Sketchfest Review: The Thrilling Adventure Hour at Marine’s Memorial Theater, 1/22/11

The Thrilling Adventure Hour is a monthly live performance podcast done at Largo in Los Angeles written by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker.  For SF Sketchfest we were treated to two performances featuring many great actors of varying degrees of famous-ness.  The 10:30 show featuring Neil Patrick Harris sold out, as everything he has done at Sketchfest has, so my ticket was for the early NPH-less show.  But the show didn’t need Neil Patrick Harris to be great.  It was an hour of fun witty writing and excellent acting, so good in fact I came home and subscribed to the podcast. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: The Thrilling Adventure Hour at Marine’s Memorial Theater, 1/22/11”

Sketchfest Review: Iron Comic hosted by Nato Green at The Punch Line, 1/20/11

Per Brendan Lynch, this is a white person's problem.

To be honest, when I arrived at the Punch Line on Thursday night I still had no idea what to expect.  All I knew was that one of my favorite comedians, Matt Braunger, was performing and that he would be funny.  Since it is a SF Sketchfest show, I knew I wouldn’t be watching a standard stand-up performance.  What I got was an evening full of pleasant surprises, where women dominated, the guy with all the sex jokes bombed, and I laughed so hard I cried. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Iron Comic hosted by Nato Green at The Punch Line, 1/20/11”

Sketchfest Review: Maximum Volume! with Greg Behrendt and Matt Nathanson at Cobb’s, 1/21/2011

Not top billed, but definitely the star of the show.

At Cobb’s on Friday night was a show called Maximum Volume!, a definite misnomer. For while the volume was never turned up — the electric guitar and amplifier sat on the stage like a tease — the one thing turned to the maximum was the length of the show. This was definitely the longest comedy show I’ve ever been to, and in comedy, like a lot of things, longer isn’t necessarily better. Lots of people, myself included, surely came expecting something similar to last year’s Bring the Rock! show, and got something completely different. So how did it all go? Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Maximum Volume! with Greg Behrendt and Matt Nathanson at Cobb’s, 1/21/2011”

Spinning Platters Interview: MC Zumbi of Zion I

Fresh off the huge success of their most recent release, Atomic Clock, local hip-hop legends Zion I play to a hometown crowd at The New Parish in Oakland this Friday night.  Spinning Platters caught up with a busy MC Zumbi for a couple of questions…

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“It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” 25th Anniversary Tribute at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, 20 January 2011

This is the caption to the photo for the review of the tribute to It's Garry Shandling's Show

It’s the Garry Shandling’s Show 25th Anniversary Tribute review. This is the part where the review talks about what happened at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. And here’s the part where I start typing. Continue reading ““It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” 25th Anniversary Tribute at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco, 20 January 2011″

Film Review: “No Strings Attached”

Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher in NO STRINGS ATTACHED.

starring: Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline, Greta Gerwig, Mindy Kaling, Lake Bell, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Cary Elwes, Olivia Thirlby, Talia Balsam, Jake M. Johnson, Abby Elliott

directed by: Ivan Reitman

MPAA: Rated R for sexual content, language and some drug material.

Continue reading “Film Review: “No Strings Attached””

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 1/20/11-1/26/11

There are a lot of really surprising, and really funny shows within. This is an extra special week of fun silliness, and I think that you should check it out:

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 1/20/11-1/26/11”

Sketchfest Review: The Dave Hill Explosion at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/16/11

Moby, the famous pacifist, finally breaks and attacks Dave Hill

The attendance at this show was a little light. It might be because the show happened on a Sunday night. It might also be that few people in the west coast are aware of the genius of Dave Hill. Maybe people were just thrown off by the notion of Moby being involved in comedy. No matter how you slice or dice it, for the 2nd year straight, people really missed out on one of the best shows in Sketchfest.

Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: The Dave Hill Explosion at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/16/11”

Sketchfest Review: Delocated Witness Protection Program Variety Hour at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/15/11

AC Newman. In hiding.

Delocated is a show on Adult Swim about a family in the witness protection program that is moved to New York to appear on a reality show where they have their faces covered the entire time. Simple premise, but a difficult one to transfer to the stage. Also, the Sketchfest version of the show, which has been dubbed Delocated Witness Protection Program Variety Hour we are missing, well, most of the cast. So, the real question is, what happened on that stage?

Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Delocated Witness Protection Program Variety Hour at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/15/11”

Show Review: Public Enemy at Yoshi’s SF, 1/14/2011


Yoshi’s might not be a typical spot for a hip-hop show, especially one that can incite the kind of passion that Public Enemy can. However, recalling that Public Enemy put out their first record nearly 24 years ago, Yoshi’s might actually be the perfect place for one of the undisputed best Hip-Hop groups to Bring the Noise. Continue reading “Show Review: Public Enemy at Yoshi’s SF, 1/14/2011”