This week’s live treats mostly belong to the spectre of folk music. And that’s OK, because folk music is a large umbrella whose shade covers quite a lot of ground. We also have storytelling covered and likewise dance music, fiddles, carnival sounds, metal and lo-fi tunes. Homegrown music rules this week’s entertainment and all you […]
The Setlist
Our picks for the week’s best live music plus interviews and music news.
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In and Out of Love
I am tired and the delightful Les McCann reissue from 1966 I am listening to nonstop is putting me down at the coda of a long working day. So instead of blathering, I will share a quick thought with you: As much as I like this record, I’m glad people don’t just casually write break-up […]
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The Cold Rain and Snow
In ancient Greece, the Corybants were the dancing priest celebrants of the cult of the northern goddess Cybele. They were characterized by an armed and seemingly unchoreographed dance of wild flailing dedicated to their Phrygian patron. Eventually, the word corybantic came to mean inconsistent and wildly unpredictable behavior. As I write this, I can say […]
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This Wheel’s on Fire
Local fuzzy Americana quartet Hollow Down began the year on the road with a plan to tour the United States in their beloved home and bus, bringing their vibrant live gospel to the masses. Last week that dream was destroyed when the rig in question went up in flames on a lonesome stretch of State […]
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Fiddles, Violins and Killer Sax
This week features a folk-heavy lineup of artists, as well as some odd ducks and assorted bright things. And because I have an interview with one of them elswhere in this issue and an album review in the works, I am going to be a man of few words in this intro and simply wish […]
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Gothically Feminine
Four-time Grammy winner and Nashville Songwriters’ Hall of Fame inductee Rosanne Cash plays with John Leventhal at the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. The Journal interviewed her by phone from Nashville about her newest album She Remembers Everything and her relationship with writing. North Coast Journal: What was […]
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From Here to Eternity
Last month McKinleyville native and metal-scene stalwart John Hee passed away at the age of 43. Known for his impressive and kinetic bass playing in many local bands, including Acts of Aggression, Entheogon, Kids for Sale and, most recently, Dead Man’s Tale (winner of the 2013 KMUD Battle of the Bands), John will be celebrated […]
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Gemini Nights
Who needs an intro in these short, wet and cold days? By the time I get started the sun will have come and gone and we will all be mocked heartily by the massive frozen charioteers who pull the night across the sky at the bored whim of the gods. (Note: I have never actually […]
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Hibernation Breaks
For all its vaunted pomp and first-tier-in-the-new-year position on the calendar, January is a pretty beige and uninspiring month here in the Northern Hemisphere. All through December it comes rushing up the stairs, hitting each landing on the way up like a tensioning string, only to knock forcefully on the protagonist’s door to deliver the […]
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Ghosting 2018
It’s the last week of the year and you know what? I hate goodbyes. I hate them immensely and will duck out of a good time like the house is on fire if I am ever put on the spot to eulogize the evening. So I won’t say anything more here and instead let the […]
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Christmases Merry, White and Blue
That juggernaut called the holidays has arrived and so, whether we like it or not, most of the bounty of our evening’s public pleasures have been displaced in its rampaging wake. Many of you are out of town and/or neck-deep in some family indulgence, which might seem somewhere between a chore and a court order. […]
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A Cracking Good Time
When Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker debuted in St. Petersburg 126 years ago this week, it was generally considered to be a confusing and poor adaptation of the sourced Hoffmann and Dumas fairytale. The composer would die less than a year later, never knowing the heights of popularity that his work would enjoy in the middle […]