Campfire Headphase 

Regular readers of this space know that I tend to eulogize a lot, and lately I've taken an interest in promoting the life's work of people who left the land of sunshine in 2023. This isn't out of some morbid impulse or gothic obsession with death. In fact, it's quite the opposite, as the more loss I encounter and the interest it accrues over the years, the more I desire to celebrate the living, while leaning on the continuum of the long halls (hauls?) of human experience that belongs forever to the students of the ages. In that spirit, I have been enjoying the work of the recently late surreal sci-fi writer Terry Bisson, whose collection of short stories Bears Discover Fire has been working me over in all the right ways. From stories like the title track about speedy evolution, to reminders that we are all, despite our calculations and creations, made of meat and living in a meat-curated world of flesh, Mr. Bisson's tales are weird and charming gems spanning a deep lode that fades as dusk on the charms of the last century, while sprinkling gold dust speculations into our own frightening era, and beyond. In other words, it's good entertainment for cold nights.

Speaking of which, read ahead.

Thursday

Here's a couple of shows with no cover if you are looking for some entertainment that won't drain your resources for the coming weekend. At 7 p.m. at the Logger Bar, Bayou Swamis member and scene stalwart Jeff Landen brings the oomph and va-voom to a songbook of tunes — original and otherwise — that he will roll out on vox and guitar. Expect folk, country and Americana, et al.

An hour later, jazz is in the subterranean air, as the Tristan Norton Quartet takes the stage in the warm, chthonian lodge of the Basement. Having not yet enjoyed the music of this particular group, I am working off word -of-mouth notations from my cadre of whispering listeners. In other words, what kind of jazz? I don't yet know, how about we find out?

Friday

The Trinidad Town Hall is hosting the RLAD Jazz Quartet with special guest Rob Diggins on the "synth violin" with an evening of music under the inscrutable banner title J.G. "Jes Grew" Bach and Jazz Fusion. No idea what that's all about. However, I do know the playersare all top notch and the program includes work by such masters as Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, John Coltrane and Joe Henderson, whose sublime 1969 record Power to the People has been on rotation in my room lately. There will also be original compositions by Mr. Diggins. Seven p.m. is the hour of power and there's a $10-$20 suggested donation. Over at the Miniplex at 8 p.m., you can enjoy Hack the Planet, which is a showing of the cult classic '90s flick Hackers, followed by a groovy electro dance party supplied by DJs Pandemonium Jones, Driftnet and Dacin. Visuals will be supplied by Gorb. You can shave $5 off the $10 asking price if you come costumed like a character from the movie, which is the last era when anyone associated with computers looked remotely cool or sexy.

Saturday

Tonight belongs to hip hop, at least over at Humbrews, anyway. From 6 to 9 p.m., there will be an all-ages cypher hosted by Chill Will and DJ Burnt Reynolds. Then, after an hour-long reset, the 21-and-over crowd takes over, where for $10 you can enjoy performances by ATG, RA HMPT and Area Sound, all watched over by the machines of loving grace provided by the aforementioned hosts of the earlier gig. This one looks promising and might go some distance toward making up for last week's postponed Talib Kweli gig, which had to be rescheduled due to our county's excessive outdoor hydration.

Sunday

If you are a fan of the sort of music that is brewed up in jammy cauldrons for the purpose of making kombucha tonics of festival-friendly tunes whose experimentation never strays too far from note-filled dance grooves and good vibration flavors, then this is your night. Your only quarrel is figuring out how to navigate the fun between two venues within walking distance, Humbrews and the Arcata Theatre Lounge. Let's start with the first, where at 8 p.m. you will find Brock, Lanzetti, Ogawa, a trio composed of members of the popular jazz-jam group Snarky Puppy ($25, $20 advance). An hour later, the ATL has the Canadian electro stomp dance-grass blue-florb duo Moontricks, whose sound isn't too far off from what you'd hear on a UFO if the pilots were using their trust funds from the family asteroid mine fortune to fund a gap year exploring bluegrass music on our electric blue planet. This show doesn't require such wealth, as the $22 tickets ($20 advance) are quite affordable.

Monday

The Crisp Lounge is once again hosting comedian Pete Nelson's multimedia show Pete's Projecting Again. This is a gig working on becoming a regular institution, so you know what to do if you want to support local comedians throwing a variety show on one of our most notorious off-nights. Tickets are a very reasonable $5.

Tuesday

The Peking Acrobats are returning to the Van Duzer Theatre and if you don't know, the best I can say is that what these people do appears both superhuman and effortless, with an emphasis on group dynamics and total art created by the cast, in opposition to the notion of single star players among faceless supporters. In other words, beauty in a collective endeavor. And fun for the whole family. The show is at 7 p.m., and the tickets are bracketed as follows: $35 general admission, seniors $25, children are $17.50, and Cal Poly Humboldt students can enjoy the show for $5.

Wednesday

Rather than recommend another movie or karaoke night, I'm going to lean on my previously mentioned theme of celebrating the tunes of those who passed in 2023. Tonight, I suggest the works of the Canadian troubadour Gordon Lightfoot. Nothing much to say about him other than he was a treasure.

Collin Yeo (he/him) is a fan of canoeing on placid water, which is like kayaking without all the expectations and grandstanding. He lives in Arcata.