitted to Sketchfest founder Janet Varney when he was invited back to do another episode this year. Like Bryant, I wanted to hear all about Philipps’ movie “crush,” so I showed up early and waited with bated breath. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Movie Crush with Chuck Bryant and Busy Philipps at Gateway Theatre, 1/19/19”
Founded in 1998 by comedian Eugene Pak, Celebrity Autobiography presents celebrities reading passages from other celebrity (you guessed it) autobiographies. The show played on Bravo in 2005, and has run regularly in New York since 2008; in 2009 it won the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience. Celebrity Autobiography has been playing in San Francisco thanks to SF Sketchfest for 11 years now, and, this year, I decided to take it upon myself to review it, so as to encourage newbies to check out what I consider to be Sketchfest’s hands down, funniest show. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Celebrity Autobiography, 1/20/19”
For those who have been following my Sketchfest reviews for a while, every year I like to play a little “podcast roulette.” I’ll pick a podcast that I’ve never heard, nor heard of before, and go see it live. Sometimes I’ll pick them entirely at random. Other times, like tonight, I’ll base my arrival on the guests. This podcast is called “We’re No Doctors,” which I could only assume was a podcast where famous people talk about their medical history with two people obsessed with medicine but have no medical experience. And with the great Jane Wiedlin as the guest (the guitar player for The Go-Go’s, a band famous for their pharmaceutical adventures), I figured there would be some good stories. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: We’re No Doctors with Steve Agee and Busy Philipps, 1/17/19”
I admit it: watching The Bachelor/ette, Bachelor in Paradise, and even Bachelor Winter Games is a serious guilty pleasure of mine. It’s like a trainwreck you can’t look away from. Yes, they get a bunch of desperate, beautiful people together and feed them a bunch of alcohol and film all the fun that ensues. But also, it makes me feel like I have my shit together, because when a relationship I’m in doesn’t work out, I don’t cry into the camera wondering what I could have done differently to make him like me.
I’ve also been a fan of Ardin Myrin’s since she was on MADtv with a girl I once waited tables with in LA, Crista Flanagan. (Although, my bad – I just found out I’ve been saying her name wrong all these years: it’s muh-REEN, not MEER-in. Sorry, Ardin!) I also try to catch Paget Brewster at least once every time she comes to SF for Sketchfest. So when I spotted the listing for a live podcast (Will You Accept This Rose?) featuring both ladies, plus Rob Benedict, Bryan Safi, and several former Bachelor cast members? I knew I couldn’t miss it. And that’s how I found myself at Swedish American Hall on a Saturday afternoon last weekend, in a room full of self-professed “Bachelor Nation” fans chanting “drink, drink, drink!” every time the word “sloth” was mentioned by the cast. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Will You Accept This Rose Live at Swedish American Hall, 1/12/19”
Carol Burnett is a living legend. There are few people whose careers have been as long and consistent and near universally appreciated as Burnett’s. Exactly how wide reaching her influence is could be seen just by looking at the line outside The Castro, waiting for doors to open for the Monday night tribute to this comedy hero. The line, which stretched multiple blocks, featured people of every age, race, and gender imaginable, from young kids to people that have been following Burnett throughout her entire career. There were people dressed in character, too, including one person who wore the infamous curtain dress, complete with rod from The Carol Burnett Show!
Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Carol Burnett, in Conversation with Wendie Malick”
Jon Glaser might not be a name you recognize immediately, but you definitely know his work. He spent years working on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, playing a slew of different cast members. He’s also Jeremy Jamm on Parks and Recreation, Laird on Girls, and Jon on Delocated, in addition to a slew of other projects. His current show, Jon Glaser Loves Gear, just kicked off it’s second season on truTV.
Glaser will be performing at SF Sketchfest on Saturday, April 19th at Cobb’s Comedy Club, and then heading up the coast to play shows in Seattle and Portland. If you can’t make any of these shows, you can always check out new episodes of Jon Glaser Loves Gear every Wednesday at 10:30/9:30CST. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Jon Glaser”
It’s that time of year again! Time to scour through pages and pages of SF Sketchfest listings, trying to decide what shows to buy tickets for, and never actually going to anything because it’s all too intimidating. Well, fear not! Instead of thinking for yourself, just go to everything I tell you to. Because I have fantastic taste, and you’ll love all of these.
Don’t trust me? Well, you can always go straight here to pick out shows and buy tickets.
Thursday, January 10th Continue reading “A Nerd’s Guide To SF Sketchfest 2019”
Rae Livingston and David Owen both help book the Barbary at Outside Lands, and have for several years now. This, is course, means they have a lot to talk about. So we split the interview in two, because we here at Spinning Platters understand that your time is precious. In this one, we talk about the bookings that they are most excited about this year, as well as some favorite memories of passed years.
If you missed part one, it’s right here! And if you still haven’t purchased tickets yet, what are you waiting for? You can find those right here!
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Rae Livingston and David Owen of Outside Lands, Pt 2”