Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
SF Sketchfest is one of my favorite things about San Francisco. So when I saw that they were doing a Summer Social, and that it involved two of my favorite things: Muppets and Doug Benson, I jumped at the chance to attend. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Muppet Movie on 8/16/2014 at Castro Theater”
There is something about Yelp that inspires some of the finest creative writing out there today. I really enjoy reading pieces where the writer is in so much pain and frustration over the poor treatment they got at a commercial establishment, that they feel compelled to write a letter to the entire world about the demons that can be found in such a place. One Star with Thomas Lennon and Matt Mira is a show that pays loving tribute to those passionate writers. Until last night, those voices could only be heard if you stumbled across them on the web. Now, those voices can be heard by all.
Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: One Star with Thomas Lennon and Matt Mira on 2/8/14”
I will fully admit to the fact that I had never seen Wainy Days prior to this evening at Marines’ Memorial Theater. The reason I went to this performance was because the cast bridged my favorite TV show when I was 12, The State, and my favorite TV show now, at the age of 35, Parks & Recreation. It’s silly that I’ve never seen it, as I think David Wain is one of the greatest comic minds of our generation. So, I knew I was in for a surprise or two.
Wouldn’t it be great if cloning was already a thing? So we could be at 8 places at once and not have to decide which Sketchfest events you are going to? Well, until science improves greatly, we are stuck with one body and being in one place at a time. Because of this trouble, I have taken the time to dissect the entire Sketchfest schedule and help you out by highlighting the best of the fest. A complete schedule and tickets can be purchased here. A lot of shows have already sold out, and more shows are selling out every day, so don’t forget to purchase in advance!
This is the 13th year of the SF Sketchfest, and it seems to be getting bigger every year. The event’s founders, David Owen, Janet Varney, and Cole Stratton tooks a few minutes out of their day, busily putting together another epic line up, in order to chat with me. Tickets for all dates go on sale on December 15th, and you can find a full line up of festivities here:
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.
In 2002, three Bay Area comics organized a festival featuring some of their favorite local sketch groups. They dubbed it Sketchfest, and it was a success. The next year, comedy legend Fred Willard joined the event, and every year subsequent year, the event became bigger and bigger. This year’s festival has grown to 2 1/2 weeks long, and features the biggest line up yet, featuring the likes of Eddie Izzard, Amy Poehler, Wil Wheaton, Barry Bostwick, and scores of other people so famous that even your grandparents know who they are. (You may need to ask your grandparents who Barry Bostwick is)
SpinningPlatters had the opportunity to chat with founders David Owen, Janet Varney, and Cole Stratton about the evolution of the festival, the struggles of putting it on every year, where to grab a burrito, and a whole ton of hypothetical situations that were good fun to ask. Be sure to go to SFSketchfest.com to check out the line-up and purchase tickets.
To the uninitiated, San Francisco’s Sketchfest is probably the most overwhelming 2 1/2 weeks out of the entire year, in terms of live entertainment booking. Its closest cousin is probably Austin’s SXSW festival, where you have a wide array of up-and-coming talent mixed with veterans, all playing some very intimate spots.
As a person that considers himself to be an expert of sorts on taste, I am going to sift through this year’s line-up, and let you know what you should be going to at this year’s Sketchfest. I will guide you through which Emmy winners or CSI corpses (both of which are well represented by this event), in my humble opinion, is most worthy of your hard earned dollar.
Continue reading “A Music Nerd’s Guide To SF Sketchfest 2011″