Midsommar Blues 

I started out this week's column by just underlining in my notebook a bunch of punk shows happening around the bay. But my notebook, full of fliers and Cy Twombly-esque scribbles that pass as notes, tends to take on a stochastic process once the week gets fat and my deadline ripens, so I just let that first impulse go like so much loose wind and decided to curate as weird a week as a midsummer stretch in our remote county will allow. And here it is, unrefined, crude and ready for any personal home application.

Enjoy.

Thursday

It's always a treat to catch a band's first gig. Worst-case scenario they're just a little boring and forgettable. Next worse, you walk away with the memory of something truly dreadful that you and your friends can snicker about in shared mirth. Very rarely you might hit gold and see an absolutely incredible show but most of the time you are going to find a band sparking fits of earnest energy directed at you. What a treat.

Tonight at the Outer Space you can take your chances with the inaugural performance of local hardcore act Minority, who will be sharing the stage with Vancouver, British Columbia's Palm Oil and local songsmith Daniel. 7 p.m. (Sliding scale $5-$20).

Friday

The punk rock continues tonight at RampArt Skatepark. Savage Beat is a heavy pub band from Amsterdam with a background in Oi! and glam rock. These flying dutchmen will be teaming up with Portland, Oregon's Death Ridge Boys, an unrelenting lefty punk act. Is there anything better than a punk show at an indoor skatepark on a warm summer night? Why yes, that would be a skatepark summer show with local support from KLOD, Not Ewe and Cross Contamination. 8 p.m. ($7).

At the same hour at Humbrews an old favorite of mine is playing. I'm not usually a big fan of white guy dad blues, but Bay Area kings Tommy Castro and the Painkillers are the real deal. I first saw Tommy as a teenager and just loved his guitar tone and mid-century soul vocals. These chaps can really play and a great electric blues show is good for your health. And $20 is a real steal for good health.

Saturday

Dark and dusty end of times Portland band Roselit Bone makes a much appreciated return to the Siren's Song. 9 p.m. (price TBA). This ensemble plays death country and wall of voodoo dirges for the clever masses so you really should count yourself in on the action. Particularly because spooky night angels Moon Pine are on the bill as well.

Sunday

Spencer Owen Timeshare is a peppy 4/4 rock dance affair collective from Oakland that has a real handle on the importance of dynamic shifts in its songwriting. If the group sounds anything live like it does on its excellent record Presentation, this evening's show at the Outer Space won't be one to miss. 8 p.m. ($5-$20 sliding scale). Vape-soul trio Meganora is in the mix, too.

Monday

There are certain artists who, no matter how often they roll through town, I will always enthusiastically rep. And as my friends will cheerfully tell you, enthusiastic is not an adjective with which I am readily associated. But nonetheless, I have to tell you to hit the jake brake on your Monday night's plans and come the fuck over to the Jam to catch the ineffable audio-blast of one-man astronaut Bob Log III. This isn't simply a show, it's a country blues smelting pot for all of the transmundane weirdos of our area to forge good memories in. And if you miss it then I have nothing to offer in the way of analgesics. You're on your own. One-man bassist punk tunesmith The Bored Again opens up the shop. 9 p.m. ($10).

Tuesday

Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries is a body-positive "musical grrl gang" from Fresno that has some very jangly and rollicking sounds to buffer lyrics that find rhyming twins in Tom Petty and the actress who played Tank Girl. The quintet will be appearing at the Outer Space at 7 p.m., accompanied by new local sound project Peak Simulation. Ferndale's finest hi-fi wrangler DJ Rosé will chop up the mix and pump the jams. ($5-$20 sliding scale).

Wednesday

The Basement is a place that I have been meaning to check out but haven't been able to do much more than poke my head around the doorway like an upright cartoon wolf in a suit and spats walking down H Street past the plaza. My oversized cigar isn't allowed inside and my googly eyes under my massive fedora get tangled up together and drag on the sidewalk when I see an attractive someone nearby so the whole thing is just obnoxious. But I swear that as soon as I get this whole Roger Rabbit syndrome sorted out, I will check this place out proper. And what better night to do so than tonight? The venerable Lovebush is playing another afro-beat funk show for the ages at 8:30 p.m. Be there, or be an anthropomorphic animaniac too square to fit in the building.

Collin Yeo would like to remind you that this time of the year was briefly called the beginning of the month of Thermidor during the French Revolution instead of mid-July. Which just goes to show you what can happen if enough people believe in something. He lives in Arcata.