the hum / By Bob Doran

A Burning Thing

The Venerable Lord Bret Bailey from Que La/ The Common Vice tells me he’s been branching beyond rock opera with C. Vice. See what he’s up to at the Pearl Friday. Deric Mendes ’ new band shares the bill.

There’s art and music Friday at the big purplish foundry in Aldergrove Industrial Park known as Unauthorized Art. Percussionist Jesse Jonathon is the music guy out there, renting rehearsal space for some of the worldly bands he’s in: WoMama, Afromassive, Dun Dun Fare, the Janky Mallets and Bloco Firmeza. The Arts! Arcata gallery opening that evening features sharp sculptures by Seth Magnusen and pix by photographer Christopher Cook including shots of various local bands. The music? “We’re starting with a local songwriter, Rebekah Downey, then the jazz trio Weather Machine, then WoMama and The Janky Mallets ending midnight-ish. It’s all a fundraiser for the building,” says Jonathan, promising, “It’s gonna be fun.”

If you’ve been following the Synapsis/Empire Squared saga, you know it’s actually going pretty well. Says Carmen Olson , the sexy Synapsis trapeze artist/stilt walker, “It looks like we’re going to get the Conditional Use Permit we’re applying for, so soon we’ll do the fire exits and ADA compliance stuff required, and then we reopen. We have an architect working for us, John Ash. He’s top notch. He read about it in the paper and called us to volunteer his time. He’s drawing up the plans, then we’ll have an idea how much we’ll need. We’re hoping to get a grant from the Humboldt Are Foundation, but in the meantime we’re trying to get some money together.”

To that end, they’re reviving Tsirkus Picaresque as Tsirkus Burlesque for a cabaret-style show Saturday, July 14, at the Dancenter in Arcata’s Old Creamery. “It starts at 8:30 with a fire show and silent art auction,” says Carmen, “then they’ll be a burlesquey-style circus show. Between acts we’ll auction off more art live. We’ll have trapeze, fabric aerials, hula hooping, a clowning striptease and other stuff. DJ-dancing after. It’s kind of risqué, so it’s adults only.”

It’s got to be bittersweet. Yer Dog ’s long-awaited CD release party at the Alibi Saturday is also the band’s last show ever. “We’ll be playing with The Ravens , which should be loads of fun,” says Pete. “We’re encouraging everyone coming out to dress in the best formal wear — suits, tuxes, evening gowns — recreating a ballroom dance party.” Don’t know if that’s possible in the confines of the Alibi, but it sounds different.

Coming up next Wednesday, July 18, at the Indigo, The Soul of John Black , with John “JB” Bigham, formerly of Fishbone, who has dug into his roots in recent years to come up with a new twist on the blues — call it alt. blues. Meanwhile at Muddy’s Hot Cup, it’s 8traC , an alt. funk outfit from Boulder with stunning blonde vocalist Chantel Mead out front and guitar work and samples from Derek VanScoten, who came through town a few years back with a funk trio called Element37. (Think he likes names with numbers?) Same night at Mazzotti’s: jazzy electro-acoustic jams by the Eric McFadden Trio , with Eric McF supplying flamenco/Hendrix-inspired guitar riffs backed by stand-up bass and drums.

A reminder: Don’t forget next Monday, July 16, is the next vote for Steel Toed Slippers on their way to TV stardom. Vote for them (more than once) at www.cbsnews.com up until noon Wednesday.

As you perhaps read elsewhere in this paper, it’s Blues by the Bay weekend. If you listened to “The South Side,” Chas Lewis ’ blues show on KHSU last Friday night, you got a taste of some of the artists who will be playing. You would have heard more this week, except the show will not be on. Chas is the radio name for KHSU’s longtime development director Charles Horn , and he was summarily dismissed from his position Monday. The man who’s described by colleagues as “the glue that holds the station together” won’t even be allowed to volunteer as a deejay. Don’t be surprised if things come a bit unglued at KHSU in the coming weeks as they struggle to fill his shoes. Good luck, both to Chas and those at the station.

1 2 SHARE