Reviews of albums, films, concerts, and more from the Bay Area Music and Movie Nerds
Show 2 of my 3 at this year’s SF Sketchfest was last weekend at Swedish American Hall on a chilly grey Saturday afternoon. What better way to spend such a day than laughing with Pat Francis taping a live Rock Solid podcast with Kyle Dodson and special guest “Weird Al” Yankovic? I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do, either. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Rock Solid with Pat Francis, Kyle Dodson, and special guest “Weird Al” Yankovic at Swedish American Hall, 1/21/2017″
I don’t believe there’d be many folks who’d argue that Silence of the Lambs isn’t ripe for parody. The distinct characters, the famous lines, the bone-chilling seriousness of it all — all primed for spoofing. The good news is that the feat has been accomplished in a fun, shockingly crude way by Cloud 9 Theatricals, Lang Entertainment Group, and Ray of Light Theatre in their production of Silence! The Musical (show now extended through March 18th! – tickets here). The show is an incredibly tight, minimalist production punctuated by musical numbers culled from infamous lines of dialogue and plot elements of Jonathan Demme’s 1991 film. Scott Hayes and Anne Norland, who I had the chance to interview, play Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, leading the bill of the 10 member cast. Yes, that’s right, the picture above includes 7/10 of the total cast. Aside from the two leads and Brian Watson as Buffalo Bill, the remaining seven cast members wear multiple hats, playing an assortment of characters including a chorus of lambs, FBI agents, work colleagues, guards, etc. The manic energy and precisely crafted parodical elements of the show make Silence! a ridiculously fun time at the theatre.
It’s that time of year again: SF Sketchfest 2017 is in town, and as always, brings with it the promise of some great talent and good times. It also marks yet another anniversary for me with Spinning Platters (my 6th), which also always makes me smile. Anyway, this year is no exception in terms of the fun shows I went to, the first being this past weekend, at PianoFight. Kirsten Vangsness may be best known to many of us as her character Penelope Garcia on CBS’ Criminal Minds (or, as Shemar Moore’s character Derek Morgan called her, simply “Baby Girl”). But even if this is the only thing you know her from, my guess is that you, like me, adore her for the quirky, sweet lady she plays on the show. Her original one-woman show MESS intrigued me: I learned that she wrote it based on ideas from a TED Talk (which, admittedly, I haven’t had time yet to watch). I wondered if she would be anything like Garcia, or something else entirely. I admit, I had no idea what to expect, but I couldn’t wait to find out.
Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Kirsten Vangsness: MESS w/The Right Now and Kevin Yee at PianoFight, 1/15/2017”
Silence! The Musical opens at the Victoria Theatre in San Francisco on Friday, February 3rd — tickets here. The “unauthorized parody of Silence of the Lambs” is a show you are not to miss. In eager anticipation for the show, I got the opportunity to ask the two leads, Anne Norland (who plays Clarice Starling) and Scott Hayes (who plays Hannibal Lecter), some questions…
Before landing your roles, had you seen “Silence of the Lambs” and what were your thoughts on the film?
Anne: I am such a scaredy-cat when it comes to scary films or images. I was familiar with Jodie Foster’s accent and style in the movie, but I actually only really sat down and watched the movie start to finish in preparation for my callback for Silence! It scared the shit out of me. Psychological dramas are the scariest for me. It’s not gore-y or sneak-out-of-the-closet-and-spook-you like a slasher movie, but it’s freaky because that Giallo style gets under your skin (…no pun intended?). Any minute, someone might try to shove me in a well or bite into my face.
Scott: I actually saw the film the night after it opened back in 1991. Not only do I recall it being terrifying, but also remember the audience as a whole responding with gasps and screams. It was a genuine collective experience in the best way.
Continue reading “Spinning Platters Interview: Anne Norland & Scott Hayes, Silence! The Musical“
Moshe Kasher’s podcast Hound Tall takes several comedians and one expert on a subject and makes either a glorious or terrible mess of things. When the podcast is great, it is so great. And when it misses, it really misses. Last year I watched the electronic music episode and it was so much more than I thought it would be. This year the topic was “Planning a Non-Violent Revolution in the Age of Trump”. The topic was exactly what I needed, and maybe what everyone needs after spending a day being inspired by the Women’s Marches around the country. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Hound Tall Podcast with Moshe Kasher at Swedish American Hall, 1/21/17”
In the world of comedy, Laraine Newman is an industry legend. She’s been consistently working for over 40 years, starting as a member of the legendary first cast of Saturday Night Live, and branching out into dozens of roles in television, film and voice acting. She has an amazing amount of stories, and when I heard she was going to be doing a one-woman show as part of Sketchfest this year, I jumped at the chance to experience her live.
Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Laraine Newman: The Audition at PianoFight, 1/21/17”
It was a happy Friday the 13th to start this year’s epic SF Sketchfest Journey. Full of delicious burrito and needing some relief from a long day at work I was excited to get the funny started. On top of that all proceeds for this show are being donated to Planned Parenthood so it felt good to be in the company of people trying to help this messed up world. Bring on the Crabapples! Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Crabapples with Bobcat Goldthwait and Caitlin Gill at Brava Theater, 1/13/2017”
It was a dark night at the Rickshaw Stop on 12/28. Droves of music fans, clad in black, funneled in throughout the evening to enjoy the darker side of synth music, and while some folks are near impossible to please, it was pretty obvious that this was one of those nights that would be remembered. It’s not often that an electronic music show is perfectly curated, but clearly The Black Queen was not screwing around when they booked their tour mates.
For 10 years, the Treasure Island Music Festival has been one of the best-run and best-booked music festivals in the world. Situated on Treasure Island’s west lawn, we got to experience picturesque views of San Francisco, along with some of the best weather and some of the most innovative performers of our time, often just before breaking out to the mainstream. For 9 of those 10 years, everything went off pretty much perfectly; this year, however, mother nature decided that things were going a little TOO well for the festival, and it was time to see how the good people of Noise Pop and Another Planet would handle, well, everything she’s got. In my own humble opinion, they handled it rather nicely, and the 10th year was, once again, extraordinary.
Continue reading “Treasure Island Music Festival 2016 Journal, Day 1”
Day two of Treasure Island started out significantly easier. The winds were calm, and only light sprinkles were on the horizon. Still, I think people were a little nervous about the weather (Or simply stayed out partying late the night before), as when I arrived at 11:30 am on Sunday, the park looked pretty deserted. However, the ferris wheel was up and running, and the coffee line was short, so it made for a very good morning for me.
Continue reading “Treasure Island Music Festival 2016 Journal, Day 2”