As I’m lacing up my Montrails to hit the mountain trails for some Western States training, I feel obliged to share tidbits of my evening out last night so you don’t waste your time or money.
In recent years, some of you may have read the stellar reviews for local comedy troupe I Can’t Believe It’s Not Comedy (ICBINC.) The Bee, News & Review, ForkIt, and others have lauded this group for years, yet I was never able to figure out when they were performing as several months lapse between performances. Starting a six-week run at the Geery Theatre in Midtown, ICBINC has put together a production of their version of sketch comedy.
I was excited to see not one but THREE fellow Placer High School alums in attendance. (GO HILLMEN!)
I knew we were in trouble when the producer rudely barked to the people in line out on the sidewalk that the theatre was full, and even those with ticket reservations might not gain admission.
Rather than spinning the situation in a good PR move by saying something like, “Wow! Thank you all for coming out! What a nice problem we have on our hands! We’ll try to accommodate everyone, so please just bear with us!” No, he was a total ass, plain and simple.
We did manage to get in and were horrified by opening act Daisy Spot. Sorry CoolDMZ, you’ve pumped them quite a bit on the SacRag, but what are they ON? The girl’s interpretive dance hand movements were creeping us out, and we spent the better part of their performance wondering 1) was that guy wearing a wig, and 2) has he asked for his money back from his guitar teacher? Hey, having gone to Berkeley, I’ve seen plenty of oddball performances, but none that set me at such unease as Daisy Spot. Moreover, their dismal song about a bleeding vampire didn’t exactly set the tone for what we hoped would be a rousing night of laughter.
When ICBINC took the stage, it was clear from the beginning that this was going to be a long night. The transitions between each sketch were painfully long, giving plenty of stage time to house band “Broken Home.” The band was initially charming with their folksy approach and apparent self-awareness that they weren’t supposed to be great, but it was clear that they didn’t know what was going on during some of the transitions.
Even given my limited stage experience (as a nun in The Sound of Music in 1985 and in the chorus in Li’l Abner in 1986 — gimme a break, musical season was during track season so I couldn’t be that committed to my art) it seemed that they took the original scripts by local writers (and themselves) and performed them as-is, without tweaking the lines, taking out what doesn’t work, or tightening up the scripts in general. If the point of a sketch comedy performance is to laugh, why was the audience so eerily quiet during extended stretches? Why have a sketch based on Lolita that is sad and not funny? What was funny, unintentionally, was that the director came out to get the crowd pumped up JUST before intermission. It was like, “Hey, how’re y’all doin’? Are ya havin’ fun?” (insert crickets chirping here) “I SAID, are ya havin’ FUN?” (”yay! applause!”) “OK, we’re going to take our intermission now!” Bad form, bad timing abound.
Overall, the troupe seemed overly concerned with costumes and props, rather than churning out a quality product. It was also clear to see that sketches were presented in the wrong order. Why have two guys be in costume for one sketch, then have them in the next sketch in completely different costumes? Why not put the sketch with OTHER players in between to give them time to make costume changes and give the audiences a tighter show?
My advice is to save your money and your time. If you want to laugh, spend the same amount of money and buy a David Sedaris, Bob Newhart, or Eddie Izzard CD that you can listen to over and over again.
Time to hit the trails! Be good to yourselves.
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20 Comments | Leave a comment
yes, I was remiss in not stating explicitly that Daisy Spot does not feature the banjo.
posted 1/07/06 at 9:59 am #
ouch!
Sorry it didn’t do it for you.
But hell, you didn’t like Daisy Spot, so I’ll take your not liking us either as the greatest praise we’ve ever recieved. Thanks.
posted 1/07/06 at 10:30 am #
Does DP usually have a full band or is it just the pair from Nightmare before Christmas at their other shows too?
posted 1/07/06 at 12:13 pm #
OK so maybe I’m a bit cranky when I get up at 6:15am to drive an hour so I can run up and down muddy hills for several hours. I apologize for such a negative, snarky review earlier.
I’d like to point out some of the high points of last night’s show.
1. Notable performances were the two lizard guys, Ben as the yawn victim, and the military-themed sketch.
2. It’s a great venue. I’ve always enjoyed shows at the Geery with its intimate environment, and it feels good to support the local arts.
3. Although the Lolita/Rolita sketch was depressing, I appreciated its artistic merit. Becca was a believable eight year old, and I loved Broken Home’s rendition of “Dancing Queen.” The disco light was a great touch.
4. Broken Home’s take on Hall & Oates’ “Maneater” was by far the highlight of my night. We were singing along in the back — you may have heard us.
5. I realize that the actors have day jobs, and it’s a huge commitment to come together, work collaboratively to formulate a show, and spend thankless hours in rehearsal — not to mention probably not getting paid a heck of a lot to put on six weeks’ worth of performances. The efforts put into it are highly respected, and nobody can take that away from those involved.
posted 1/07/06 at 4:04 pm #
Ok, clearly you don’t know rock’n'roll, much less comedy. Mike Farrell is one of Sac’s best guitar players (and, hands down, its most dapper). The sound was not great but that could be blamed on the amplifier and poor acoustics, not Mike’s playing.
