I’ve been trying to find healthy ways to sublimate my grief at the maddening state of the world that doesn’t involve completely disconnecting, because I am not a monk, ascetic, Zen master, or nihilistic doomsayer. I am none of those people, I’m pretty simple, actually, as I suspect a lot of you out there are, too, with an interior world full of glorious horrors, dull pleasures and terrifying beauty. Sometimes we all need to turn the sound down on that stuff and lately, I’ve been leaning on the works of three departed masters of the near-impossible form of presenting humanity at large in unique yet universal ways. The tunes I’ve been particularly dug into are Leon Russell’s “A Song for You,” “Magnolia” by J.J. Cale, and perhaps most importantly, Blaze Foley’s “Clay Pigeons,” which has a surprising number of high quality covers, from the late John Prine to the actor Michael Cera (!).
Something about that last tune just puts me in a spot where I start to grasp a sort of peaceful annihilation of all the pain of mind bestowed on anyone cursed with a gentle heart and raging soul, at odds with a world run by vicious assholes. This bit particularly:
“I’m tired of runnin’ round lookin’ for answers to questions that I already know
I could build me a castle of memories just to have somewhere to go
Count the days and the nights that it takes to get back in the saddle again
Feed the pigeons some clay, turn the night into day
And start talkin’ again when I know what to say.”
For those of you who get it, this is a song for you.
Thursday
It’s also a good idea to support arts and music programs for the youths out there, especially those growing up in a society which is increasingly hostile to creative expression. In that spirit, I am going to steer you to McKinleyville High School, where at 7 p.m. you can experience the first performance of the ArMack Orchestra‘s four-show program of live musical scores played over silent films. The films are Charlie Chaplin’s The Immigrant and Buster Keaton’s Haunted House. Ticket prices are as follows: $15 general admission, $5 for students with I.D., and if you want to bring a whole mess of people, just slap down $100.
Friday
Ruby Ruth and Mule Ranch are raising money to record their debut album of superb local folkster country tunes, and they are going about it in perhaps the best way possible: by putting on a show. The show in question will be at the Arcata Playhouse this evening at 7:30 p.m., and the tickets will run you $25, or you can drop $75 for the VIP treatment, which comes with front row seating and a signed copy of the finished product when it comes out on vinyl.
Saturday
Halloween lands on a Thursday this year (boo!), which places people in the unenviable position of choosing to party early on this weekend or go for a big, long-form bacchanal next week, only to wake up stranded on the shores of what is going to be a disastrous election regardless of outcome. Or for those of you truly about to party rock, you can hit up both back to back. However you choose, the Arcata Soul Party Crew has got your ass covered tonight and is throwing a big Halloween dance bash at Humbrews at 9 p.m. ($10). This vinyl rolling event has been a red-hot ticket in the past and this year’s DJ-full gig is looking to be a real scorcher, with a custom-decorated stage and a costume party to augment the get down, with $100 on the table for first place and goodies from People’s Records and Eco Groovy Deals for the runners up. Sounds pretty sweet to me.
Sunday
In case you missed the brilliant Jenny Scheinman‘s recent sold-out live love letters to our remote and sweetly chaotic homeland, I have some good news for you. If you wander on down to the Old Steeple tonight at 7:30 p.m., you will find her at it again, but this time pairing up to play side-fiddle for the incomparable alt-country and folk legend Robbie Fulks. This is one of those elusive perfect musical pairings, made grander by the venue in question, which is one of our treasures and a fine spot for this sort of shindig ($25).
Monday
If you enjoy the intersection of pre-war German expressionist cinema and horror, tonight’s the night for you. Over at the Eureka Veterans Hall at 8 p.m., there will be a free showing of two wonders of that era, Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caliguri. Now, bear in mind that I’m working strictly off the fairly bare economy of an event submission, but I am told the full title of this production is Spacial Supplication Universal Presents: A Night of Blood Sucking Expressionist Intrigue. Phew, somebody get these people an editor — the title is half the submission! Anyway, there will be candy and masks as well. Seems like a good time to me.
Tuesday
If you still find yourself mourning the recent loss of Kris Kristofferson — and who with a heart isn’t? — then head over to the Logger Bar at 7 p.m. for a free open mic appreciation of the man’s music.
Wednesday
Well, it’s the eve of All Hallow’s Eve, so some kind of marker should be set down as we slide into the space where our distance from the dead is at its closest — yes, I really do believe in this sort of thing. We all have our methods of running with the spectral side, with various levels of solemnity and debauchery. If you find yourself more attracted to the latter, zip on over to the Miniplex at 7 p.m., where you can enjoy the musical stylings of Los Angeles Latin siblings duo Tropa Magica, along with DJ dance curations by Pandemonium Jones and Hispanic! at the Disco. That should warm the blood a bit and remind the departed what fun is out there for those of us still on this side of the veil of tears ($25 general, $20 advance).
Collin Yeo (he/him) does not, and never will, believe that fascism-lite is the way to fight and destroy fascism. He lives in Arcata.
This article appears in Why California Housing Costs are So High.