SF Sketchfest Review: The Benson Movie Interruption: “Twilight: New Moon” on 2/8/2014

Doug Benson.  My favorite shit-talker.
Doug Benson. My favorite shit-talker, hands down.

Okay, truth: almost exactly a year ago, I saw Doug Benson and a bunch of other funny dudes trash talk their way through the first Twilight movie, and haven’t stopped snickering about it since. While Sketchfest is one of our favorite times of year at Spinning Platters, regardless of which specific shows pop up on the yearly schedules, I secretly hoped all year long that the success of last year’s Benson Movie Interruption might become a yearly thing that would carry me through all five terrible films in the the Twilight “saga.” So imagine the joy I felt when this year’s Sketchfest schedule was released, and there it was: The Benson Movie Interruption: Twilight: New Moon! I sent my request in immediately, along with a note to my managing editor that basically said it was the one event I had to cover, even if it meant skipping new events I really wanted to check out. Thankfully, not only did I get access to see Doug and other funnies again this year, but I didn’t have to sacrifice lots of other chances to giggle! And for those that don’t know: whether you love Twilight or hate it, as long as you have a sense of humor, this is something you should plan on attending in the years that follow (there are still three films left in Doug’s series). There is no better way to spend an afternoon, especially a rainy Saturday as was the case this year, than in a room full of people watching a truly awful movie, with many a funny man talking shit over it all. Trust me, it’s wonderful. And I already can’t wait to do it again next year…

After scoring a parking spot on the street directly across from the Castro Theatre, waiting in an insanely long (but mercifully quick-moving) line for the ladies’ room, and finally settling into a comfy seat in the back, next to a sweet lady named Val and her hubby, I was ready for the fun to begin. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Benson Movie Interruption: “Twilight: New Moon” on 2/8/2014″

SF Sketchfest Review: Set List: Comedy Without a Net on 2/8/2014

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Set List: Comedy Without a Net was my last show of Sketchfest and my hopes were high. The show is an improve stand-up show where the comedians have to do a stand up routine based on random and weird topics that are projected on a screen behind them. I decided to go because it sounded like an opportunity to witness greatness and tragedy. Which worked out perfectly because that’s exactly what we got. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Set List: Comedy Without a Net on 2/8/2014”

SF Sketchfest Review: Picture This! on 2/8/2014

Mike Lawrence by Sam Varela
Mike Lawrence by Sam Varela

Picture This!, the amicable marriage of sight, sound and more sight just made it’s San Francisco debut hours ago at the Dark Room Theater. Concocted in Los Angeles by comedian Brandie Posey and animator Sam Varela, the show paired stand-up comedians with illustrators, each performing their due diligence to visualize this crazy thing called funny. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Picture This! on 2/8/2014”

SF Sketchfest Review: The Fogelnest Files on 2/7/14

fogelnest files

Last night, Jake Fogelnest hosted his podcast, The Fogelnest Files, live for Sketchfest with guest Chris Gethard and they talked, as possibly only they can, about Manhattan Public Access Cable Shows. And it might go down as the best night of my Sketchfest. The Fogelnest Files is a podcast where they play some YouTube videos and discuss them. It might not sound like something really special, or even the best idea for a podcast, but it was a real honor to have two such passionate people talk sincerely about a bizarre art form that they so dearly love. It’s not often enough that I get to see that level of enthusiasm with that much clarity to the way it was presented. Of course, it was also a weirdly nostalgic evening for me, and left me with the strange longing and excitement of a teenager. But I’m going to save that personal stuff for the end and just start off by attempting to explain what a wonderful show this was. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: The Fogelnest Files on 2/7/14”

Show Review: An Evening with Transatlantic at The Regency Ballroom, 2/1/2014

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On June 18, 2000, Transatlantic played their first ever show in Bethlehem, PA. It was a loose, joyous set that was technically a little off, but felt like a big event. At the time, I thought “well that was fun. Too bad I won’t get to see them again.” Why? Because supergroups hardly ever last, and prog rock supergroups are even more fleeting. So to be sitting in front of a stage watching Transatlantic nearly 14 years later was an absolute treat. Continue reading “Show Review: An Evening with Transatlantic at The Regency Ballroom, 2/1/2014”

SF Sketchfest Review: Megan Mullally in Concert with her band Nancy and Beth on 1/31/2014

Stephanie Hunt and Megan Mullally are Nancy and Beth.
Stephanie Hunt and Megan Mullally are Nancy and Beth.

One of the best things about SF Sketchfest is that it brings fantastic comedic talent we might not otherwise have a lot of opportunity to see right here to the Bay Area. For example, Megan Mullally. The woman is equal parts brilliantly funny and beautiful. I’ve been a fan of hers since Will & Grace, though admittedly haven’t followed her career as closely as perhaps I should have. That’s why I’d never heard of her musical act (a duo with funny girl Stephanie Hunt, who I know from How to Live with Your Parents…, Californication, and Friday Night Lights), Nancy and Beth.Anyway, thanks to Sketchfest’s awesome musical offerings, I was able to catch their set last Friday night at SF’s JCC with the utterly wonderful and hilarious opener The Lampshades, and one night was all it took to make a fan out of me! Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Megan Mullally in Concert with her band Nancy and Beth on 1/31/2014”

SF Sketchfest Review: Stardumb! on 2/1/2014

Bill Dwyer and Erica Rhodes, hosts of Stardumb!
Bill Dwyer and Erica Rhodes, hosts of Stardumb!

Stardumb! is a fake game show hosted by Bill Dwyer where actors and comedians are asked to answer varying levels of personal questions for points. When I read the description on the SF Sketchfest site I knew I had to see what this was all about. That and two of my celebrity crushes were scheduled to be there. How could I resist that? I’m so glad I didn’t. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Stardumb! on 2/1/2014”

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

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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”

SF Sketchfest Review: BriTANick on 1/29/2014

BRITANICK

The coincidently nautical showcase of BOAT and BriTANick (rhymes with Titanic) capsized before the show even started. Eureka Theater’s projector mutinied, died at a time most inopportune. It left behind a lobby drowned with humanity—a sold out show. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: BriTANick on 1/29/2014”

SF Sketchfest Review: Don’t Watch This Show Live! and Femikaze on 1/27/2014

dwts-live

Who will speak for sketch? When it’s all over, when the theaters are empty, when the stand-ups scatter, the celebrities fly away and the improvisers jam out, who will speak for the hardest discipline to sustain in San Francisco? It was important to find a line-up of pure, uncut, Mario-Savio-meets-Frank-Chu Bay Area Grease, and, with a gun to my head, I chose Don’t Watch This Show LIVE! and Femikaze at the Eureka Theater. Both are two sterling paragons of regional ethos, although diametrically opposite: social ills vs. social thrills; subverting media vs. subverting medium; pounding pop culture vs. pounding Pop’s culture. One hits the nail on the head; the other hits it in the balls. How many analogies must I make to convey that these groups are as different as night and day? Wait, damn it! Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Don’t Watch This Show Live! and Femikaze on 1/27/2014”