I’m going to make an unhappy announcement about current events and follow with a couple suggestions. On July 31, Derek Russell, the owner of AMPT skate shop died suddenly and unexpectedly. Please bear in mind I am writing this on Monday, and this paper will be in your hands no sooner than Thursday, which is a week after this tragedy and therefore still fresh. My first suggestion is to respect the feelings and privacy of his family and loved ones while they navigate their loss. I wish to extend my own condolences to them all. I didn’t know Derek but my brother certainly did, as did friends of mine in the community, particularly those involved with skating and disc golf. All I have heard is that he was a great dude and this is a terrible loss for everyone. So here comes my second suggestion. When enough time has passed, the community should consider honoring him with a memorial. Not just a plaque, but something usable and interactive with skaters and/or disc golfers. I am not in those groups but I know some fantastically creative people are, so I leave it to them to consider something appropriate, and to us as a community to help make it happen. Again, wait for the dust to settle on this, let his people grieve, and consider helping memorialize him and his love of Arcata and its unique skate and disc culture, of which he was a very important part.
I know I’m the live music guy, but our community is always smaller than we think, with far more connections than we often realize. All hands bury the dead and our home would never be the same were it not for the efforts of all the wonderful folk who fill it with music, art and the kinetic beauty of ephemeral motion personified by someone shredding the streets and skate parks. May it all roll on past our own time into the lives of those in the future.
Take care of each other.
Thursday
The Logger Bar has a great calendar this month, and this week’s lineup reflects that. Tonight is an outlaw country affair, with Texas singer-songwriter Cory Cross joining forces with local powerhouse Barn Fire at 8 p.m. ($5).
Friday
Humbrews continues its August tradition of celebrating the music of the Grateful Dead with the first night of Daze Between Fest at 8:30 p.m. For a mere $10, you can enjoy a night of mostly acoustic tunes from the previously mentioned group, as well as the Jerry Garcia Band, performed by Jerry’s Kids — not the OG hardcore punk band — joined by Stephanie Hartwell-Mandella and Samantha Day.
If you’re looking for something completely different, the Logger Bar is hosting a group of one-man bands at 8 p.m., including It & I, Arthur Buezo and Polybanderous. No cover.
Saturday-the Sturgeon Moon
One last shout out — for this week — for the Logger Bar, where local metal is on the menu, with two excellent groups chugging it out at 8 p.m. Psyop Victim and War Möth have graced these pages many times before, and will many times in the future, if I have anything to say about it. Come check it out. To quote John “Bluto” Blutarsky, “It don’t cost nothing.”
Sunday
Highway to van/wagon tour life duo Anna Moss and Joel Ludford, aka Handmade Moments, is jamming tonight at 7:30 p.m. The sound is hard to pin down, so I’ll list the ingredients instead: ukelele, upright bass, saxophone, and vocals with beat box and purr. This should be a fun one for people who celebrate young eclectic tastes poured out onto the wooden stage under the curtained and well-lit proscenium of the Arcata Playhouse. Tickets are $20 for general, $18 for fan club members.
Monday
Moss Oak Commons has another interesting DIY show at 7 p.m. Two groups touring up from Los Angeles, no-wave folk act Muscle Beach and industrial lounge artist Mitchell Brown, are in league with local noise creators Otolith for what should be a lively night of sounds you will not be hearing anywhere else within a thousand miles on this Monday. What a treat! Just $10 will get you into the door but money isn’t the aim here, as no one will be turned away for not having it. Blessings.
Tuesday
Savage Henry Comedy Club needs your support, and that can start anywhere from contributing to its GoFundMe account to simply enjoying some of its shows every week. Here’s a free one, which means more cash for tips, merch and beverages. Funny Fish Freddie, hosted by Baseball Robby, is a show for alter egos, mascots and fursonas (I assume). In other words, comedians will be performing under a different identity, sometimes even a different species. Come in at 9 p.m. to find out for yourself.
Wednesday
Puppeteers for Fears presents Robopocalypse: The Musical at the Arcata Theatre Lounge at 7 p.m. It’s all in the title, really, but to be clear: This is a musical — chock full of puppets — about the terrifying ascendance of cyber overlords and malevolent AI masters ruling the human race like the screen-chained little piggies we are. Yikes! But all in good fun and with musical guest Blunderbust. This comes after a national tour, so these puppets are warmed-up, loose and limber, and ready to tell their story. Tickets are $20 if purchased in advance, $25 at the door. Viva.
Collin Yeo (he/him) isn’t enjoying watching American culture find a synthesis between The Boys of Summer and The Boys from Brazil.
This article appears in Best of Show 2025.