General Sketchfest Thread

[colestratton]

hmm... thanks. I'll look into it.

You can take advantage of the SF Sketchfest rate (ask for it!) at the Hotel Tomo in Japantown (that's where a lot of performers stay during the fest, as well as myself). It's $79 a night. Also the Hotel Adagio does a rate of $99 a night, in Union Square.

[drieux]

Not the most ideal location, but the Sheraton at Fisherman's Wharf has also been cost-friendly when my family visits the city. Very close to Cobb's, a short bus ride to the Punchline (or relatively cheap cab ride), and close to all sorts of public transit - streetcar, cable car, bus. Usually around $90 a night. Short walks into North Beach/Chinatown.

Signed,
Mr. Sheraton

ps Who's headed to Comedy Death Ray tomorrow night? Looks like Michael Cera canceled, but still a fantastic lineup. I'm going to the 8, if anybody wants to meet in person and have an awkward, internet-y hello.

[rdemint]

ps Who's headed to Comedy Death Ray tomorrow night? Looks like Michael Cera canceled, but still a fantastic lineup. I'm going to the 8, if anybody wants to meet in person and have an awkward, internet-y hello.

I'll be at the 8PM show, too. Maybe I'll see you there.

[matt in the east]

Dammit! Tomo was my first choice but I didn't know how to get the sale fare.

What's the story on the conan tribute? I have tickets but obviously this is bad timing for conan.

[Liezl]

Looks like Im in officially in for the whole weekend. I've booked my flight and I'm renting a car.

I don't have much of an itinerary and I'll be going up solo (sadly), so if you see me, please say hello! I'll probably have a camera somewhere in hand. Unless you're Meen, I promise not to punch you in the face if you approach me.

Maybe.

[matt in the east]

I'll be the guy saying hello with his dukes up.

[Liezl]

Will there be a standby cancellation ticket possibility for this show? I figure I might have decent luck looking for a single.

also, if anyone has a single ticket to the pardo/conan interview, I'd greatly appreciate it and will pay you face value, in cash even.

[splunge]

Just got an e-mail saying the Tribute to Conan O'Brien show is cancelled (well, postponed to undetermined date, but essentially cancelled for a out-of-towner like me). : (

[matt in the east]

Ditto splunge. I'm going to look for another show to go to.

[splunge]

Doesn't look like any other comedy shows until 7pm, so I guess me and the hubby will finally go see Avatar 3D Imax at the AMC Loews Metreon (it's a REAL IMAX!!) unless there's other stuff going on that's not listed on the Sketchfest website's schedule...

[waxpop]

When I saw 'City Box Office' on my caller ID, I almost didn't want to pick up. Ugh.

I really hope it ends up actually getting rescheduled. I was so looking forward to seeing Jimmy host the thing, too!

[Jason One]

Can anyone recommend parking for the Eureka Theatre?

[Liezl]

I just wanted to say, godammit, reggie watts is fucking amazing. I can't wait to see his comedy central special. All around great show at the punchline tonight.

[BillBrasky]

Recap, Day #2

I didn't go to any shows opening night, but here's my recap of the shows I saw on Day #2:

Comedy Death-Ray

Starting out with a ridiculous list of performers who were going to ostensibly be performing tonight ("Teddy Prendergrass.....a rapping granny.....and PRECIOUS"), Scott Aukerman took the stage and talked a little bit about the Leno/Conan situation ("NBC cancelled the Jay Leno show, and to retaliate, Conan cancelled his show here at Sketchfest this year "). This was followed by James Adomian in the audience as NBC executive Bob Whiteman, talking about how he was on Team Jay Leno (cue boos from the audience). After Scott told him to get lost, he introduced Doug Benson, who came out and did some seemingly improved material. Soon, he launched into his routine about a guy who sent him a script in the mail called "Lotto Man" (most of which he did on ILM). He finished by telling his cleanest joke (dog with a sign that says I MAKE SIGNS) and his dirtiest joke (Grandma fingering herself in the back seat) simultaneously for both sides of the room. Scott then made him do the "location-appropriate" Fisherman's Wharf joke, after which he ran off the stage.

Then Natasha Leggero came out, in a fur coat ("Don't worry, it's faux.....oh, I'm sorry, that says 'fox'") and did her set, most of which I'd heard before. Still all really funny though (toilet babies, etc.) To make up for Michael Cera and Clark Duke not being there, Scott then brought out HUELL HOWSER! Huell wandered out into the audience, expressing disbelief at stairs, stagelights, and questioning various audience members ("Now what do you do here?") This went on a little long but most people seemed to enjoy it. This was followed by Michael Ian Black, who went into a rather lengthy (maybe too lengthy) routine where he read an awful short story that he wrote when he was 11. This was a little similar to Michael Showalter's bit on his album where he reads a poem he wrote for his high school literary magazine, but not quite as funny. Overall his set was a little more chuckle-worthy than laugh out loud.

The show closed out with Dana Gould, who did some material from his album ("If you're married, never start the sentence 'You want to know what I think?' There's no pot of gold at the end of that sentence") and some stuff I had never heard before about working with Bob Hope on one of his very last NBC specials. Aimee Mann also performed two songs during the show that were very good. Scott closed the show by saying "Now everybody go see the Paul F. Tompkins Show"- so I did!

