San Francisco’s annual comedy festival, SF Sketchfest, took place January 16-February 3rd, and on the eve of the last day, the garage rock cover band led by actor Ken Marino and director David Wain played a sold-out show at Great American Music Hall. Marino (Party Down, Wet Hot American Summer) and Wain (Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models) have been friends and collaborators since meeting at NYU, where they were part of the comedy group The State (the pair roomed Craig Wedren, singer of 90s post-hardcore band Shudder to Think, and who is in the MADJB as well). The band consists of a rotating cast of comedians who play music and musicians with a good sense of humor. In addition to Wedren, the Middle Aged Dad Jam Band (which also include several non-dads, woman who give “dad vibe,” and Wain’s son and niece) includes a mix of musician ringers and entertainment industry folk.
The Saturday night show featured two sets and a slew of guests stars, including Kathryn Hahn, Adam Pally, and The State members Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Joe Lo Truglio, and Kevin Allison. The night started off strong, with a couple Billy Joel covers (Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” and “Movin’ Out” with Pally on vocals), Kerri Kenney-Silver singing the Breeders “Cannonball,” and Hahn coming out to duet “Shallow” with Marino. The second set kicked off with ELO’s “Evil Woman,” and also featured comedian Jessica McKenna running through a the Dr. Evil-rap version of “Just the Two of Us,” and Hahn coming back out for “Don’t Stop Believin’.” To complete the middle-aged dad vibe, Marino and Wain stage bantered with a band-name riff on Laurel and Hardy’s “Who’s on first?” act about The Who and Yes, which went on for way too long… so long that it went from amusing to cringy to please stop to funny again.
If your sweet spot of entertainment is classic rock covers performed more than competently by actors and comedians who were on too-soon cancelled cult favorite TV shows… the Middle Aged Dad Jam Band might just be for you.
