Ron Funches – Spinning Platters

SF Sketchfest Review: Festpocalypse at Everywhere On Earth, 1/30/21

I didn’t even mention this clip in my review. You’ll have to support SF Sketchfest and rent the thing to find out what’s going on with Kumail Nanjiani’s hair

If this were a typical 2020, by now, you would have read my 10,000-word “Nerd’s Guide to the 20th SF Sketchfest,” half a dozen interviews of performers, and a few dozen reviews of shows. I would also be exhausted laughing and taking in 2-3 shows a night for three weeks. Instead, I’m exhausted because my days are spent chasing a child that’s nearly two around the apartment, as well as being emotionally spent from the pressures of life during a pandemic. I also got to enjoy SF Sketchfest on my couch and took in as many performers as they usually book over three weeks in a single 3 ½ hour block. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Festpocalypse at Everywhere On Earth, 1/30/21”

Spinning Platters’ Guide to Colossal Clusterfest

Colossal Clusterfest, for the few of you who have managed to miss any of the billboards, radio spots, or blog posts, is a three day comedy and music festival coming to Civic Center Plaza. It’s being put on by Superfly & Another Planet, the same folks who bring us Outside Lands, which would be a three day music and comedy festival. This is the very first year of this event, which is bringing comedy legends Jerry Seinfeld and Kevin Hart to the Bay, alongside plenty of other very special performances. This also being the first year, it’s not easy for us to really “know” how to optimize your experience. However, after scouring the FAQ’s and analyzing the map, I think we can help guide you to maximum fun.
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SF Sketchfest Review: Spotlight on “Drunk History” at Castro Theater, 1/9/16

Drunk_History

As completely expected Spotlight on “Drunk History” was a big drunken funny mess. Well, maybe it was a little drunker and a little messier than I expected, but that’s how the narrators often are on the show, so it all worked out. The simple explanation of the show is there was a panel with show creator Derek Waters and a moderator (Henri Mazza from Alamo Drafthouse) showing clips from the show then discussing them with the drunken narrator of that story. To make it more complicated, or more non-sensical, all these people had quite a bit to drink before they came on stage. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Spotlight on “Drunk History” at Castro Theater, 1/9/16″

SF Sketchfest Interview: Ron Funches

Ron Funches has been the king of dry, soft spoken wit since he first popped on the scene in 2011. After spending years on the road, he’s hit the big time. He’s one of the stars of NBC’s hit sitcom Undateable and is also a regular on @midnight as well as the dearly departed The Kroll Show. Spinning Platters had the honor of getting to speak to Funches recently.

Funches is playing Swedish American Hall on Saturday, January 9th (Tickets Here). He’s also doing a special brunch time set at Cobb’s on Sunday, January 10th (Tickets Here). Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Interview: Ron Funches”

Outside Lands 2015: 19 Instant Gig Reviews

Just a bunch of hippies in Golden Gate Park

Every year Outside Lands gets bigger and better. This year was a great year for a lot of reasons – it was an excellent, diverse and well-paced line up. They also switched up the set-up of the grounds this year, opening up walkways, adding more bathrooms and in general, making a much more comfortable festival experience. The weather was amazing, as well. None of the usual ice cold and overcast OSL, this year was all about having fun in the sun. I also got to see a slew of excellent sets of music & comedy!

Continue reading “Outside Lands 2015: 19 Instant Gig Reviews”

Outside Lands 2015: Eight Quick Questions with Jen Kirkman

Jen Kirkman is one of the funniest people out there right now. She’s also incredibly hard working… Her first book, I Can Barely Take Care Of Myself is a work of epic genius, and she seems to be the MVP of Comedy Central’s @midnight. She just premiered a special on Netflix called I’m Going To Die Alone (And I Feel Fine), which you can view the trailer to here.

Or, if you prefer to view people without a screen, she’s performing a stand up set at Outside Lands on Friday, as well as participating in Friday’s Uptown Showdown and Saturday’s ASSSCAT. (Click here for her Outside Lands schedule) If you aren’t coming out to the park, you can catch her on the road, as well. Those dates can be found here.

Spinning Platters had the pleasure of chatting with her recently. Continue reading “Outside Lands 2015: Eight Quick Questions with Jen Kirkman”

Sketchfest Review: Jenny Slate & Friends at The Brava Theater, 1/23/15

Sketchfest really killed it this year, as usual. A lot of shows sold out quickly. However, the quickest sell out was Jenny Slate & Friends at The Brava Theater. Jenny Slate’s star seems to be on the rise swiftly. She starred in Obvious Child, my favorite film of 2014. Her web series Marcel The Shell With Shoes On and Catherine are both works of epic genius. It seems that everything she touches turns to gold. However, I’ve never seen her do stand up. Even a cursory YouTube search proved difficult in terms of finding any clips of her doing live comedy. It seems tonight was a very special and somewhat rare experience.

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SF Sketchfest Review: The Slipnutz Variety Show on 2/1/2014

Ironically, it's hard to get a quality picture of the World Famous Slipnutz — Ironically, it’s hard to get a quality picture of the World Famous Slipnutz

It took a lifetime of fandom, four years of journalism and three previous 2014 articles to see a show that could only be described as “preposterous.” After consuming every brand of insanity, irony, and imagination, never have I seen such incommunicable ridiculousness. The Slipnutz Variety Show, presented by Andy Blitz, Jon Glaser and Brian Stack, three Conan-vetted writers/performers, was the quintessential Sketchfest experience: hilarious, subversive and unpredictable (above a fine, peanuty powder). Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Slipnutz Variety Show on 2/1/2014”

SF Sketchfest Review: Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction on 1/31/2014

competitive-erotic-fan-fiction2

Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction with Bryan Cook is the funniest, dirtiest, podcast I’ve ever seen live. Five comedians are asked to write a fan fiction piece on anything they want before the show and present it while five other comedians get suggestions from the audience and have to write a fan fiction piece on the spot. Each group has a winner crowned by the audience and everyone leaves, amused, maybe slightly disturbed, and possibly sore from laughing. At least that’s how I felt last night. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction on 1/31/2014”

Spinning Platters Interview: Janet Varney, Cole Stratton, and David Owen, Organizers Of SF Sketchfest

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:

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