The late Hobart Brown would undoubtedly approve. The upstairs bedrooms in the Ferndale Victorian that one housed his Hobart Galleries, along with his studio and living quarters, are once again full of art — the walls hung with paintings and more in progress on easels. The gallery space downstairs currently features bronze sculptures by the […]
Bob Doran
Freelance photographer and writer, Arts and Entertainment editor from 1997 to 2013.
Posted inMusic
What’s Canada Day?
North of the border, Canada Day is a federal holiday commemorating the first day in July 1867, when three British colonies united to become a single country, Canada. It’s akin to our Independence Day, but more about interdependence. Then there’s the New York City improv combo, Canada Day, founded by Harris Eisenstadt, a drummer born […]
Posted inMusic
Go On Sing It
The scene at the Arcata Playhouse was electric. The Bucky Walters had just finished a rollicking set and their friends from Portland, The Shook Twins, were ready to close the show. Not that The Buckys had all left the stage — they hung out to play along — and more friends from PDX and elsewhere […]
Posted inMusic
Beyond the Banjo
Put together a banjo, guitar and mandolin and you have the makings of a bluegrass band, or in the case of Greensky Bluegrass, a jammy, rockin’ stringband with distortion pedals (with “bluegrass” in its name). When we caught up with Greensky Bluegrass guitarist Dave Bruzza, the band was in Jackson Hole, “on the ski portion […]
Posted inMusic
Bounce as Bridge
UPDATE: AS Presents has announced the cancellation of tonight’s Big Freedia show. From their Facebook: “We are sorry to say that we are forced to postpone our Big Freedia show. Her Doctor has restricted Freedia from performing for longer than originally thought. Refunds are available at the University Ticket Office. 707-826-3928. We are doing everything […]
Posted inNews
Piano concert postponed
Due to circumstances beyond his control, specifically a cancelled flight out of Baton Rouge and the general dearth of planes flying into Humboldt County, pianist Anton Nel will not be performing at Calvary Lutheran Church tonight as scheduled. A somewhat distraught Pearl Micheli, organizer for the Eureka Chamber Music Series, apologized and asked us to […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Eye Ballin’
A long, long time ago, way back in the 19th century (1886 to be more exact), the city of Arcata took a great leap forward with the establishment of a weekly newspaper, the Arcata Union. A temporary small step backward came toward the end of the 20th century when the paper’s later-day publisher downsized the […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Cowboys and Indians, Fiddlers and Tejanos
“Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above; don’t fence me in. Let me ride through the wide-open country that I love; don’t fence me in. Let me be by myself in the evenin’ breeze, and listen to the murmur of the cottonwood trees, send me off forever but I ask you […]
Posted inMusic
Mardi Gras Humboldt-style
Bone chilling winds tell us that winter is finally here, for real. Time for another Winterfest, the third annual. What started out as a barhopping offshoot of the sunny Mad River Summerfest morphed into an indoor beer festival with a slew of microbreweries pouring for a Mardi Gras-themed affair at the Arcata Community Center. The […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Puppets: Not Just For Kids
Anyone who caught last year’s Arcata Playhouse sideshow play, Crawdaddy’s Odditorium, will remember the wild-eyed puppet Professor L.V. (Little Varmit) Willikers. “He was part of a freak show family,” said Playhouse founder David Ferney, the man behind the professorial puppet. “He’s the indestructible man — he tries repeatedly to kill himself, but he can’t.” […]
Posted inMusic
Love and/or Politics
They’re calling next Tuesday’s show at Humboldt Brews the “Valentine’s Day Love Ball.” That is indeed V-Day, but don’t expect Oakland’s political hip hop band The Coup to stick strictly to love songs. Formed 20 years ago by Marxist rappers who grew up in the city that spawned the Black Panther Party, The Coup kicked […]
Posted inMusic
Making Sense of It All
The songwriter/guitarist Martyn Joseph is not exactly a household name, not here in the states anyway, although he’s well known in Wales, where he’s from, and has a strong following throughout the British Isles and in Canada. He flew in from his home in Cardiff, Wales, last week; we caught up with him in Kentucky, […]