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March 17, 2005
by BOB DORAN
GOT A MESSAGE ON MY PHONE MACHINE THE OTHER DAY: jazz trumpeter Michel Navedo letting me know about a show coming up at Muddy Waters Thursday, March 17. "It will be featuring Brian Post, a music composition professor from HSU, with Shao Way Wu on bass and Mike LaBolle on drums. It will be a really, really good show for jazz aficionados, but I have a feeling it could be under-attended since HSU is out that week. I just want people to turn out because there's going to be some first-rate jazz -- and by the way, I'll be sitting in on a few tunes." Now as you may have heard (or perhaps read elsewhere in this issue), music at Muddy Waters was looking like something of an endangered species until Monday when the police renewed its dance permit. Things are changing considerably, a lot of music is gone -- the thriving DJ nights are completely eliminated -- but jazz has survived and the weekly sessions continue Thursdays. Next week, March 24, "Jazz at the Mudd" features keyboardist Mike Kapitan and friends in a tribute to jazz giant Miles Davis titled "Miles Ahead," after Davis' classic album from 1957. Most of next week's shows at the Mudd are off, including Sunday's "Deep Dub," Moontribe Tuesdays, a ska/rock steady band called The Debonaires (who fortunately also booked a show at Humboldt Brews for Sunday, March 20), and the Wrangletown show set for Wednesday, since there will no longer be music on Wednesdays. What's left? The 4 p.m. Sunday shows by Kin People with soul man Earl Thomas and company will continue including this Sunday. And ThaMuseMeant is still coming in from the mythical town of Frogville for a Saturday night show March 19, playing mellow acoustic music that they describe as "building on the sweet jangle of bluegrass, but tilting its face to absorb the rays of modern folkgrass, alt. country and gypsy jazz entangling a crisp rural twang, a lazy front porch rumble, and a sneaky, creeping story quality of mischief, sinister parlors and shadowy, back corners of smoky pubs, all wrapped up within the unassuming voice of guitar, mandolin, fiddle and the common country folk get-up." The Frogville band also plans on hanging around Sunday long enough for a 2 p.m. instore at The Metro. Six Rivers Brewery celebrates its first anniversary under new (improved) management on Thursday, March 17, with another "real reggae" evening with Dub Cowboy on the wheels of steel. (We'll save discussion of their ABC/sound level troubles for another day.) And there's still more real reggae Saturday night at Six Rivers Brewery, Jamaican reggae veteran Ras Midas and the Bridge. As you may recall, Thursday, March 17, is dedicated to St. Patrick, the guy who allegedly drove the snakes out of Ireland or something like that. As mentioned last week, the fine Celtic quartet Good Company plays that night for diners at Gallagher's Irish Pub where they're planning a special menu, including Cornish game hens, corned beef and cabbage, lamb stew, Irish shepherd's pie and fish and chips. (Incidentally, I tried their fish and chips and they are great. More on that when I get around to writing "Cuisine Scene" again.) Good Company also plays Friday evening at Avalon, although I doubt there will be Irish food on the menu. Slewfoot String Band and The Rubberneckers celebrate Pat's Day at Humboldt Brews by drinking lots of beer. I suggested to Clay of the `Neckers that they might learn a Pogues tunes for St. Pat's since there's something about his delivery that reminds me of those great Irish country punks, but he says it's hard enough for his band to learn their own original material and they have no time for covers. Experience some high desert garage punk at the Alibi on St. Pat's Day, with two former members of Kyuss, Brant Bjork and Vic du Monte, each leading his own band, specifically, Brant Bjork and the Bros and Vic du Monte's Idiot Prayer. There's more rockin' that night at the 330 Club: the fine local bluesy garage rockers The Ravens plus two more garage-ish combos: The Husbands, who, ironically, are all women, plus Turpentine Brothers, who are certainly not all brothers since one is a woman. Make it a garage rock weekend by catching Trash and Roll and their Mendo friends The Blue Dot on a West Coast tour that includes Friday night at the Branding Iron Saloon in Garberville and Saturday at the Alibi. Also in SoHum, Norton Buffalo and the Knockouts return to the Riverwood Inn Friday night for more blues and Americana. (You probably should call ahead to make sure there are still tickets left.) Ryan from Placebo dropped a line to say, "Local artist The Radical Devil performs songs of mythic revolution and revelation on Friday, March 18, at the Placebo. Also on the bill, the patriarchy-bashing Pom Pom Meltdown and Swan Island from Portland as well as Hot Black Desiato, a monstrous metal ballad band from Oakland." Hip-hop/reggae rapper/clothing designer Wisdom brings his crew back to Arcata for another Saturday night blast at Mazzotti's. Kids For Sale and Section 8 had so much fun playing last weekend, they're together again for a show Saturday night at Ragg's Rack Room (formerly known as Icabod's, where the old sign is still up). Saturday at Redwood Yogurt it's the lovable The Ian Fays plus Michael Conway (boyfriend of one of the twins), Dylan Johnson and a friend from Portland, Alan Singley. Hard-edged Battle of the Bands winners Top Dead Center (who opened for Alice Cooper) celebrate the release of their CD at Rumours Saturday night. Coming to the Alibi Tuesday, March 22, a hard-rockin' female punk trio from Japan called Bleach03, who are known simply as Bleach in Japan. (In America that name is taken by a potentially litigious Christian rock band, and no one wants a lawsuit.) Local alien-zombie-surfcore stars Los Bandidos Muertos have reunited for the occasion. Andrew Boehm, aka DJ Brooklyn Science of Hip Stop Records, fulfills this week's underground hip-hop quota with a show at Humboldt Brews Wednesday, March 23, featuring Dr. OOP of the Black Love Radiation Crew plus Mr. Brady and Deep Rooted/Fablaw up from L.A., plus breakdancing by Humboldt Rockers and live graffiti by the folks from Empire Squared. Underage? Broke? Catch a teaser for the show, an instore at Hip Stop in Sunny Brae at 7 p.m. sharp. One more thing on the Muddy Waters music transformation: You may be wondering, where will the ravers go? As you may or may not have noticed, Deep Groove Society landed a gig at the North Coast Inn last week, but no one there seemed to know if they are returning this week, and technical difficulties seem to be preventing me from accessing www.deepgroovesociety.com to check the calendar there. When I talked with Tattoo Joe from Moontribe, he mentioned that he has been offered a night at the Inn too, but he's resisting because the place is not within walking distance for much of the Arcata crowd. He also noted that the venerable Moontribe has faced trouble before. "The music won't stop," he told me. "We've been battling authorities for years who have tried to stop it, but people love the music and it will find a way."
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