02/06/15 - San Francisco, CA - SF Sketchfest Tribute to Al

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remmy
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02/06/15 - San Francisco, CA - SF Sketchfest Tribute to Al

Post by remmy »

Al's gonna be at SF Sketchfest this year! Anyone else going??

http://sfsketchfest2015.sched.org/event ... LmAIEfF-ao" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: 02/06/15 - San Francisco, CA - SF Sketchfest Tribute to

Post by Alinite27 »

Too bad this isn't over WrestleMania weekend in March. Looks like it would be a fun show.
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remmy
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Re: 02/06/15 - San Francisco, CA - SF Sketchfest Tribute to

Post by remmy »

Oh man, this was such a fun show! And just a 5 minute drive from my apartment too :)

I insisted on getting there an hour early, which Matt kind of rolled his eyes about, but the joke was on both of us because the line to get in was already around the block by then. So much for getting seats up close...

The whole event was really laid back, which was a cool change of pace from the precision I'm used to at Al's concerts. It was also refreshing to have Chris Hardwick as a host/moderator, since it's obvious he has so much genuine love for/knowledge of Al's work. Garfunkel and Oates kicked it off with a cover of Like A Surgeon (complete with scrubs), which featured lots of crawling and writhing. They flubbed a few lines and asked us to sing along louder. At the start of the second verse, Al came in through the back and sang his way up the aisle to the stage. Everyone went nuts. I flailed a little -- it was involuntary.

Then there was a panel discussion with Al, Chris, and Jonah Ray. Much of the conversation centered around the early years -- how Al got his start, the dawn of MTV and how different it was back then, meeting Paul McCartney for the first time, AL-TV, UHF, etc. They showed some clips, including this crazy performance of Eat It on a Japanese TV show (I'm sure many of you have already seen it but it was new to me). One interesting fact I hadn't heard before: Al's label paid him $500 for his bathroom demo of My Bologna, but when it came time to record the album version, he had to pay THEM $1000 for studio time. Ah, the music industry...

They set aside about 20 minutes for audience Q&A. A few questions in, Al moved his chair over to the edge of the stage right in front of the audience mic. It started out as a joke but he stayed there for the rest of the questions all leaned over and intent; it was very sweet. There were a lot of cute moments -- a woman talked about how Mandatory Fun and the 8 videos/8 days campaign helped keep her sane after having just given birth to her son, Al took an AMAZING photo with a young fan, someone pleaded with him to add a Bay Area tour date (his response was essentially "I can't announce anything but just keep checking weirdal.com... ::knowing nod:: ::WINK WINK::") :yay:

Then Mike Phirman came out with a guitar and he and Chris performed One More Minute. Chris was incredibly nervous going into it, which was very endearing. He was so afraid of messing up -- and even though he DID, in a pretty funny way that temporarily derailed the song, I was still impressed. Finally to close the show, everyone participated in a big ol' Yoda sing-along. It's not a live Al show without Yoda to bring the house down, amirite?

Anyway, there's a ton more I left out but I'm rambling as it is. As I said before, it was great to see him in such a relaxed setting. I love his concerts a ton, but he's definitely "in character" for them and this was much more of a sitting-around-shooting-the-breeze kind of deal. I was hoping for the possibility of a meet and greet afterwards, but there was another Sketchfest event after this one and the staff seemed anxious to clear the theater. It's been nearly 12 years since I last met Al, but I suppose I can wait a few more months for that privelege :D
Last edited by remmy on Sat Feb 07, 2015 8:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 02/06/15 - San Francisco, CA - SF Sketchfest Tribute to

Post by Muppetboy09 »

Just watched some videos from last night, sounds like Al has been working on his voice for the upcoming tour! IT SOUNDS AMAZING!!! Hope someone uploads LAS, as it has been a while since he sang that live!!! :yay:
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Re: 02/06/15 - San Francisco, CA - SF Sketchfest Tribute to

Post by mellow weasel »

I'll be Captain Obvious here and post a couple of videos for those who haven't looked them up themselves yet:

Youtube


Youtube
remmy wrote: Then Mike Phirman came out with a guitar and he and Chris performed One More Minute. Chris was incredibly nervous going into it, which was very endearing. He was so afraid of messing up -- and even though he DID, in a pretty funny way that temporarily derailed the song, I was still impressed.
He sounded surprisingly a lot like Al :oo ! If I wasn't watching and paying much attention I'd probably think it's Al.
What was with that mess up though, I didn't comprehend anything and it looked like he just started rambling something out of nowhere :?
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remmy
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Re: 02/06/15 - San Francisco, CA - SF Sketchfest Tribute to

Post by remmy »

mellow weasel wrote:What was with that mess up though, I didn't comprehend anything and it looked like he just started rambling something out of nowhere :?
Well, before he started the song he said something to the effect of "I brought out a lyric sheet even though I know this song by heart, that's how afraid I am of messing up." I think that lyric sheet was his undoing because as he was glancing at it he ended up skipping over the bridge ("I'd rather rip out my intestines with a fork...") and going straight to the last chorus ("I'd rather jump naked on a huge pile of thumbtacks") but he realized his mistake almost immediately and started stammering. Then he was all "Sorry! Sorry! AAAAH it's happening, don't look at me!"
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Re: 02/06/15 - San Francisco, CA - SF Sketchfest Tribute to

Post by algonacchick »

Thanks for posting those videos, mellow weasel! The only footage I had seen before this was a clip of "Yoda" that Mike Phirman's brother Billy posted on Chris Hardwick's facebook page. Nice to see the whole song. hehe, I thought it was cute when Al gave Chris the thumbs up before he started singing OMM. Here's a cute Instagram pic of everyone that Chris shared on twitter.

http://instagram.com/p/yzsR04JGu_/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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