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″
The Thrilling Adventure Hour reincarnated = Workjuice Theater. (Photo cred: thanks to Tommy Lau photography!)
This year would have been my fifth consecutive year watching The Thrilling Adventure Hour at SF Sketchfest. Sadly, it seems I must finally admit that I’m a terrible podcast fan. I adore this show, but I’m a little behind. Ok, a lot behind: what I mean is, I never listen to podcasts. Like, ever. So that’s how far behind I am. It’s always been enough for me to keep up with this show whenever I could catch it live (which, as it happened, was once annually here in the city at Sketchfest). So okay, I didn’t know that there were ashes from which something new could be reborn, but mercifully, I needn’t waste too many tears: Workjuice Theatre definitely scratches the itch withdrawals from TAH might have given me. (Am I making any sense? Translation: I didn’t know that one of my favorite shows had ended, but a similar show with even same bits and characters has taken its place, so yay! Anyway, the show may have a new name, but I was just as happy as always to find myself back in my usual seat at Brava Theater Center last Saturday night to watch Craig, Hal, Marc, Mark, Paget, Paul and the gang! Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Workjuice Theatre with Paget Brewster, Craig Cackowski, Mark Gagliardi, Marc Evan Jackson, Hal Lublin, Busy Philipps, Paul F. Tompkins and more, 1/9/2016 at Brava Theater Center”
Put Your Hands Together turned out to be the perfect start to my 2016 Sketchfest experience. It was a room full of friendly people and a lot of great stand up comedy. I had become a fan of the hosts, Cameron Esposito and Rhea Butcher after seeing them at You Made it Weird with Pete Holmes last year and was excited to get the chance to see them again. Now I am so happy I did.Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Put Your Hands Together at Cobb’s, 1/8/16”
Star Wars! Star Wars! Star Wars! Star Wars! Can you believe it? It’s difficult to believe! But it’s here! This week! B… [cough]… it’s… it’s been… a long time since it was possible to look forward to a Star Wars anything. It’s here! Extraordinary feelings.
We’re less than six weeks away from the Bay Area’s premiere music and tech conference, SF MusicTech Summit. Returning to San Francisco for the seventeenth (!) time, this must-attend gathering attracts top experts, developers, entrepreneurs, investors, and musicians from all around the globe. One year ago, organizers Brian and Shoshana Zisk declared that they would be retiring the event. However, due to popular demand, they’ve brought it back.
There’s never been any debate over the fact that English new-prog, Pink-Floyd-meets-metal band Porcupine Tree is Steven Wilson, in both part and in whole. While comprised of a core set of musicians that have contributed to the writing, recording, and touring of the many records forged over its career, Porcupine Tree started as a project for Wilson alone to craft music; in fact, at its very beginning, it was a made-up legendary rock band with its own fake history and discography that Wilson had penned with a colleague back in the late 1980s. Twenty years later, Wilson has put his primary project on a shelf (Porcupine Tree has been on hiatus since 2010) and shifted the attention to his own “solo work”. Lest the reader shy away from the often-wary prospect of a frontman deciding to carve out his own path, Wilson’s output has been nothing short of spectacular, now spanning the length of four albums which demonstrate a remarkable leap in creativity, songwriting, and production with each successive release. Hot off the heels of his recently-released Hand. Cannot. Erase., Wilson returned to the Bay Area on Sunday night for a live performance with his new touring band, and the result was a gorgeous, stunning display of musicianship and sonic texture that shook the walls of the Warfield for over two hours.
