Sketchfest Review: Pretty Good Friends at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/20/12

Photo By Jakub Mosur

Eugene Mirman’s show Pretty Good Friends turned out to be a great start to my SF Sketchfest experience, in spite of the grim start to the evening.  At 10:20 it was pouring rain and the line to get in to Cobb’s Comedy Club was around the block.  I was umbrella-less, water dripping off my nose and actually thankful that I had forgotten my camera.  But then the nice people behind me offered to let me huddle under their umbrella and I ended up meeting some fellow comedy nerds.  And to think I was dreading going to a comedy show by myself. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Pretty Good Friends at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/20/12”

Sketchfest Review: The Thrilling Adventure Hour at Marines’ Memorial Theatre, 1/21/2012

No photography allowed! Thanks to thrillingadventurehour.com for this pic of some of the players!

I admit it. When I took my seat in the Marines’ Memorial Theatre last night, I didn’t really know what to expect. I requested this show because I wanted to be a part of SF Sketchfest (last year I saw Maximum Volume with Greg Behrendt and Matt Nathanson with a friend, and there met Gordon Elgart, which eventually led to my writing for Spinning Platters). Furthermore, I was excited to see Colin Hanks, Busy Philipps, and Paget Brewster (to name a few). Though the title probably should’ve tipped me off, I didn’t know I would be seeing a staged production like an old-school radio show, nor that it would be chock-full of familiar (and abundantly funny) faces.

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Sketchfest Review: Bruce McCulloch: The Pink Dot Diaries, Knuckles & Tits at Eureka Theater, 1/21/12

The Kids In The Hall have been having a difficulty time of things when they’ve come through our town on solo projects. Last year, Dave Foley did a solo stand up set at Cobb’s, and, well, it was a bit messy. Later last year, Scott Thompson and Kevin McDonald played a set at Free Comedy Day that was also less than well received. Although, yes, I am a fan of classic Kids In The Hall, I was a little apprehensive about McCulloch’s set on the second night of Sketchfest. But, I still made me way through the Friday night rain to see what he’s been up to.

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10 Quick Questions with Ann Magnuson

Ann Magnuson is a cult hero that has been involved in nearly every artistic movement of the last 30 years. She has been a part of the punk world, the rave movement, starred in network sitcoms, and has done pretty much everything. She is debuting her latest show,  The Drawing Room Apocalypse at Yoshi’s in Oakland on Tuesday, January 24th and Wednesday, January 25th as part of San Francisco’s Sketchfest. Tickets are available here! Spinning Platters had a chance to talk to talk to her about her many projects.

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Spinning Platters Predicts the 2012 Oscar Nominations: What Should — and Will — Be Nominated

Ellie Kemper, Oscar hopeful Melissa McCarthy, and Wendi McLendon-Covey in BRIDESMAIDS

The Academy Awards are commonly referred to as the gay Super Bowl, and for good reason: they each represent the culmination of months of grueling, bone-crunching competition, tend to feature misguided musical numbers, and are ultimately about impossibly wealthy people fighting over trophies while the rest of us cheer from the breadlines. In short: it’s the best thing that happens all year. My post-Oscar depression is far more devastating than even the worst case of post-Christmas blues. Such emptiness. The nominations for this year’s 84th Academy Awards will be announced in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, January 24. After the jump, check out my picks for what should be nominated and what we’re likely to read about on Tuesday.

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Film Review: “Haywire”

Gina Carano and Michael Fassbender in HAYWIRE

starring: Gina Carano, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Bill Paxton, Michael Angarano

written by: Lem Dobbs

directed by: Steven Soderbergh

MPAA: Rated R for some violence

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Film Review: “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”

Thomas Horn and Sandra Bullock in EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

starring: Thomas Horn, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Max von Sydow, Viola Davis, John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright

adapted by: Eric Roth

directed by: Stephen Daldry

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for emotional thematic material, some disturbing images, and language

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Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 1/19/12-1/25/12

Although SF Sketchfest begins this week, there is still plenty of music in the city this weekend, too! It’s time to get your ear plugs warmed up — mostly cause it’s really cold out — and get moving!

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Stop SOPA/PIPA – 4 Ways You Can Help

Today some of the largest entities on the Internet including Wikipedia, Reddit, and MoveOn.org will go completely dark, for 24 hours, to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA – fun fact: “Sopa” means “trash” in Swedish) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). These two bills, introduced to the House and Senate back in October, respectively, would allow the U.S. Department of Justice and copyright holders to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement. I should mention that action can be taken without due process. So, for example, if I posted a YouTube video on Spinning Platters, the copyright holder could have this site (and even YouTube, itself) shut down without any notice. Continue reading “Stop SOPA/PIPA — 4 Ways You Can Help”

Show Review: Andy Grammer with Ryan Star and Rachel Platten at Great American Music Hall, 1/15/2012

Andy Grammer

Until recently, I barely knew the names Andy Grammer or Ryan Star.  Rachel Platten, however, was a name I knew – I’d just seen her open for the musically delicious Keaton Simons back in October.  Adorable, charming, and a catchy singer-songwriter, I made a mental note to review her set next time she came to the Bay Area.  Which is how I found myself researching the likes of Ryan Star and headliner Andy Grammer last week, in preparation for last night’s show at SF’s Great American Music Hall.  I knew a song or two from each guy (“Start a Fire” and “Breathe” from Mr. Star, and last year’s catchy hit “Keep Your Head Up” from Andy), all of which I liked enough to get excited to discover new tunes.  As it turned out, the show would exceed my expectations tenfold. Continue reading “Show Review: Andy Grammer with Ryan Star and Rachel Platten at Great American Music Hall, 1/15/2012”