As for the comedy - I attended Saturday’s show with a bunch of friends and we agreed that most of the stuff was as good as, if not better than what you’d see on SNL. Sure, there were a few skits that ultimately fell flat or went on a little too long, but overall we thought the performances were top notch - not at all ameuterish. Rolita was my favorite skit, it was dark and edgy and perverse. The point there was that it made you laugh and feel uncomfortable at the same time which I think is the hallmark of interesting, forward-thinking and not-safe comedy. The Lizard boy skits and the military skit came in a close second…
posted 1/08/06 at 5:52 pm #
The thing about taking on an aesthetic like Daisy Spot’s is that ocassionally somebody is going to not dig what you’re doing and put you in your place like the vampire dork you were in high school (though that role is suited more to Biff Tannen than sac-eats).
If you can’t hack that, put on a tie and get a job at a desk.
(But don’t really, Mike F., you are a golden god!)
posted 1/08/06 at 6:04 pm #
Thanks for the added on comments, though it seems a bit strange.
Just cuz I can in this wonderful blog world I will share that in the Bee’s three star review of our show they said of Rolita:
“This unsettling piece is both funny and powerfully creepy.”
So, it’s not for everyone, but it is pleasing many folks apparently. I love the piece and I’m glad Becca brought it to us. I begged her to put it in once I heard her do it as a spoken word piece. Our shows usually have at least one really dark skit like that.
And I must add once more that Daisy Spot is magic and Mike is one of Sacto’s finest musicians. Okay, yay. bye,
posted 1/08/06 at 10:55 pm #
What’s with all the back-tracking and ass kissing? I liked the article the first go round.
posted 1/09/06 at 7:21 am #
Writegrrrl: We just have different tastes, that’s all. I prefer a show with higher production value, tighter transitions, and streamlined scripts if I’m paying money for it (albeit not that much) rather than something that looks like a high school or college show. Saying it’s better than anything on SNL these days doesn’t really say much.
posted 1/09/06 at 8:14 am #
I’m alright with a bad review but it does seem like you were reviewing us without comprehending the genre.
Production values? Well at $12.50 a ticket in a 50 seat room for a sketch comedy show that’s not really what you look for. You’re not likely to find “production values” at a good punk rock show either.
As for the streamlining of the skits, you came to opening night. The Vagina Dialogues was written and performed by the authors, rewritten, sent to us, rehearsed rewritten, but much of the streamlining can’t happen until after opening night. It’s what you do with new works. You put them in front of an audience and then you tweak and rewrite, etc. based on respionses.
You just can’t do it with test audiences, you need the real thing. Even the great Marx Brothers knew that. Not that I’m apologizing, I think the audience had a blast. I stayed after for a good hour talking with people and getting feedback, making notes.
Anyway, I’m mostly just jibber jabbering as this is a subject dear to me. I’m ultimately glad you came out and sorry we didn’t wow ya. We’ll get ya next time.
Oh, and I agree about modern SNL, blech!
posted 1/09/06 at 10:16 am #
no love for Fred Armisen?
posted 1/09/06 at 10:23 am #
Fred Armisen is the saving grace of SNL in recent years. His Gigli sketch with Ben Affleck a couple years ago was one of the best.
posted 1/09/06 at 10:26 am #
Sorry I missed this last week. Runnergirl, in regards to your comments on Daisy Spot, are you insane?
posted 1/09/06 at 10:27 am #
They’re just not my taste, that’s all — much like I don’t care for pesto, Bruce Springsteen, white wine, and poodles. I thought they were trying too hard to be edgy, and it came off as “I’m being different for the sake of being different.” (Glad I was able to stir up some controversy here on the Sac Rag!)
posted 1/09/06 at 11:40 am #
no love for Fred Armisen?
Only in the sense that I have love for all of mankind.
posted 1/09/06 at 1:12 pm #
I think it’s the “has he asked for his money back from his guitar teacher?” line that has people baffled. I honestly don’t think there’s a guitar player in the world who could watch that guy & not say “wow!” - whether they liked the actual sounds or not. And I think they’re just kinda weird people playing the music they like. I don’t think they’re going home, throwing on Dave Matthews, & high five-ing each other for being weird for weird’s sake.
posted 1/09/06 at 3:28 pm #
I had a dream over the weekend in which I was confronted by an angry girl at a bar who started yelling at me for not liking Daisy Spot. She threw her beer at me, but missed. She also tried to beat me up, but all I had to do was put out one arm to block her wimpy punches, and then she got kicked out of the bar, then I woke up.
posted 1/16/06 at 8:00 am #
I attended the play last Saturday with my girlfriend. It was, without a doubt, the worst thing I’ve ever seen. If I were a doctor performing abortions, the ejected fetus would be more attractive. In all seriousness, it was abysmal. I wanted my money back, and still do.
posted 1/24/06 at 11:37 am #
“If I were a doctor performing abortions, the ejected fetus would be more attractive”
Wow! I can’t believe someone actually wrote that. Fans like this we don’t need.
Actually, I should see if Keith wants to add this quote to our press pack.
posted 2/23/06 at 2:16 pm #
to tell the truth wtf, though we don’t (really don’t!) censor the comments box, that one from OneScar was kinda pushing the bounds of acceptable.
posted 2/23/06 at 2:43 pm #
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