One World 

I'm pretty horrified at the lack of comprehensive coverage of the ongoing vinyl chloride train derailment catastrophe. If you don't like my bummer intros, skip ahead to a rather dynamic week of live music. For the rest of you, hear me out: At this point, it seems like the original run of HBO's Chernobyl got more print and attention than the current disaster in East Palestine, Ohio. And while I accept that the American media is generally averse to covering anything with the word "Palestine" in it, it seems like something far worse than that reflex is at work. At least the Deepwater Horizon spill got around-the-clock coverage. That's been disregarded in this case, and the intervening decade-plus since that disaster has been nothing but a bipartisan orgy of deregulation and anti-labor legislation. It's worth remembering, before this all gets memory-holed and forgotten by everyone except for the unlucky multitudes who will be drinking poison from this mega-sized superfund site for generations, that the ostensibly left-wing party in this country so recently voted to break up a railroad strike whose participants explicitly demanded changes that could have prevented this.

A media blackout is probably appealing to some people and it's been verified that at least one reporter has been arrested providing coverage, which I'm sure is music to the ears of many Americans. I don't think that way and once risked arrest myself to observe the tarball hootenanny on the beaches of Grand Isle, Louisiana, while the aforementioned BP disaster spewed poison into the Gulf of Mexico. There's a term for a political system that arrests people for trying to observe the crimes of that system.

Anyway, count your blessings that you live around here but don't let that blind you to what's happening elsewhere. If I have learned anything from reporting on live music, especially in the age of COVID, it's that the world is a lot smaller than we think and we are therefore never all that much removed from anything happening on the globe. This isn't some sunshine, hippie revelation, I assure you. I might support left-wing politics but I prefer reactionary, transgressive art. And you can't enjoy either if the landscape is full of poison and cops arresting people for talking about that poison. So I choose to talk about it.

Have a good week.

Thursday

The Epitome Gallery is putting on a screening of the essential, 1983 New York City graffiti and hip hop culture documentary Style Wars at 7 p.m. $5 will allow you entry into the accompanying raffle, which I can only assume is chock full of art supply goodies.

Friday

Whomp Productions is celebrating its 13th anniversary at the Arcata Theatre Lounge tonight at 9 p.m. ($20, $15 advance). Time flies, as we all know, but it is wild to consider that Humboldt's premier EDM bump machine has been putting on shows since the first Obama Administration, and while Whomp Wednesdays are no longer extant at the Jam, you can still enjoy some electro talent tonight, including Saule, kLL sMTH, Concentrate and Treemeista.

Saturday

I'm going to toss three shows at you, all with different vibes and styles, and let you decide where the wind should carry you. At 6 p.m. over at Wrangletown Cider, Humboldt's special early jazz age delights Canary and the Vamp will be playing a free two-hour set full of tin pan treasures and gold dust baubles. When the clock strikes 9 p.m., you have two different muti-artist events to choose from. The Miniplex is hosting Rhinestoner Cowboi, a queer dance party overseen by DJs Blancatron, Anya and Rosé. A $10 bill will get your feet in the door but if those feet happen to be carrying someone wearing a costume, the price will be cut in half. Over and across the mudflats of crab-land, the Siren's Song Tavern has a hip hop show simply packed with local talent. DJ Drinking Moonlight will be spinning hot wax with microphone assassins Al Bear, Ahhmun Ra Hotep, Eddy Montana, Bobby Boe and ATG & Ruffian, who happens to be my bigger younger brother ($5).

Sunday

Mandolinist Jacob Jolliff of Yonder Mountain String Band fame, is bring his own Band back to Humco, for a welcome night of folk and bluegrass at the Arcata Playhouse. I expect a lot of stylistic shifts and energy from this drumless quartet, as the group tours on the strength of its formidable self-titled album from last summer. At 7 p.m. ($20).

Monday

OK, I'll cave. I have been saving this one, as it's a regular recurring affair, for a night when it seems appropriate, and since I missed Metal Mondays last week and there isn't one this week, I'm going to instead steer you to the Siren Song Tavern's Paranormal Open Mic at 7 p.m. It's kind of all in the name, but if you can't suss that out for yourself, come prepared to listen to and possibly share tales from the outré and unexplained. This ought to be a hot topic, what with all of the UFO shit in the news these days.

Tuesday, Mardi Gras

Since I'm about 2,500 miles away from any carnival party that I'd be interested in participating in, I am going to cool it on any hope to find a theme for tonight, and rather let you all know that there will be at least one house in the 707 with red beans and rice and gumbo on the stove, and Allen Toussaint, James Booker and the Funky Meters on the speakers. For the rest of you, consider heading over to the Old Steeple at 7:30 p.m. and checking out the lush, intricate and beautiful instrumental folk music of Hawktail, a quartet of musicians who have no business being as good as they are at their young age ($30).

Ash Wednesday

The EXIT Theatre presents The Something Different Show at 7 p.m. ($8). From the outside looking in, this appears to be a local variety show of sorts, with multi-instrumentalist and international music curator Oryan Peterson-Jones playing some tunes, Aokay the Clown providing some capering circus and antics, Rachel Sanders performing a belly dance, and former city councilor and mayor Paul Pitino doing ... well, something interesting I'm sure.

Collin Yeo (he/him) is the citizen of a country with two right-wing parties run by a ruling class that lives off of death, has zero compassion and fears no God. He is in the Zone.