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Show Review: Disturbed w/Nonpoint at The Fillmore, 3/16/2016

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF

Hiatus. hi·a·tus. noun. A pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process.

Staind, The Gaslight Anthem, The Academy Is…, A Static Lullaby, Armor For Sleep, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, System of a Down, Underoath… just a few examples of bands that are on a hiatus, have taken one, or broke up and then reformed (kind of the same thing as a hiatus). After a 4-year hiatus, in which all 4 of its members worked on other musical projects, Disturbed is back.

Continue reading “Show Review: Disturbed w/Nonpoint at The Fillmore, 3/16/2016”

Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2016-03-17 – 2016-03-23

Conan, by Frazetta — Appearing Monday, March 21 at The Metro in Oakland

St. Patrick’s Day. Irishness! Excellent.

To go with this week in the Bay Area we also have metal, self-described “country-fed punkabilly,” and the Melvins. Also! Bilingual punk rock with horns as well as bilingual Rickenbacker-wielding one-woman guitar rock. And Conan. Conan!

Let’s preview. Faugh A Ballagh! Continue reading “Spinning Platters Weekly Guide to Bay Area Concerts: 2016-03-17 — 2016-03-23”

SF Sketchfest Review: Mortified (The Extra Dirty Version), 1/23/16 at Swedish American Hall

Makes me wish I’d kept journals & the like.

That Mortified has been selling out shows for the past decade shouldn’t surprise me. What should is that this year was my first time getting to find out why. It was Sketchfest 2016’s final weekend (Saturday, 1/23, to be exact), and while I had booked myself back-to-back shows for the evening, I wasn’t concerned since both were taking place in the same venue (Swedish American Hall). The only minor caveat was that I got so excited about this fact (and that I have been to the former venue next door so many times I know the area well), that I forgot to take what a bitch it is to find parking in the neighborhood. Making matters worse, I stood in a line of people wanting to buy tickets for at least five minutes before I realized I could bypass them all and go find a spot in what was now standing-room-only. And yet, it was absolutely worth it! (The only thing I’d do differently is give myself an exorbitant amount of time for parking next time…) Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Mortified (The Extra Dirty Version), 1/23/16 at Swedish American Hall”

SF Sketchfest Review: Bring the Rock with Greg Behrendt and guests Dana Gould, Andy Kindler, Kate Micucci and Janet Varney, 1/23/16 at Swedish American Hall

tommy lau2 — Bring the Rock ALWAYS brings the fun(ny). (Photo thanks to Tommy Lau.)

Sketchfest is always fun. It’s even better, though, when I get to see Greg Behrendt, and most of all when it’s for Bring the Rock, as was the case for the final weekend of Sketchfest 2016 at Swedish American Hall. It’s even sweeter than usual, though, because it marks my fifth anniversary with Spinning Platters: I first met editor-in-chief Gordon Elgart at a similar event in 2011. It was called Maximum Volume, but the premise was the same, and any chance I have to be there when an event like this takes place, I’m not gonna miss it. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Bring the Rock with Greg Behrendt and guests Dana Gould, Andy Kindler, Kate Micucci and Janet Varney, 1/23/16 at Swedish American Hall”

SF Sketchfest Review: Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher at Stage Werx, 1/23/16

hound tall

Hound Tall is one of my favorite podcasts, even if it can be hit or miss, I listen excitedly to every episode. The idea is an expert is there to discuss a topic and Moshe Kasher interviews them while three comedian guests do everything they can to get attention and create laughs. At its best it is an entertaining show where you learn a little and get a lot of laughs. At its worst it is a bunch of comedians completely derailing an otherwise intelligent conversation with dick jokes. When I found out the topic for this episode was the rise of electronic music and Rave culture I was pretty worried. Seemed like there might be a lot of opportunity for dick jokes there. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Hound Tall with Moshe Kasher at Stage Werx, 1/23/16”

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

12509650_10153829363552667_6511806589562874559_n — How can you not enjoy these two? (Photo thanks to Tommy Lau.)

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”

SF Sketchfest Review: The Dork Forest at the Punchline, 1/23/16

Dork_Forest

Reviewing Podcasts is weird, especially when it’s one you’ve been listening to off and on for six years and have never seen live. There’s just a certain amount of fandom that keeps you from doing an impartial review, so I’m mostly going to tell you want happened. Obviously I loved it. The host of The Dork Forest, Jackie Kashian, is my favorite person in comedy and her enthusiasm to hear and learn about other people’s dorkdoms is often catching. In person it is even stronger and funnier because there is so much more going on with the expressions and gestures of the guests. It’s that special something that always makes it worth it to pay to see a free podcast live. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Dork Forest at the Punchline, 1/23/16”

SF Sketchfest Review: Porchlight, a Storytelling Series at Swedish American Hall, 1/22/16

Arline Klatte and Beth Lisick, your Porch Light hosts

I decided to attend Porch Light Storytelling Series on a whim, as often happens with me and Sketchfest. If I see more than one comedian I really like, in this case Moshe Kasher and Jackie Kashian, I’m pretty happy to try it out. I was also curious about Beth Lisick who wrote a couple of her short story collections I’ve read. The format also seemed like it would be generally likeable – two hosts and six people telling true life stories, what’s not to like about that? Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Porchlight, a Storytelling Series at Swedish American Hall, 1/22/16”

SF Sketchfest Review: Fresh Out with Emily Heller and Adam Conover at The Eureka Theater, 1/16/16

fresh out

Now we are two thirds of the way through SF Sketchfest and so far, I’m going to say this is the year of the stand up showcase. At least, that’s what won my weekend last week, and now Fresh Out won this weekend by a landslide. It was funny, diverse, and even had some serious moments. Usually it’s a good panel that leaves me with all the feels as I head home, but this time it was the comedians performing at Fresh Out. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Fresh Out with Emily Heller and Adam Conover at The Eureka Theater, 1/16/16”

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″