My favorite thing about SF Sketchfest is catching all kinds of funny people at once in the same room. Not only that, but these are the kind of people I don’t often have the chance to see live, so it’s always fun to peruse the schedule every year and see who’s slated to appear with whom, what’s being celebrated, yadda yadda yadda. As is the case with most years, there were quite a few events I was interested in, but in the end, I only made it to one. This past Saturday night, I found myself queuing up around the block at Cobb’s Comedy Club to watch old clips of Derek & Simon: The Show with the stars and creators of the show (Derek Waters, Simon Helberg, and Bob Odenkirk in particular). Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Derek and Simon (and Bob): An SF Sketchfest Tribute Celebration at Cobb’s Comedy Club, 1/27/24”
Tag: Bay Area
Show Review: Aftershock 2023… West Coast’s Biggest Rock Festival!
- Review by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks and Emily Anderson @wisefoolfilms
- Onstage Photos by: Alan Ralph @AlanHasPicks
- AFI/Avenged/Korn Photos by: Kyle Kellogg @ Kellogg Foto
Discovery Park in Sacramento was once again the site for Danny Wimmer Presents annual Aftershock Festival, a four-day rock and metal music festival featuring four stages of many of today’s bona fide headliners as well as plenty of promising new blood. It is also a bit of an endurance test. There are the crazy fans who run in as soon as the gates open and stand at the barricade for basically 11 hours, with no food or even the means to leave to find a restroom (because they’ll never get their spot back). Security did hand out plenty of water up there though so that nobody passed out in the mid-90° heat! There are others who try to take in as much as possible by going from stage to stage to stage all day long to see as many bands as they can. Many just get drunk and sit around on their picnic blanket or at the VIP section tables, while others take it all in stride and hit up the myriad of food trucks, beer tents, alcohol and cannabis vendors… all while everyone is dealing with a heat wave that much of Northern California happened to fall victim to over this very weekend.
Continue reading “Show Review: Aftershock 2023… West Coast’s Biggest Rock Festival!”
Webstream Review: Death Angel “The Bastard Tracks”, 5/29/2021
“The Bastard Tracks”. B-Sides. The meat of the record. Songs not usually on the live set. Deep cuts. Tracks the diehard fans know.
Death Angel created this web stream to dig “deep into [their] catalog to perform older favorites, newer classics and songs that have never been performed live before” with multiple interview segments containing the stories behind the songs and “a glimpse into the collective minds and souls of Death Angel.”
Continue reading “Webstream Review: Death Angel “The Bastard Tracks”, 5/29/2021″
Theater Review: J Jha shines in Geetha Reddy’s retelling of Mahabharata at Ubuntu Theater in Oakland
The Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic written in Sanskrit, the longest piece of prose ever written, which would take 12 days to perform if spoken non-stop. Playwright Geetha Reddy took on the challenge of dismantling this story into an hour and a half solo performance. And J Jha, with direction from Ubuntu Theater company founder Michael Socrates Moran, took on the task of recreating this piece. Continue reading “Theater Review: J Jha shines in Geetha Reddy’s retelling of Mahabharata at Ubuntu Theater in Oakland”
Theater Review: Last Weekend to Catch San Jose Stage Company’s Production of Mamma Mia!
Featuring three possible fathers and a collection of ABBA hits, Mamma Mia! tells the story of mother-daughter Donna and Sophie as they navigate love, loss, and self-discovery. Widely staged throughout the world, SJSC’s production brings a level of intimacy to the story. Due to the space and set design (Michael Palumbo), the show feels a bit like the movie starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried where the focus becomes less about theatrics and more on the interactions between cast members. Songs include big hits such as Dancing Queen, Voulez-Vous, Lay All Your Love on Me, and the musical’s namesake, Mamma Mia. Continue reading “Theater Review: Last Weekend to Catch San Jose Stage Company’s Production of Mamma Mia!“
Theater Review: Bay Area Musicals presents Crazy for You – A Delightfully Charming Gershwin Classic
New York City banker Bobby Child (Conor Devoe) has a dream — dancing dreams — but his parents just aren’t having it. Neither is his fiancée, Irene (Morgan Peters), who’s wondering why they’ve been engaged for five years without wedding bells… and she’s understandably at her wit’s end. His parents’ plan is to send him to Deadrock, Nevada to foreclose a rundown theater. His plan is to dance for the acclaimed artistic director Bela Zangler (Tony Michaels), but one quick mishap during an impromptu audition and he’s on the first train to Deadrock. Continue reading “Theater Review: Bay Area Musicals presents Crazy for You — A Delightfully Charming Gershwin Classic”
Theater Review: Danville Village Theatre Presents Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities
Writer Brooke Wyeth (Emily Keyishian) has come home after a long hiatus to reveal her new novel to her family. Settled in Palm Springs, with conservative values, the Wyeths harbor a plethora of family secrets. It’s all water under the bridge as they go through the motions of their daily lives, secluded in an affluent neighborhood where they appear indestructible. Brooke’s novel threatens to shatter this peaceful image. And so the drama unfolds, as each member fights to keep their secrets under wraps. Continue reading “Theater Review: Danville Village Theatre Presents Jon Robin Baitz’s Other Desert Cities“
Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Presents Michael Moran’s Passion Project: Hamlet
At the Flight Deck in Oakland, on a raised plank in the middle of an oblong stage, sits Michael Moran’s Hamlet. Eerie vocalizations surround him as provided by a cast of thirty actors. The entire action takes place in this space in a modern retelling of William Shakespeare’s popular tragedy about Denmark’s grieving prince. Continue reading “Theater Review: Ubuntu Theater Presents Michael Moran’s Passion Project: Hamlet“
Show Review: The Final U.S. Slayer Show! (of this Leg of the Tour)
Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF
January 22, 2018. Slayer announced their “farewell” tour. After over 35 years of yelling “Die By the Sword”, singer and bass player Tom Araya wants to scream no more. As much as the fans would want Slayer to keep performing forever, Tom and the only other original member, guitar player Kerry King, deserve to go out on top and begin collecting their 401k. Gary Holt, the 2nd guitar player, will always have his primary band Exodus, and certainly bands will be lining up for drummer Paul Bostaph’s services once he becomes available again. In the meanwhile, though, according to a press release issued the morning after The. Final. U.S. Slayer. Show., this “farewell” tour still has another year to go!
Continue reading “Show Review: The Final U.S. Slayer Show! (of this Leg of the Tour)”
SF Sketchfest Review: Tribute to Sally Field, ‘Hello, My Name is Doris’ Screening and Q&A with Sally Field and Michael Showalter, 1/22/16 at Alamo Drafthouse
Okay, it’s taken me almost a week and I still haven’t been able to decide: do I want to call Sally Field “radiant,” or is “luminous” the right word? I swear, that’s a big part of the reason it’s taken me five days to publish my review. (It also doesn’t help that I’ve been as lazy as my crazed-grad-school lifestyle will allow…) And here I am, I still haven’t decided. Suffice it to say, Ms. Field is all that and more. Anyway, so when SF Sketchfest announced this year’s schedule, I immediately zeroed in on this chance to attend the tribute to Sally Field and screening of her quirky new comedy, Hello, My Name is Doris last Friday night at the amazing Alamo Drafthouse. (Bonus: the Q&A after the film also featured the film’s director/co-writer, Michael Showalter!) Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Tribute to Sally Field, ‘Hello, My Name is Doris’ Screening and Q&A with Sally Field and Michael Showalter, 1/22/16 at Alamo Drafthouse”