Bear River Casino 090208

today

8:30 a.m. Audubon Society Field Trip See Event Description

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9 a.m. Arcata Farmers' Market Arcata Plaza

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9:30 a.m. Discovery Walk: Unknown Waterfront See Event Description

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9:30 a.m. Manila Dunes Restoration Manila Community Center

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10 a.m. Manila Dunes Guided Walk Manila Community Center

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10 a.m. Library Book Sale Humboldt County Library

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10 a.m. Dia de los Muertos and Mexican Folk Art Sale Private Eureka home

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10 a.m. Final Arcata Farmer's Market Arcata Farmers' Market (off the plaza)

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11 a.m. Donlin Foreman Dance Workshop Dell'Arte

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2 p.m. Humboldt Coastal Nature Center Draft Trails Plan Walk Stamps House

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5 p.m. Bati Zado and Show Redwood Raks World Dance Studio

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6 p.m. The Tumbleweeds Chapala Cafe

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6 p.m. Ali Chaudhary (jazz duo) Libation

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6:30 p.m. Not Evil, Just Wrong Humboldt Area Foundation

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7 p.m. Guitar Stan (country) Old Town Coffee & Chocolates

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8 p.m. Guitar Orchestra of Barcelona Arkley Center for the Performing Arts

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8 p.m. Stones in His Pockets Arcata Playhouse

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8 p.m. A Christmas Carol North Coast Repertory Theater

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8 p.m. Donna Landry Swing Dance Moose Lodge

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8 p.m. North Coast Wind Ensemble Fulkerson Recital Hall at HSU

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8:30 p.m. The Last Minute Men (international) Cafe Mokka

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9 p.m. Ian McFeron Band (folk rock) Six Rivers Brewery

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9 p.m. The Michael Paul Band WAVE @ blue lake casino

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9 p.m. The Generatorz (classic rock) Central Station Cocktail Lounge

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9 p.m. Taxi Bear River Casino

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9 p.m. VJ Itchie Fingaz Pearl Lounge

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9 p.m. Jack Ruby Presents + Blue Street + Acufunkture (DIY rock) Jambalaya

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9 p.m. 2nd Annual Scorpio Bash The Red Fox Tavern

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10 p.m. Music by DJ Sidelines

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10 p.m. DJ Icy Hot Aunty Mo's Lounge

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10 p.m. Jemimah Puddleduck (rock) Humboldt Brews

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10 p.m. White Manna + Midday Veil + The King Salmon Duo (rock) Jambalaya

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11 p.m. Radio Moscow (psychadelic blues) + Mosquito Bandito (one-man surf/garage) The Alibi Lounge and Restaurant

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previous columns

June 11, 2009

The Eternal

By Sonic Youth. Matador.

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June 4, 2009

Hansel and Gretel

New World Ballet. Van Duzer Theater.

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May 28, 2009

Actor

By St. Vincent. Beggars Banquet/4AD.

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<em>Balf Quarry </em>

Balf Quarry

By Magik Markers. Drag City.

By Steven De Rosa

"What if you play guitar the way a girl jerks off?" asks left-handed six string slinger and singer Elisa Ambrogio, one half of the noisy free rock duo Magik Markers. The duo's most recent release, Balf Quarry displays an alarming, compelling and sultry sound.

Relentlessly improvising in all the right ways, M/M have exchanged their lengthy feedback jams for short but sweet blasts of sonic thunder complemented with brilliant moments of Elisa's steady streams of poetic charm. Pete Nolan has perfected the art of skin smashing, tom torture and cymbal destruction. The album rarely repeats itself; each tune embodies a unique identity and keeps begging for the next dynamic twist and bend, rambling around in a directionless pathway like an unsolvable puzzle.

Having toured with Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr., M/M offer a crown jewel of special intelligence that brings the listener to an introversion of infinite depth. I recollect a Starving Weirdos house show out by the Samoa dunes a few years back: Magik Markers captivating the crowd through primordially confrontational antics fueled by Ambrogio's fuzzy finger-plucking distortion. Pete slashed through a borrowed drum set as though it was his own. At that time a three-piece with gypsy-looking bassist Leah Quimby, her thick bass strings tuned to the lowest dissonant tone possible, playing with an indifference and nonchalance rivaling no-wave martyrs DNA. Even as a duo, M/M has the same depth and power.

Somewhere between arriving and departing, Balf Quarry exudes the feel of driving cross-country, where dusty roads wind endlessly and the scenery is always temporary. Themes of loneliness, risk, debt and guns occur over Elisa's lyrics. "Don't talk in your sleep, don't you leave a trace / because another woman can have the Devil's face / I don't want to be mean, but I'm not afraid / anything you steal baby you'll pay for in spades," she sings in a schizophrenic tone, continuing with "You had a revolution in your head, too bad you couldn't make it out of bed / Cokeheads sayin' teach your children well and wondering now how it all went to hell" on the track "The Lighter Side of ... Hippies."

The nature of the gamble is explained as she says "I'm not playing numbers anymore; the odds are against me for sure. / Tell me God's playing dice; I could use ’em being nice. / Luck never gives, it only lends. / You've been starting as a means to an end."

Studio magic changes the Markers' primitive ways -- the 10-minutes-long closing drone "Shells" features piano, organ and violin all played in an unorthodox fashion, evoking a dark atmospheric meditation. Overall, Balf Quarry serves as a testament of a band who over the past eight years and 33 releases have carved their niche and solidified a style that is remarkably their own.

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