“They call it stormy Monday, but Tuesday’s just as bad.” So said blues great T-Bone Walker. For local blues fans, Monday’s news was definitely bad. It’s off. No Blues by the Bay this coming Labor Day weekend. When we put out the Summer of Fun Summer Festival Guide last week, we reported that the local […]
Bob Doran
Freelance photographer and writer, Arts and Entertainment editor from 1997 to 2013.
Posted inMusic
How Many Degrees?
You’ve probably heard of the six degrees of separation friend-of-a-friend theory (and the six degrees of Kevin Bacon game). Essentially it says that we’re all a few steps away from direct social connection. I’d say the digital/social networking era is shrinking that number in many ways, but that’s a discussion for another day. In Humboldt’s […]
Posted inNews
Summer Festival Guide 2013
Yes, festy time is upon us once again, bringing music in meadows and frolics out in the sun. In recent years the “summer” festival season has grown to include spring. In fact, a major new entry in the growing mega-fest market is this weekend. We’ll get to that one, but first we look at our […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Boeing, Boeing Bounced
The summer season for Ferndale Rep just shrunk by a little as noted in a press release sent out this morning. A plan to alternate between two shows in July and August was shelved. Lost in the shuffle is the French farce Boeing, Boeing, a story about a swinging bachelor with a flat in Paris […]
Posted inArts + Scene
The Yak Men and Their Yaks
The Yak Men emerge from the woods around Arcata on a semi-regular basis, leading a pair of yaks into town. They tell us they prefer living among live trees to life in “dead wood houses.” The yaks have no names, the Yak Men did not offer theirs.
Posted inMusic
Those Two Guys
If you’re familiar with Cory McAbee, it’s probably because of The Billy Nayer Show, a 20-year collaboration between songwriter/autoharpist/filmmaker McAbee and drummer Bobby Lurie. By mutual agreement, Billy is currently on hold; both musicians have moved on to new adventures. For McAbee, it’s a semi-solo project he calls Captain Ahab’s Motorcycle Club. McAbee says the […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Loon
The Arcata Playhouse presents LOON, a peculiar, whimsical tale of love, loneliness and the moon performed by Wonderheads, a Portland-based mask/puppetry troupe formed by Dell’Arte graduates. The show runs Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m.
Posted inArts + Scene
Spring Wildflower Show
California Native Plant Society’s Spring Wildflower Show at the Manila Community Center starts Friday with an art and music night with an art workshop with Rick Tolley and Québécois music by Mon Petit Chou. The flower fest continues Saturday and Sunday with a native plant sale plus talks on topics including “Fire and Vegetation: the […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Say The Word: Community
The Arcata Playhouse and KHSU Radio join forces for The Word: A Community Storytelling Project, a collection of true stories “lived and told” by community members on the theme “Being in Community.” Among the yarn spinners is Maggie Gainer, who you might describe as a community activist. “You know how much I love to tell […]
Posted inMusic
Paying Tribute
While a press release describes Petty Theft as “San Francisco’s Ultimate Tribute to Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers,” I’m pretty sure it’s more a North Bay Area band. Ultimate? Maybe. Keyboardist Mike Emerson, a former local who now lives in the North Bay, was slightly more modest, saying merely that the band is “really […]
Posted inNews
Marsh Seal
This seal pup was spotted at the end of the pier at the Arcata Marsh on Sunday, and was reported to folks who monitor stranded wildlife. Marsh visitors were being advised to leave the animal alone and not harass it or try to “rescue” it.
Posted inLife + Outdoors
For the Birds
The birders are coming. Godwit Days are upon us, a time when Humboldt welcomes avian aficionados from far and wide, especially those obsessed with adding as many different birds as possible to their life lists. As the organizers note, the festival is held during the spring migration of the marbled godwit, one of many […]