Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 1/23/14-1/29/14

Wake up and go to shows this week! So many shows...
Wake up and go to shows this week! So many shows…

The thirteenth annual SF Sketchfest is upon us, littering San Francisco with night after night of too many good things at once.

To help with these sorts of problems, please consult “A Nerd’s Guide To Sketchfest 2014.” Yes, Dakin’s full-on once-over of this year’s fest is just the right guide to help you make those wrenching nerd decisions about which one-of-a-kind Sketchfest show to choose from on each jam-packed night. Too much good stuff is a good/ANNOYING problem to have. You are fortunate. We are fortunate.

This week! We have Canadiens! Sleepwalkers! Metal! Tim! Punk rock benefit shows! And science! O you lucky person, you — to have all of these awesome things to choose from.

Here’s what’s coming up this week.

Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts, 1/23/14-1/29/14”

Sketchfest Review: Risk! with Kevin Allison at The Purple Onion, 1/28/11

Onion with a side of Phirm

One of my favorite pastimes is looking up whatever happened to some of my favorite 90’s icons. I mean, almost everyone knows what happened to some of the lesser known folks in 90’s TV programs. Like Six from Blossom is apparently a struggling country singer, and Rayanne from My So Called Life is married to a lord.  But, my absolute favorite show from the 90’s was The State. It was simply the only TV program of it’s time that I felt emulated my brain functions. With the program now streaming on Netflix, I was reminded of two of my favorite sketches: the mailman that only delivered tacos and the Jew, the Italian, and the Red-Headed Gay. Hence me feeling the need to learn about Kevin Allison, one of the “forgotten” members of The State. Much to my surprise, he has a genius podcast called Risk!, where famous people talk about embarrassing situations they’ve been in. And it’s pretty awesome to say the least. Even better was getting to see it done live at the legendary Purple Onion as part of Sketchfest this year!

Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: Risk! with Kevin Allison at The Purple Onion, 1/28/11”

Show Review: W00tstock: 3 Hours of Geeks & Music, Swedish American Hall, 10/19/09

Guess which are the geeks and which are the music!
Guess which are the geeks and which are the music!

The Swedish American Hall was the host to a brand new event last night.  This was called W00tStock, and was advertised as “3 Hours of Geeks & Music.”  It turned out to be part concert, part convention, and part comedy show.  I can say without a doubt that it focused on the geeks more than the music, and that what music there was also fell onto the left side of the ampersand.  I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Continue reading “Show Review: W00tstock: 3 Hours of Geeks & Music, Swedish American Hall, 10/19/09”