the hum / By Bob Doran

Most Definitely

Meanwhile at the Arcata Theatre Lounge, it’s “Freq-O-Ween,” with breakbeat pioneer FreQ Nasty plus Mimosa, Fist Fight, T-dUb and Porkchop from Rebel Bass Collective. (Aren’t both shows are vying for the same audience?)

Also on Friday, skeletal storyteller Carpathian and friends offer “Spectral Stories for an October Eve” at Old Town Coffee. And country/ska/rock/comedy band Peeping Thomas has a free pre-Halloween “test out your costume party” in their usual haunt, Toby and Jack’s.

There’s no overt Halloween connection, but TheMarco Benevento Trio plays Friday at the Jambalaya. You may know the Brooklyn-based pianist as half of the Benevento-Russo Duo. Now he’s touring with bassist Reed Mathis (from Jacob Fred Odyssey) and drummer Jeremy Black, in support of the album Me Not Me, a collection mixing originals with songs by Leonard Cohen, Beck and My Morning Jacket. Opening the show is Gabby La La, a singer who accompanies herself on ukulele, accordion, sitar, theremin and toy piano.

As you might guess, there are a myriad of choices on Halloween proper.

The Arcata Theatre Lounge has a big rock thing featuring Zepparella, an all-girl Led Zeppelin tribute band from the Bay Area with former members of Bottom and AC/Dshe. Beloved Humboldt powerhouse The Ravens open. There’s also a costume contest, judged by the women of Zepparella, with prizes for scariest, sexiest and most original.

Across town at Humboldt Brews, Passion Presents has Greensky Bluegrass, a five-piece band from Kalamazoo, Mich. The instruments — banjo, mando, dobro, guitar and bass — come from bluegrass, but their approach is more new acoustic jamband improv.

Curiously, several venues are going with what amount to reruns from 2007. The Red Fox brought in AfroCuban salsa dance band Ponche for Halloween that year. Same thing this year. Six Rivers Sixth Annual Pirate’s Ball once again features The Pine Box Boys, purveyors of murder ballads, a most appropriate choice for All Hallows. And “Ghouls Gone Wild” at Muddy’s Hot Cup is another repeat from 2007, although a bit more elaborate this time. The Samhain Soiree (Samhain is a Celtic/Pagan harvest fest) features AkaBella, aka The Luscious Ladies, joined by members of Bump Foundation, Vintage Soul and Sunnybrae Jazz Eclectet, plus Redwood Curtain Circus, ghost stories and the proverbial costume contest.

Eureka alt. something band Scotch Wiggly hosts a costume party at the Lil’ Red Lion. S.W. opens, followed by the King Salmon Duo, then The Mr. MoonbeamShow, then more Wiggly.

1 2 3 4 NEXT PAGE >SHARE