PAUL F. TOMPKINS SHOW

I didn't really know what to expect, but this was fantastic. The show started out with a silly sketch about ninjas and manly montages by a two-man group called Barats and Bareta. After that, Dave Gruber Allen came out and did some hilarious sponsorship announcements ("The Paul F. Tompkins Show is brought to you by China....our kids work hard so that your kids can play. China...we're HUGE!" and my favorite, "Skittles, a rainbow of fruit flavor. You like colors, right? You like sugar, right? Then stop dicking around and buy Skittles"). PFT took the stage, singing the "Paul F Tompkins Show" theme. He then riffed amiably, and I now apologize for saying I didn't like the riffing suite on "Freak Wharf", because when you see PFT riff live, in the moment, it is the most hilarious thing in the world. He is like a jazz musician, creating endless variations on a single riff. Eventually he started telling a story about working on "The Informant!" and seeing Matt Damon swallowing some gelatinous cubes on set (apparently part of his weight-loss program for losing all the weight he put on for the movie). Tom Arnold was the one who explained this to Paul, who said, "Thank God...I was concerned that Matt Damon was an extraterrestrial who came to our planet and needs to ingest cubes to survive in our atmosphere". Paul and Dave Gruber Allen talked for a while about a dream DGA had where he was trapped in the funny pages and everything was all mixed up. I wish I could remember more of this, but it was all really funny ("Cathy had a positive body image and felt really good about herself. Billy from Family Circus walked home in a straight line. And Mary Worth had a gun, but you'll never know what she's going to do with it, because it takes about 3 months for anything to happen in that strip"). Then Paul went into a sketch where he supposedly was going to do a game show about food called "Chef-Boyeoardy" ("I apologize for you having to hear that"). He brought out his guests Ileana Douglas and Dave Foley. Dave started talking about how he just saw a ghost backstage, which led into a bit about the Eureka Theater being haunted. Eventually Dave had to hug the ghost so that its business on Earth could be finished and it could go to heaven. (At the end of the show, it was revealed that the ghost was Samm Levine in a sheet). Paul, the band, Grant Lee Phillips, Dave, and Ileana then did a group rendition of "I like American Music", with everybody really getting into it, except for Dave, who sat in an armchair and stared straight ahead emotionlessly during the song (Maybe the funniest thing of the night!) To close out the show, Paul did a stirring performance of "Danny Boy", while interrupting himself several times to chastise a member of the audience who noisily dropped some bottles during his song. ("Klink klank klink...ohhh, why are bottles so heavy? I can never not be drinking during a show!") He kept going with this, and it got funnier and funnier, until PFT cracked himself up completely ("I want to just keep doing this character forever"). By the end of the show, I was convinced that PFT is the most naturally funny person in the world.

And that's it! Today: Never Not Funny live, CDR/ILM podcast, and Game Show Explosion.

[waxpop]

Ooooh, thanks for the recap, BillBrasky! I couldn't make it to those shows, but I am stoked about today's line-up.

Can anyone recommend parking for the Eureka Theatre?

When I go to the Punchline, I almost always park at the lot directly underneath it on Clay at Battery. The Eureka is just a couple blocks up the street. Their evening rates are decent; can't speak to daytime ones, but it's possible to find street parking in the Financial District during the day on a weekend.

[Liezl]

I've officially sanctioned by the Sketchfest folks to take pictures of NNF this afternoon and I think two other shows I'm forgetting and should probably confirm. I want to say it's Benson Interruption.

I know one of the shows they already had coverage for was Game Show Explosion, so I sadly won't be able to photo recap that for you guys here. I'll probably end up buying a ticket at the box office anyway, just to get my match game fix.

See you guys there!

[drieux]

Just to echo Bill, Comedy Death Ray last night was a lot of fun. Dana Gould is really amazing.

[Meen Bellpeppers]

When I go to the Punchline, I almost always park at the lot directly underneath it on Clay at Battery. The Eureka is just a couple blocks up the street. Their evening rates are decent; can't speak to daytime ones, but it's possible to find street parking in the Financial District during the day on a weekend.

They close at 10 now and to get your car out after that they charge you $50. The Embarcadero center parking closes at midnight and I believe it's $3/hr after 5. There are entrances on both Front St and Battery between Sacramento and Clay.

[darrylduffy]

This was followed by Michael Ian Black, who went into a rather lengthy (maybe too lengthy) routine where he read an awful short story that he wrote when he was 11. This was a little similar to Michael Showalter's bit on his album where he reads a poem he wrote for his high school literary magazine, but not quite as funny. Overall his set was a little more chuckle-worthy than laugh out loud.

i loved Michael Ian Black's set, i thought it was the best of the show! but maybe because i was expecting stuff from his cd, and he did something entirely new to me. great job Michael

("The Paul F. Tompkins Show is brought to you by China....our kids work hard so that your kids can play. China...we're HUGE!" and my favorite, "Skittles, a rainbow of fruit flavor. You like colors, right? You like sugar, right? Then stop dicking around and buy Skittles").

re: China. "Leading the way.. I'm sorry, that says LEAD-ing."

Paul, the band, Grant Lee Phillips, Dave, and Ileana then did a group rendition of "I like American Music", with everybody really getting into it, except for Dave, who sat in an armchair and stared straight ahead emotionlessly during the song (Maybe the funniest thing of the night!)

plus Eban Schletter in the band!

i better meet you BillBrasky today.

edit: oh, and i tend to find that late enough in the area around the Eureka Theatre (near the Safeway etc.) you can find a lot of metered spots (but the meters aren't running after a certain hour) that are open. may be easier to do for 10pm-10:30 shows instead of 8pm shows but still.

[matt in the east]

We had a last minute bailout and I have an extra ticket for the 10:30 game show explosion.