Sketchfest Review: The Groundlings “The Black Version” (1/22/2012)

The Black Version by Tommy Lau
by Tommy Lau

Fact: The Eureka Theater hosts some of the best comedy in the in the world. Fact: The Groundlings are a legendary Los Angeles improv company with alumni including Will Ferrell, Kristen Wigg and more. Fact: “The Black Version” is not a racially specific interpretation of Beverly Winwood Presents: The Actor’s Showcase. Fact: San Francisco’s black population was 6.1% in 2010. Fact: The black population of The Black Version’s cast was 100%. Fact: Comedy is proven to be simultaneously colorful and colorblind. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: The Groundlings “The Black Version” (1/22/2012)”

Film Review: “W.E.”

James D'Arcy and Andrea Riseborough in W.E.

starring: Abbie Cornish, Andrea Riseborough, Oscar Isaac, James D’Arcy, Richard Coyle, James Fox, Judy Parfitt

written by: Madonna and Alek Keshishian

directed by: Madonna

MPAA: Rated R for some domestic violence, nudity and language

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Film Review: “The Vow”

Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams in THE VOW

starring: Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams, Jessica Lange, Sam Neill, Scott Speedman, Wendy Crewson

written by: Jason Katims, Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein, and Michael Sucsy

directed by: Michael Sucsy

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for an accident scene, sexual content, partial nudity and some language

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 2/9/12-2/15/12

Comin' To Oakland!

February is a pretty nutty month for shows in SF. And that’s not just counting Noise Pop… The weeks warming up to Noise Pop are pretty insane, too! So, clear your schedule, and go out to a few shows!

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 2/9/12-2/15/12”

Sketchfest Review: Greg Behrendt & The Reigning Monarchs: “Bring The Rock” at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 2/4/12

Photo By VickyPezza

Sketchfest, the three week long behemoth of a comedy festival came to a mind-melting close on Saturday night. Although there were some more popular events with bigger stars, nothing stood up to the sheer volume of “Bring The Rock.”  This was, quite literally, the first time I ever needed to wear ear plugs at a comedy club.Yes, other shows were fun, but nothing could prepare you for this epic event.

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Sketchfest Review: w00tstock Founders’ Night at Marines Memorial Theater, 1/29/12

This was the backdrop for most of the night, so you can enjoy it as you relive the evening.

Reviewing w00stock is a silly concept. I’ve done it once before. Because the event is performed under the Creative Commons non-commercial, attribution, share alike license (as is this website), the entirety of the thing is online in video form for your viewing pleasure. But which videos are the best? That’s the hard part. So rather than a standard review, I’ll instead give you a guided tour to The Best of w00stock Founders’ Night, as found on the Internet. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: w00tstock Founders’ Night at Marines Memorial Theater, 1/29/12”

Show Review: The Spinners at Yoshi’s – Jack London Square, 2/3/12

Photos By Emily Anderson

When we started Spinning Platters back in 2009, we really weren’t thinking about the fact that our name could remind people of two ground breaking, classic R&B groups. We were really trying to get at a pun on records, CD’s, and hard drives. I’m not sure where the trigger came from reminding us of The Platters and The Spinners, but I decided that we needed to be there the next time either act played. Due to legal reasons, it seems that the likelihood of a Platters show is slim, but when Yoshi’s announced a three night stint with The Spinners, well, I had to seize this moment.

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Sketchfest Review: Will Durst’s Big Fat Year End Kiss Off Comedy Show at Eureka Theatre

Will Durst doesn’t shy away from political humor, and with 2012 bringing us one of the most entertaining lineups in Republican presidential primary history, it didn’t matter which one was chocolate and which one was peanut butter. Johnny Steele and four other comics made sure that both got all over each other.

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Sketchfest Review: Beverly Winwood’s “The Actors Showcase” 1/22/2012

Jen Coolidge by Jakub Mosur
"Mrs. Fern Magnin" by Jakub Mosur

Dripping late from a brisk sprint through San Francisco’s saturated cloudiness, I stepped into an alternate reality. Everything looked copasetic: the expansive and brimming Eureka Theater with Phil LaMarr and Jordan Black beginning a scene. Not quite, the truth: the expansive and brimming Eureka Theater with Lewis J. Poole and Danger beginning a scene.

Polle and Danger are two African American actors separated by age but bonded by prior convictions and thespian rehabilitation. They were bad, objectively horrible, nightmarishly stiff and unflinchingly unaware. It was brilliant. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Beverly Winwood’s “The Actors Showcase” 1/22/2012″

Sketchfest Review: Reggidency: A Reggie Watts Series

Where my gerunds at?
Where my gerunds at?

Comedy, as a method of entertainment, works best when we can relate to the entertainer, and the exaggeratedly hilarious (yet quite often true) stories that they tell. Most standup artists use this science as the core of their act, pointing out the sometimes terribly obvious, but far more often insignificant, details that we all have experienced, barely speak about, and yet go through on a regular basis. That excess blast of thought over such inane minutiae succeeds at hitting our funny bones hard, not only because of the presentation, but because we can, in fact, relate. If this is a regular formula for comedic success, then anyone willing to break the mold and give those common trivialities a winning partner with absurdity, disconnection, and whimsical rambling has the potential to turn heads, and in the case of Reggie Watts, he succeeds spectacularly, and leaves you wondering what the hell just bowled you over with laughter.

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