Category: SF Sketchfest

SF Sketchfest Review: “Viva Variety” 25th Anniversary Tribute: A Very Special Evening at The Great Star Theater, 1/21/23

All Photos by Jakub Mosur

The last three years have been awful. Like, pure misery. SF Sketchfest, alongside Noise Pop, was kind of the “last” festival before things went to hell. In late 2020, when SF Sketchfest graced us with their calendar, I was excited, not just about the shows, but because it meant to me that there might have been a path out of this madness. But, instead of enjoying an early 2021 reprieve from the darkness, cases got worse. Vaccines were starting to make their way into our arms, but not anywhere nearly fast enough to change the trajectory of the pandemic. So the whole thing was moved to 2022. The same January 2022 gifted us with Omicron, decimating the Bay Area and locking down several counties. So, yeah, it got pushed again to 2023. And based on November 2022, I wasn’t expecting 2023 to be any better, and I was expecting to lose another year. BUT- something strange happened… People were actually careful this Christmas and NYE. We didn’t get a January surge like we had the last two years. Regular readers will know that I am EXTREMELY COVID pessimistic, and I was expecting, even if the festival happened, that I wouldn’t take part. But luckily, much of California is doing very well with COVID. (Lord help us that we finally get to the point where we don’t have any more increases in case rates!) Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: “Viva Variety” 25th Anniversary Tribute: A Very Special Evening at The Great Star Theater, 1/21/23″

Spinning Platters Interview: Lane Moore

Lane Moore can do pretty much anything. Comedian, journalist, writer, musician, and, although it didn’t come up, I’m pretty sure she can perform open heart surgery, too.  Moore is coming to town for SF Sketchfest for two shows: She’s doing a stand-up set as part of Studio Sets at Brava Studio on January 27th at 7 pm, and later that night, she’s headed to Cobb’s for a performance of Tinder Live. Tickets are available here. 

Lane Moore’s latest book, You Will Find Your People: How To Make Meaningful Friendships As An Adult is coming out on April 25th and can be preordered here. You can find her on Instagram, and her band, It Was Romance is on Bandcamp! (Interview has been lightly edited for clarity. Very lightly.)

Spinning Platters: I made a terrible mistake while researching questions. Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Lane Moore”

A Nerd’s Guide to SF Sketchfest 2023

JESUS CHRIST! I first wrote this article in 2020. When I was just getting ready to push it live, BAM! Cases started spiking hard, and the 2021 SF Sketchfest was moved to 2022. In late 2021, I revised this AGAIN; luckily, most of the events stayed the same.  And right as I was about to post this for 2022… I got an email from SF Sketchfest’s publicist saying the whole thing was moved again… To 2023! 

I’m overjoyed that they managed to keep much of the same line-up and in approximately the same order! It saved me a lot of time and effort. They’ve even added a few new events to the mix that I’m pretty excited about, even though it meant I had to actually write more. Even better- they are live-streaming select events, which is great for folks that don’t like going places! So, without further ado, I present to you the 2021, I mean 2023, Nerd’s Guide To SF Sketchfest! Which is the 20th SF Sketchfest, I might add!  Continue reading “A Nerd’s Guide to SF Sketchfest 2023”

SF Sketchfest 2023: Line Up Additions!

Oh, man! Remember how excited we were about Sketchfest 2021? And then Sketchfest 2022? And remember how upset we all were when BOTH of them were sidelined due to that plague that still ravages our world? And then Jean Grae and I tried to develop a machine that would suck all the virus out of the air? Well, the good news is (provided BQ 1.1 doesn’t screw everything up), everything is a go for Sketchfest 2023, and they decided to add a few more shows to the lineup that go on sale Wednesday, 11/15 at 10 am PST: Continue reading “SF Sketchfest 2023: Line Up Additions!”

SF Sketchfest Moved to 2023

I hate making these posts. But, at this point, I think I’d hate NOT making these posts more… The hypertransmissibility of the Omnicron variant has forced SF Sketchfest to move the whole shebang to next year. The good news? They’ve managed to rebook nearly every single show to January 20th – February 5th, 2023. This means that you still get to see Viva Variety!, David Alan Grier, and freaking Perfect Strangers reunion, and even see me faint at the sight of the great D’Arcy Carden doing an improvised musical! 

