Summer is finally here, in the technical sense. I inaugurated the season last weekend by working on Saturday, then spending all day Sunday at the first iteration of Fernstock, serving as the emcee and one of the judges. And while I have plenty of experience with the former, I have a different experience with the latter. I have a hard time being too critical of our local musicians. I had already seen and enjoyed the music of all but one of the 15 bands in the running, and happily gave a passing grade or higher to each one. I was very pleased with the tight results at the end, with The Critics overtaking The Undercovers by a tiny margin, both bands being very enjoyable, high-end crowd pleasers you should be on the lookout for. In fact, I look forward to reporting on the future gigs of every band who participated — as I mentioned, not a stinker in the bunch. Hopefully, they’ll get another shot next year, should they want it.
While running errands on Monday, I had the experience, while merging towards the 101, of slowing down to give some space to a velvet buck and a man in a tractor mowing the verge, neither one seeming concerned by the presence of the other. I can’t completely articulate this in words, but those two dudes were ambassadors of a mellow summer, just a couple of guys from different species in their respective zones, vibing with the frequencies of sunshine, dappled shade and green grass. Defenders of the faith for a religion whose zealotry can be measured by the quality of the grass being cropped (for very different purposes), in a good and healthy ritual appreciation of the season of growth and warmth. I think that the hope is there for all of us to find a piece of that for ourselves, whether it’s among a crowd of fellow music fans or in the river’s wet pull. If you’re looking to chase that mirage of pleasure during the long days and warm nights, know I am pulling for you. I hope you get there and make it real for a while. Have a nice week.
Thursday
Another night, another metal show at RampArt skatepark. No Living Witness is a technical death metal band from Tumwater, Washington, on tour with fellow distortion peddlers Blighted Eye. Tonight, they share the stage with locals Racket and Echoes of Rumination. Doors are at 7 p.m. and $10 will get you through those doors.
Friday
There’s a free local band showcase over at the Miniplex tonight at 8 p.m. Come and check out what the scene is up to, as curated by Nailgun (formerly Boat Cop), Manic Moth, Horse and J.D. Garza. If you aren’t in the mood for that scene, today is the beginning of the Exploring our Roots Festival, presented through Saturday by Humboldt Asians and Pacific Islanders in Solidarity at the Arcata Playhouse. There’s a lot to love about the lineup, but for my dime, I’m suggesting No-No Boy, the nom-de-stage of Dr. Julian Saporiti, whose storytelling act includes folk music and projections as a means of conveying a shared history of his own and other Asian Americans. His performance is at 8 p.m., and the $25 admission includes a 6:30 p.m. performance by Hiroya Tsukamoto, a composer and guitarist who mixes it up with many folk and world traditions.
Saturday
One more Saturday night, as the song goes, so here’s a Dead-adjacent show, manifesting itself in the form of a 9 p.m. gig at Humbrews by the Magnificent Sanctuary Band, a group dead-icated to playing the tunes of the Jerry Garcia Band. A $10 bill gets you inside.
Sunday
Fieldbrook Winery has kicked off its summer concert schedule with Thursday’s 5:30 p.m. show by Canary and the Vamp. Today at 1:30 p.m., you can enjoy the music of The Country Pretenders, which, I am told, has a dusky and smooth vintage twang. All performances are free to those with food and table reservations.
Monday
No Metal Monday tonight at Savage Henry’s, however there will be a free comedy open mic at 8 p.m. hosted by yuk-ster Jason Merritt.
Tuesday
Cory Hanson is best known as the frontman of Los Angeles psyche band Wand, which has been making a name for itself over the past decade with a few acclaimed records on the Drag City label, as well as extensive touring to support those albums. Tonight at 8 p.m., he performs his solo material at the Miniplex, a departure from his flashy, big-band material. Expect dark Americana and bad trip, motel murder-scene vibes ($15).
Wednesday
Yet another midweek sci-fi movie night at the Arcata Theatre Lounge. This one is a bona fide masterpiece from a director who holds a dear place in my heart. I am of course talking about John Carpenter’s 1981 darkwave flick Escape from New York, in which Kurt Russell’s one-eyed anti-hero sees the darkness of humankind with a clearer vision than any of the creeps running the world. Carpenter’s soundtrack with longtime collaborator Alan Howarth is a classic of synthy doom, and there is very little not to love about this grim and vicious movie. The pre-show begins at 6 p.m., $5 gets you in the door and $9 lets you leave with a poster, usually designed by a local artist.
Collin Yeo (he/him) is impressed by the ability of the Titanic to still draw ultra-rich people to their doom, 111 years after its sinking. He lives in Arcata, far away from the Atlantic Ocean and her cruel secrets.
This article appears in McKinleyville, Inc.?.