Category: SF Sketchfest

SF Sketchfest Review: The Jill and Julia Show at Yoshi’s San Francisco, 1/27/10

Julia Sweeney and Jill Sobule

According to the song that opened their winning 90-minute set, comedian Julia Sweeney (best known for her 1990-1994 run on Saturday Night Live) and musician Jill Sobule (best known for singing “I Kissed A Girl” first and so much better) met randomly at the Monterey Bay Aquarium one lucky day not long ago. Sobule cautiously approached Sweeney to express her admiration, but then Sweeney spotted Sobule and pounced her. Their mutual admiration society has led to an ongoing story-song collaboration called “The Jill and Julia Show,” which made its first Bay Area stop last night as part of the 2010 SF Sketchfest.

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SF Sketchfest Review: The Dave Hill Explosion w/ Dick Cavett and Gordon Gano at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/26/10

Many reviewers, when they attend a show, tend to do a lot of research about the performers. They watch videos, read biographical information, and so forth. I don’t believe in this. I like to be surprised. I had no idea as to who Dave Hill was before tonight. I am not so oblivious as to not know who Dick Cavett is, nor Gordon Gano, but I didn’t know who the headliner was. Judging by the size of the crowd, neither did many of the attendees of Sketchfest. In fact, the balcony was closed and the main floor was only about half full. I went in (relatively) blindly. It was a good decision.

Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Dave Hill Explosion w/ Dick Cavett and Gordon Gano at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/26/10”

SF Sketchfest Review: A Conversation With “Weird Al” Yankovic at Cobb’s Comedy Club 1/23/09

This "tabloid" photo was actually approved by Al. Really. No photos were allowed inside, though. Courtesy Capt. Sodomy

The last time “Weird Al” Yankovic made a public appearance in San Francisco was a performance at The Fillmore in 1996. That’s 13 years of eagerly awaiting a return. He’s toured plenty in that time. In fact, he’s played Santa Cruz and Sacramento on numerous occasions, which I did, indeed make the road trip for on one glorious, rainy day. (There were moments on the trip, especially while driving through the rougher parts, where rain was coming from every direction and visibility was none that I thought only by the grace of God did we make it to the show alive.)

So, this is an appearance that has been greatly anticipated by the Al fans from the Bay. I was excited, at first, to read that “Weird Al” was booked to play Cobb’s Comedy Club! I was saddened when I found out that it was a conversation, not a performance of music. I didn’t quite know what to expect of this. He doesn’t have a reputation for being media shy. In fact, before this afternoon, I thought that I knew everything there was to know about Al. I was wrong. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: A Conversation With “Weird Al” Yankovic at Cobb’s Comedy Club 1/23/09″

SF Sketchfest Review: The Greg Proops Chat Show with Special Guest Robin Williams at Yoshi’s, 1/20/10

It's his line.

I had heard rumors of the renowned aging sasquatch riding around the damp streets of San Francisco in unforgiving bike shorts, but a confirmed sighting still eluded me… until…

On a dark stormy night, in a tiny Fillmore club, Robin Williams bedazzled a lucky audience with a one-on-one chat with Greg Proops. Well, it wasn’t much of a chat, more like a never-ending barrage of witty banter between the two comics that had no real direction or ending for that matter. Fueled exclusively by H2O, and lots of it, we enjoyed close to two hours of fast-paced ADHD ramblings from Mr. Williams that made the rest of the world seem distant. Good entertainment is rated by how easily you can escape from your own surroundings, and with Robin onstage, I was whisked away to a land of sodomy, various accents, and career revaluations. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Greg Proops Chat Show with Special Guest Robin Williams at Yoshi’s, 1/20/10”

SF Sketchfest Review: The Paul F Tompkins Show w/ Grant Lee Phillips, Dave Foley, Illeana Douglas, Dave Gruber Allen, and Picnicface

The soul of Andy Kaufman blurred this photo

I have always considered music and comedy to be kindred spirits. Both art forms require a mastery of rhythm and delivery to pull off well, and much of music and comedy seems to be inspired by the same general subjects: relationships, politics, and religion. This may be why some of the funniest people on earth are musicians, and most of the great comedians are also very talented musicians.

SF Sketchfest has been working at blurring those lines for nine years now, but last night’s Paul F Tompkins performance was the one of the best fusions of the two that I have ever experienced. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Paul F Tompkins Show w/ Grant Lee Phillips, Dave Foley, Illeana Douglas, Dave Gruber Allen, and Picnicface”

A Music Nerd’s Guide To SF Sketchfest 2010

Music and Sketches? Get It? Ha Ha Ha!

As San Franciscans, we love festivals. We also love music and laughs, and it seems that line is blurring between the two worlds more & more everyday. And, although our music festivals have been littered with comedians quite a bit lately, especially with Tenacious D functioning as headliner at least year’s Outside Lands Festival, the music leaking in to the comedy festivals has been a bit subtler. That’s why we’re here to guide you through the music of San Francisco’s Sketchfest. There is lot going on, and a lot of very special things that will pique the interest of any music nerd.

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