Down with the Sickness 

I'm going to be brief here because I'm recovering from some kind of minor crud. Looking through my recent history for possible disease vectors, from out-of-town visitors to a few crowded indoor situations, and I'm coming up with nothing concrete. So I'll blame my troubles on doing sound last week for an incredibly strange and enigmatic duo called Ak'chamel, the Giver of Illness. I am not kidding about that name and, apparently, they weren't either. Consider this a hearty endorsement of their music, although you might want to enjoy the stuff in the relative safety of your home. Given the chance, I would see them live again without hesitation because 1) they are amazing and 2) I don't learn these kinds of lessons and therefore enjoy a lack of fear shared by the willfully stupid. Huzzah.

Thursday

Summer Like The Season is the solo project of Detroit multi-instrumentalist and electronic composer Summer Krinsky. Tonight at 7 p.m. at the Outer Space, she is headlining a show where her techno sound-ships will crash on the shores of live instrumentation. Also on the bill are two touring bands from Los Angeles, gamer-core act LottoRPG and skatepunk quartet Dedfones. Local punk group Something Wicked provides high-energy scene representation. As usual at this venue, sober, all-ages, $5-$20 sliding scale but if you can't afford it, you won't be turned away.

Friday

The Miniplex has yet another local band showcase tonight and the line-up is smoking. Swingo Domingo is a duo with everything in the name, so expect swing and pop, boppin' tunes. Icarus and Suns holds down the funk with an Afro and Central American style of melody making, and House of Mary takes you to a jingle-jangle morning with dark skies. Music will happen sometime after 8 p.m., likely closer to 9 p.m., and the entrance fee is $5-$10, sliding scale.

Saturday

Even more local action tonight, all within block-party distance. The New Pelicans are back at it again at Wrangletown Cider, with doors at 7 p.m. and music a half an hour later, terminating by 10 p.m. Southern roots and soul are likely on the docket ($10) A later-lasting show begins at Humbrews at 8 p.m., with a danceable, sun-worshiping, market-style vibe running as a common thread through the lineup. The players are as follows: Loud Neighbors, Asha Nan, Samba Floresta and Papa Haole & the Fleas. Bring $5 for the door and your dancing shoes for the floor.

Easter Sunday

Particle Kid is the project of Micah Nelson, Willie Nelson's youngest kid and a talented musician and prolific tourer in his own right. He returns for another spin through Humboldt County and his venue this time, the Old Steeple, is just about perfect to showcase his analog, acoustic, tape loop and digital hybrid sound. Folk and rock music done with an assist by some of the more warm and sublime electronic technology from the last 50 years. This is an early show at 7:30 p.m., and $25 gets you a ticket, plus a small processing fee if you buy online, which you'll probably want to, given the chance this one has of selling out.

Monday, April Fool's Day

In years past, I have (mis)used this date as a way to play tricks on my readers, announcing shows that weren't happening, and generally embracing the spirit of this deceitful not-quite-a-holiday. That was a younger man's folly, and my interest in peddling sneaky japes to the regular enjoyers of this column has evaporated. A lot of factors are behind this retreat, so I'll just collect them under the general sentiment that the current world is too hideous and menacing to play around with pranking its shell-shocked inhabitants. Instead, I'm going to continue the new tradition of suggesting the songs of a musician we lost last year to fill in our quiet days on the calendar. Let's go with David Crosby, who apart from being a very talented songwriter, singer and arranger, was someone I enjoyed for his presence on Twitter, where he responded to more posts than you'd think for an active artist in his twilight years, and often in the form of a complete asshole. A favorite of mine was when he told a fan who had shared his painting of Croz: "That is the weirdest painting of me. I have ever seen ... don't quit your day job." Pretty good, old man. Fly high.

Tuesday

Lindsay Lou is an alternative bluegrass and Americana artist whose journey of musical development took her from Michigan, the state of her formative years, to Nashville, the spiritual center of the Great Country Sound that might be more mythical than solid these days. What isn't debatable is her considerable talent at songwriting, singing and strumming, whether solo or supported by the top-level musicians she has attracted throughout her career. Ms. Lou is playing at Humbrews tonight at 8 p.m., supported by similarly minded songster Jay Cobb Anderson, known outside of his solo work as a member of Portland bluegrass band Fruition ($20).

Wednesday

Although I have thought in the past that I sometimes rely a little too heavily on Sci-Fi night at the Arcata Theatre Lounge to pad out my midweek, I make no hesitation fully endorsing this flick, as it was an absolute favorite from my childhood and quite possibly the last truly great B-movie ever made. I am talking about 1990's Tremors, a film that couldn't be made today for a myriad of reasons, the central of which being it would collapse in a black hole of references and self-awareness, as is the current style in Hollywood. Forget about the endless, Kevin Bacon-less sequels — this is the one. Come see small town desert dwellers get terrorized by the hideously effective, underground "graboids" as the action pulls you seamlessly from peril to comedy to casual gore. What a treat for the big screen! As usual, doors at 6 p.m., raffle around 7 p.m., show starts a little bit after that. It's $6 to get in, $10 to leave with a poster. What a deal.

Collin Yeo (he/him) is relearning how to enjoy bird watching without a little dog friend. He lives in Arcata.