Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
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 … Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Janeane Garafalo at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/28/23”
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… … Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Crossword Show at the Gateway Theatre, 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 … Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Red Room Orchestra does “Repo Man” at Great American Music Hall, 2.3.23″
Photo By Jakub Mosur Fred Armisen knows music really well. His knowledge is vast and deep. He understands music theory, understands music’s relationship to pop culture, and knows how people “listen” to music. I can think of few other people outside of Tom Lehrer that could pull off shows such as “Stand Up for Drummers,” … Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Comedy For Bass Players, but Everyone is Welcome with Fred Armisen at Great American Music Hall, 1/29/23”
My first SF Sketchfest show in 3 years! And it’s a double header of shows from my personal SF Sketchfest past at the wonderful Brava Theater Center! The festival has been rescheduled twice, and I am so happy to finally be doing it! The first one is this wonderful stand-up performance from River Butcher and … Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: River Butcher at Brava Theater Center, 1/24/23”
Red Room Orchestra has become a bit of an SF Sketchfest staple. They first graced our presence with a tribute to the music from Twin Peaks, and have, in the years since, brought to life the songs and scores from Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Big Lebowski, and Boogie Nights. This year they are returning with Twin Peaks in homage to its late composer … Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Interview: Marc Capelle of Red Room Orchestra”
Oh, SF Sketchfest, how I’ve missed you. Fortunately, now that we’re living in what I can only call a ‘semi-post-COVID’ world, our favorite local comedy festival has returned. For me, there was only one way to properly celebrate the restoration of a few weeks’ worth of laughs like only Sketchfest can give us: by getting … Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Benson Movie Interruption: The Lost Boys at the Great Star Theater, 1/27/23”
One of the games I like to play is “SF Sketchfest Roulette.” This is when I pick a random show with nobody I’ve heard of on the bill and hope for the best! The lucky winner this night was Femmes The Rules. A show that was advertised as a show where female-identifying comics interrupt male-identifying comics while … Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Femmes The Rules at Brava Cabaret, 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 … Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: “Viva Variety” 25th Anniversary Tribute: A Very Special Evening at The Great Star Theater, 1/21/23″
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 … Continue reading “A Nerd’s Guide to SF Sketchfest 2023”