An updated schedule can be found here. Hold onto your tickets, because they will be good for the new date. If you can’t make it, the individual ticketing companies will be reaching out to handle refunds shortly. (Just please give them some time, as everyone is drowning right now)… Until then, why don’t you listen to my interview with 2023 SF Sketchfest performer Jean Grae while waiting in line for your booster. Also, GET YOUR BOOSTER!! GET YOURSELF SOME N95s. CAN’T FIND THEM? DOUBLE UP YOUR MASKS AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE ON TIGHT. 

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 3, Episode 3 with Jean Grae

It’s been a loooong time, hasn’t it? Fear not- I will try not to leave you, my loyal listeners, hanging for this long again. And it was worth the wait… This might be the only episode that is- ENTIRELY UNEDITED. I got to speak with noted polymath Jean Grae about, well, pretty much everything. We talked about being highly ambitious from a young age, we talked about her career in music, her jump into stand-up, writing a book, composing score, and pretty much everything else you can imagine. We even discussed the Lisa Lisa in great detail. And for those that stop listening halfway through, we do ACTUALLY solve COVID in the last five minutes, so you will definitely want to hang on for that.
 
Jean Grae is coming to SF for SF Sketchfest the final weekend of the festival. Her schedule can be found here! Grae is also still putting out music faster than most people can decide what to listen to, and her Bandcamp page is full of amazing stuff for you to listen to and purchase.

 

SF Sketchfest 20th Anniversary Initial Line Up Has Been Announced!

The first-ever SF Sketchfest happened in 2001. It was a year that would live in infamy for kicking off the greatest comedy festival in the United States and for absolutely nothing else newsworthy happening that year. <insert laugh> Sadly, the 2021 event was not able to happen as planned due to everything being awful. However, we’ve reached a place of things being slightly less awful, so the 20th SF Sketchfest will be happening on the 21st birthday of the event. This is also helpful because that means the festival can drink. 

The batshit crazy lineup is pasted below. And I say “pasted” because it’s so big that I haven’t finished reading it yet. I’ll make sure you get my annual “Nerd’s Guide” once I’ve taken the time out take it all in. Tickets for EVERYTHING are on sale Sunday, November 21st at 10 am PST at SFSketchfest.com. Please note that all attendees, performers, and venue staff *must* show proof of COVID vaccination as per SF Law. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest 20th Anniversary Initial Line Up Has Been Announced!”

SF Sketchfest 20th Anniversary Dates Announced!

GOOD NEWS! Our good friends at SF Sketchfest decided NOT to try to squeeze yet another festival into the hyper-crowded Fall 2021 space. Instead, they are coming back next year for their usual “just after the frenzy of the holidays are over and just before work gets busy again” slot in mid-January. Specifically, January 7th – 23rd. This is extra exciting because it’s their 20th installment of the event, and one can assume that it will be a little apeshit. 

If you are a comic / sketch troupe / audacious soul, they are accepting submissions here. However, it appears Scott Baio and Ricky Schroeder probably shouldn’t apply because SF requires all attendees, performers, and staff to show proof of vaccination. So if you want to enjoy the 20th SF Sketchfest, please, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET VACCINATED!!! It’s free. They are effective. And I’m so sick of me having to put COVID disclaimers on EVERYTHING. 

SF Sketchfest Review: Festpocalypse at Everywhere On Earth, 1/30/21

I didn’t even mention this clip in my review. You’ll have to support SF Sketchfest and rent the thing to find out what’s going on with Kumail Nanjiani’s hair

If this were a typical 2020, by now, you would have read my 10,000-word “Nerd’s Guide to the 20th SF Sketchfest,” half a dozen interviews of performers, and a few dozen reviews of shows. I would also be exhausted laughing and taking in 2-3 shows a night for three weeks. Instead, I’m exhausted because my days are spent chasing a child that’s nearly two around the apartment, as well as being emotionally spent from the pressures of life during a pandemic. I also got to enjoy SF Sketchfest on my couch and took in as many performers as they usually book over three weeks in a single 3 ½ hour block.  Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Festpocalypse at Everywhere On Earth, 1/30/21”