the hum / By Bob Doran

Where You Go With The Notes

Let’s hope the rain lets up before Saturday’s Sustainable Living Arts and Music Festival, since it’s an all-day outdoors thing, this year taking place on the grassy lower soccer field (soon to be the site of some building, hopefully with sustainable design). The Marching Lumberjackskick things off (at 11:30) followed by The HSU Calypso Band(noon-1 p.m.) fresh from their Friday night show at the Van Duzer with the Percussion Ensemble. Since they’ve been around for over 20 years now, you should know by now that the Calypso Band is a steel band, and a good one. HSU econ prof Dan Iharatakes the solar-powered stage at 1, then it’s a short indie rock set from the KRFH Battle of the Bands second place winner, Svelte Velvet.(Clay’s pick for winners, they also play Thursday at the Boiler Room with Oakland indie quartet Mist and Mast). Humboldt Circusclowns, jugglers and acrobats follow (2 p.m.), then back-alley classic rock jammers Sour Cream(at 2:30), who won the Battle of the Bands. John Meyersfrom the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology talks about eco-groovy things (at 3:20) followed by the sole imported band, Sourgrass, a funk/rock jamband from Santa Cruz (4 p.m.). Unidentified Slam Poets take over until the headliners, The Bump Foundation, who have asembled a James Brown tribute set for the occasion (6-7:30). Closing the show you have a whole lotta drums: Bloco Firmeza, Arcata’s finest Brazilian batucada brigade. Bloco has a new CD just out, SambArcata, allowing you to take the drum line and folkloric chorus home with you.

Elsewhere in Arcata Saturday, it’s the 6th annual Kinetic Lab Open House (at 8th and N sts.) with krazy kinetic miniature golf, a chance to soak up some kinetic madness and, according to the poster, “music.” What does that mean? I asked D-Wayne Flatmo. “We don’t even have a musical act yet,” he admitted, “might be canned music.” What, you couldn’t get Spudgun to commit?

Later on that night at Mazzotti’s local rockers are “Rockin’ for Roxie.” I don’t know much about Roxie Maurer; I’m told she’s the kind of person who helps others when they need it. Like a lot of folks, she’s facing financial trouble because she needs medical help and our stupid healthcare system doesn’t work. The Delta Nationals are down for the cause — they’ve enlisted Donna Landry to add vocals on a few numbers and bluesy Ron Perry to blow some harp. After that it’s Wepeel, Arcata’s No. 1 Weezer cover band. They’ll have the proverbial Dutch auction to pull in more dough and for those who can’t be there, there’s an account set up at Bank of America; just tell ‘em you want to donate to the Rockin’ for Roxie fund.

Coming up Thursday, May 1, a flash from the ‘80s as Cowboy Junkies hit the Van Duzer (with Austin’s Monahans opening). More on this one next week, but if you’re interested a few tickets are still available.

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