People Like Us 

I hope you all landed on the other side of the year safely, with minimal damage to yourself as well as any municipal structures, especially fire hydrants. I stayed in and watched movies; that's the era I'm in now, I guess. It's probably for the best. As I warned last week, having been on this beat for the fatter side of a decade, I know this time of year has a lot of holes in the calendar, and I have a strict policy — mostly enforced — of not mentioning shows that I don't find compelling or worth your time, dear reader. That shouldn't be taken as an insult by omission, but rather a general habit of trying to keep your interest in this column. After all, I'm really doing this for you, and by you, I mean me, and us, the collective people of Humboldt County, who (probably) share some sort of subconscious, psychic mycorrhizal connection. At least I hope so. Let's enjoy our winter!

In the words of the great Canadian thinker Red Green, keep your stick on the ice.

Thursday

It's quiet tonight, so I can't recommend any live music. However, one thing I have been enjoying in this New Year is listening to some of my favorite music from artists who departed us in 2023. Among the greatest on that list is the saxophonist Wayne Shorter, whose career spanned the age of late bop to jazz fusion and beyond. He was an innovator for every step. If you are new to his work, perhaps you should start with one of his most commercially successful collaborative ventures in the band Weather Report, formed with fellow Miles Davis alum Joe Zawinul in the early 1970s. Heavy Weather was the band's biggest record, and something I adored as a kid. Shorter's song "Palladium" still gets my mind rolling and my spirits up.

Friday

Wrangletown Cider Co. has been hosting an interesting array of shows recently, as the venue continues to do so tonight, where at 7 p.m. you will find a songwriter's showcase. Hosted by Ruby Ruth George, tonight's group features some of the luminaries of our local scene, including Tofu Mike Schwartz, Jeff Kelley and Chris Parreira. I have seen both $15 and $20 admissions advertised in the various postings out there, but have also seen this gig advertised as a "no one turned away for lack of funds," or NOTAFLOF, show, so keep that in mind.

Saturday

Humbrews is hosting a 50th birthday bash for musician Rob Amerman at 9 p.m. tonight. The lineup features local heavies Former Chimps, War Möth and The Big Mahoff. Rob himself will be playing fuzzed-out instrumentals on guitar in a dynamic duo featuring the drummer Crash Landing. If this is of interest to you, consider stopping by with $10 in hand and a mind set to party rocking.

Sunday

The Miniplex is hosting a very special gig tonight at an early start time of 7:30 p.m. Rangda is a supergroup composed of Ben Chasny from Six Organs of Admittance and Comets on Fire, guitarist and avant folk composer Sir Richard Bishop, and New York City-based free jazz drummer and master improviser Chris Corsano. This will be the band's first performance in eight years. The opener is a newish local project whose as-yet unreleased recordings from the Old Steeple in November of 2022 I have had the great pleasure of listening to in their various mixing stages. Spunflower is the name, and the names of the players are recognizable to anyone who regularly reads this column. Anthony Taibi (previously of White Manna), and Nicholas Talvola will be handling synth duties while sax player Russ Thallheimer and drummer Gabriel Lubowe will provide more improvisational dark matter to soundtrack pieces for visual works by the fantastic Czech artist Jan Svankmajer. There is also talk of an as-yet unnamed DJ being in the lineup. This show is going to be special and I'm not just saying that because I will be helping out with some of the live sound engineering. The $15 cover is a fair price for a night of psyche excellence.

Monday

One more silent night in the belly of the new winter. Treat yourself to something nice. I have been enjoying the late (as of June 4, 2023) George Winston's first record, Piano Solos, aka Ballads and Blues, on John Fahey's Takoma Records label and co-produced by the master himself. If you prefer less frenetic and rollicking piano provender, his early '80s Windham Hill records are nice, too. RIP.

Tuesday

Cringe Fest isn't an actual festival, but more of a psychological pain Olympics event/excruciating social crucible endured willingly by some of our local comedians, who will be gathered to tell their most embarrassing personal stories. You know, the kind of stuff most people wouldn't share unless they were under the care of the administrators of a CIA black site. Tonight's venue is not one such location — as far as I am aware, anyway — but rather Savage Henry Comedy Club, where at 9 p.m. you can dish over a mere $5 to engage in the spectacle of humiliation

Wednesday

Fay Wray's character Ann Darrow sure did catch a lot of shit for being "the beauty who killed the beast" in 1933's massive monkey movie King Kong, and in my view it wasn't her fault at all for the big guy's demise, but rather the bozos who stole him from his home on Skull Island to make a few bucks on Broadway. These aren't spoilers, by the way, because spoilers have a shelf life and if you don't know the basic plot of one of the most famous flicks from early last century, that's on you. However, if you wish to sharpen up your giant ape acumen, tonight's the night. Head over to the Arcata Theatre Lounge by the 7:15 p.m. showtime, and dish over $5 — $9 if you want a poster — and settle in for one of the most-referenced and repeated films of all time. In my view the best reproduction is from The Simpson's third installment of the "Treehouse of Horror" series of Halloween episodes, from the final golden age of network television.

Collin Yeo (he/him) ain't doing so bad so far this year. Knock on wood. He lives in Arcata.