the hum / By Bob Doran

Ms. November

Blue Lake Casino’s Wave Lounge takes a slight shift from the usual rock, country and karaoke Thursday, bringing in ace jamband Garaj Mahal for an evening of jazzy funk-fusion jams with forays into Middle Eastern sounds. If we’re lucky, Fareed Haque will bring along his new Moog guitar. Meanwhile, Thursday at the Jambalaya The Bucky Walters share a bill with friends from Santa Cruz, Audiofauna, a chamber folk/rock outfit with Kelly Koval out front on vocals. (She’s good.)

The Accident Slam returns to Accident Gallery Thursday. (Bring your best slam poetry game or just listen.) The next night during Arts! Arcata, A Reason to Listen slammer Vanessa Pike-Vrtiak is at Northtown Books with other Accident Slam poets and the Johnson Brothers. Vanessa has a new chapbook she’s launching that night — buy one and help her get to the Individual World Poetry Slam in Philly.

JUCE plays reggae etc. Friday at the Jambalaya. Same night, at the Red Fox, British dancehall star Tippa Irie and Humboldt’s own Jah Sun are backed by The Redemption Band. Then there’s more reggae Saturday at the Jam: Jamaica’s King Hopeton “crying out for peace” with The Soulseekers and special guest King Jah. 

The local outfit Western Science presents How The West Was Whomped, a dubstep DJ/live electronica bash Saturday at Humboldt Brews, in part to celebrate Psy Fi‘s birthday, but also because that’s just what they do. They’re importing what they describe as “the most innovative dubstep, glitch hop and slutstep producers around,” Antiserum (from Dub Police), Zapper, Datgirl and Mykies McFilthy, all from San Fran, and of course Psy Fi will whomp the house too. Wear your best Western duds and you pay five bucks less at the door.

Saturday’s SoHum Smoke Off at the Mateel might not be what you’re thinking — it’s not another version of the Emerald Cup — it’s a barbeque and homebrew contest. BYO grill and food (enough for 200 samples) and/or beer and compete for prizes and “bragging rights.” (Check www.mateel.org for rules.) The music is on the country and rock side with the venerable Merv George Band headlining, plus “original Western rock” by SoHum locals The Kent Stephenson Band,NightHawk spin-off SoHum Girls and Charlie Pecora‘s band, Way Out West. You’ll want to wear your Western attire here too, but, sorry, no discount.

Another costume-ish event is the Humboldt Pirate Radio Collective Benefit Saturday at Nocturnum. Neil Diamond tribute band Solitary Men and Jourrrrnal faves Magnum rawk the house, helping the pirates get up and running at 88.9 on the dial. HPRC notes, “Wear anything pirate-ey or say ‘arrrrgghh’ while you pay and it’s $10. Heck, it’s a benefit, we will take anything!!”

As Piet Dalmolen from Full Moon Fever (and The Nucleus) noted on FB, it’s a cover band throwdown that night with the Tom Petty tribute providing competition over at the Alibi. You can also catch FMF on Sunday afternoon playing for one of Arcata MainStreet’s weekly Concerts on the Plaza.

In the 2005 Jim Jarmusch/Bill Murray movie Broken Flowers, Murray drives around the country listening to a mixtape his neighbor gave him that’s mostly haunting Ethiopian jazz from the ’70s by saxophonist Mulatu Astatke. That style, dubbed Ethiopiques on a cool reissue series, is the starting point for the Oakland band Sun Hop Fat. Don’t know much else about them except that the music on their MySpace sounds great and they’re playing a show at the Arcata Theatre Lounge on Wednesday Aug. 18. Local alts Medicine Ball open. I’ll be there. Maybe I’ll see you.

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