Big Beat Bonanza 

It occurred to me during this year's Best of Humboldt voteing that I hadn't been putting enough thought into the trending directions of our local music scene. Blame it on the pandemic's flattening effect, as well as a year of distractions in my private life, most of them gloomy and bad. It seems silly in retrospect, but I think the general sense of stagnation, regression and ennui brought on by the last few years has steeped into everything from conversations to commerce, music scenes and shows, and the way we look to the future with the tinted shades of the present dulling the illuminated constellations of possibility. I was in a funk and not the good, wholesome ass-shaking kind. To work against that state, I started digging around our local scene for something growing and vibrant and discovered that out of everything else, our local hip hop scene has been exploding across multiple mediums and into new spaces. I intend to write more about that soon, so stay tuned, but for now, look at Saturday's offering for a sample of what I'm slinging. It's out there for the taking.

Thursday

Pregame a coming weekend of live funk and hip hop with some tunes in The Basement by the Christopher Boa Quintet, whose namesake is known in the area as a sax blower and beat maker. Music starts at 8 p.m., no cover.

Friday

There's a local all-star funk throwdown at Humbrews at 9 p.m. when Shuck Nasty takes over the stage and ample dance floor. Featuring members from Humboldt's finest funk bands, including Bump Foundation, Diggin Dirt, Object Heavy and Moo-Got2, tickets are $15 at the door, $12 in advance.

Saturday

It's the night of the big event itself, so without further preamble, here are the facts: Jack. B. Swizlo, HipHopHumboldt and Fatbol Clothing are producing a Humboldt Holiday Hip Hop Showcase. The Oh So Heavy house band will include many recognizable powerhouse players from various Humco groups, including Sam Kaplan-Good, Ian Taylor, Leo Plummer, Alex Litsinger, Richard Love and, of course, keyboard wiz B. Swizlo. In addition to the live music, there will be five local DJs of note: Goldylocks, Just One, GMG, Nada Clue and J the Sarge. And while there won't be 11 pipers piping, there will be burlesque dancers, The Humboldt Rockers break crew and more than 20 rappers, whom I will now name in no particular order to avoid any hint of hierarchical favoritism: Nac One, Al Bear, Professor Funk, Ruffian & ATG, Area Sound, Asaad the Artiz, Verge, Big Suav, Dr. Oop, C Baker, Emani ETRNL, Kemistree, Ra Hotep, Cam Iz Dope, Flo J Simpson, Sequoyah, The Write Up, SOul, Hiway, HietGotBars, Rowdy and Reeph. Whoophf! Apologies if I missed anyone. In addition, there will be vendors, live art and a Black Humboldt Holiday Market. All proceeds from the show go toward the Humboldt Hip Hop Congress (an Ink People Dream Maker project) and Black Humboldt. All this will be going down at the Arcata Theatre Lounge, where the doors will open at 9 p.m. and $25 will get you through them, unless you snagged some of the $20 presale tickets. Have a blast.

Sunday

Two shows at Cal Poly Humboldt today featuring local and student and faculty talent, both priced the same ($10 general, $5 children, free to Cal Poly students) both happening at Fulkerson Hall, one in the afternoon, one in the evening. And here they are, in chronological order.

"Unchain my Heart/ Descadenando mi Corazón" is a joint performance by the Mad River Transit Singers and Mariachi de Humboldt at 2 p.m. The former will be doing vocal jazz interpretations from the Great American Songbook, while the latter is performing a tribute to the composer and ranchera singer José Alfredo Jimenez, as well as regional tunes from across Mexico.

At 8 p.m. you can enjoy a performance by the Cal Poly Humboldt Wind Ensemble, with a program that includes funeral pieces by Faure and Wagner, Berlioz's "March to the Scaffold," as well as brighter fare, including Michael Kibbe's arrangement of "Hanukkah in Humboldt" and Leonard Bernstein's "Slava! A Political Overture," which is much brighter, livelier and more satirical than the title suggests. This is a large program with an intermission and many fine pieces to enjoy.

Monday

Yep, you guessed it, another edition of Metal Monday at Savage Henry Comedy Club. Tonight's performers are Insomnia Syndrome, Racket and a real hideous un-appetizer, Human Soup Hot Tub vs. Gourmandizer. As usual, things get started around 7 p.m., the door fee is $5-$10 and as it's an all-ages show, you're going to want to bring an I.D. to drink anything harder than soda pop.

Tuesday

The Siren's Song Tavern is hosting a diverse rock show tonight at 8 p.m. Santa Barbara's post punk garage rockers Rival Cults is the road band for the evening, while local support comes in the form of upstart, high energy punk act Brain Dead Rejects and five-piece, experimental melodic rock band Crash Monroe. Tickets are a sliding scale $5-$10, and likely go to fill up the touring band's gas tank, so consider that factor when ponying up the dough.

Wednesday

Man, I sure love Joe Dante. Apart from being one of the greatest directors to come out of the Roger Corman star machine, his films are foundational to my formative years, with a mix of horror, comedy and meta-narrative that nearly no one else in the industry balances so well. Plus, if you ever get a chance to listen to the guy talk about movies, he's a virtual encyclopedia of all things Hollywood. Just an all-around American treasure. Possibly his most famous feature — certainly his most seasonally appropriate one — is playing at the Arcata Theatre Lounge tonight. I am of course talking about 1984's Gremlins, a movie so perfect and ubiquitous in the common consciousness that it needs no further advertisement from me. As with every sci-fi night, doors are at 6 p.m., showtime at 7:15 p.m., with a pre-show and raffle in between. Just $5 gets you inside, $9 has you leaving with a poster, usually designed by a local artist. I'd suggest an early entrance, as I have a feeling this one's gonna be packed.

Collin Yeo (he/him) lives in Arcata.