Pomp and Circumstance 

It's graduation time again at Cal Poly Humboldt and due to the circumstances of our times, as well as the stupid pomposity of the University's president and his enablers, grads will be walking just about everywhere around the county except for on the campus. I don't have much to say about that beyond what I have written already but I will offer one piece of advice to the folks getting their diplomas this week. It comes from a song title by a favorite musician of mine, Dan Behar, aka Destroyer, from an album he released when I was college-aged myself, called Your Blues:

"Don't Become the Thing You Hated."

Have a nice week.

Thursday

A.J. Lee & Blues Summit is fronted by singer, songwriter and mandolinist A.J. Lee, who was considered something of a teenage prodigy when she started her career a decade ago in her hometown of Santa Cruz. The intervening years have built her and her group a reputation as masterful modern bluegrass players capable of putting on a great show that will pack the seams of any venue or festival. Local manouche jazz act Canary and the Vamp provides an excellent choice for local support. At Humbrews at 8 p.m. ($23, $20 advance).

Friday

Bass-heavy electronic dance music comes with nearly as many subgenre titles as it does artists, and I've never been very interested in getting too far out there in terms of cataloging, preferring instead to go by my own impressions of the sounds pasted together with a little artist info gleaned from my research. Tsuruda and Onhell are two DJs on a tour called "sushirrito," a nod to the half-Asian background of the former and the half-Mexican background of the latter. They first crossed paths in a Humco trim scene back in the early 20-teens, when such places still existed in abundance, and the sounds produced by the two reflect that background to a T. Deep bass, post-U.K. dubstep dance tunes for woodland/urban hybrid, fairy-dusted psychonauts. If that interests you, swing by the Arcata Theatre Lounge at 9 p.m. to relive some of the glory days of the industry ($25, $20 advance).

Saturday

John Ludington is generally known in the area as one of our more versatile bassists and singers, providing rhythm and back-up for Canary and the Vamp, or holding it down as one quarter of Absynth Quartet, our beloved oddball jam act, so you know right from the jump here he's got chops. However, what you might not know is that he's recorded a solo album, MinuteHand, and is throwing an album release party for it at the Miniplex tonight at 8 p.m. ($10-$20 sliding scale). I have listened to the tunes a few times and have become endeared to several of them, from the instrumental pitter-patter of "'Cats," to the more plaintive "4th of July," to the country-folk shuffle of the title track. Lots to enjoy here, but a favorite line comes from the ravings of "C'mon Ned!" in which our bayfront is described as a place "where the tweakers rap and the seagulls crap." You know, I believe the reverse is true as well. Tonight's gig is going to have a full band made up of some of our finest musicians, including Tofu and Ryan Roberts from Absynth, as well as Aleister Page from Canary, who will be trading in his pedal steel for a violin. If you enjoy the best and quirkiest of what our local folk, roots and jam scene has to offer, do not give this one a miss.

Sunday

Portland's best fruit-flavored funk trio Sweet N' Juicy is back at it again, stopping at the Siren's Song Tavern tonight at 8 p.m. to make some hot jam. For the uninitiated, or for those who may have forgotten, these fellas dress up as a banana, a strawberry and a pineapple, and play tight and funky dance grooves exceptionally well. Just a perfect party back, really. Also on the bill is Fact of Matter and if you roll through before the show, you will be greeted by a free and open deadhead jam starting at 3 p.m. Enjoy or be forewarned, depending on your tastes. The evening's gig costs a reasonable $8, which looking at gas prices, ain't nothing for an ace band from Portland.

Monday

Ethiopian jazz, roots and funk music has enjoyed a well-deserved appreciation in the West for the last two decades, due in part to several reissues and compilations from the '60s and '70s making their way to the right record collectors and tastemakers. Qwanqwa is a quintet from the nation's capital of Addis Ababa, and represents the new generation of Ethiopian musicians building on the fantastic sounds of the past and creating new tunes for those of us lucky enough to catch an earful. You can be among that group tonight at 9 p.m. at the Miniplex, and I highly suggest you snag a $20 advance ticket, as I cannot guarantee how many $25 door spots will be available the night of. If you didn't make the list for that one, fear not. There's another hot show going down at the Outer Space. And it starts at 7 p.m., so you might even be able to double-dip! Nighttime is the "cosmic folk" solo act from Los Angeles of one Louise Goodman, who will be in good company with the indie folk pop and global forest tones of local supporters Wild Abandon and Die Geister Beschwören ($10-$20 suggested).

Tuesday

Speaking of our local all-ages, sober gem the Outer Space, there's an evening of dream pop awaiting you there at 8 p.m. tonight for a suggested door price of $10. Lane Lines hails from Seattle and Phoenix, two very different places, and has, I imagine, harnessed the contradictions of such into a personal songbook of expression. Locals Queen Karma just released a rip-snorting rock single called "Lost," and will probably be bringing the most amplified energy to the gig, while house band Los Perdidos will do its indie-folk magic. Wednesday Portland's Fruition features trio-vocal harmonies generally led by singer/guitarist Jay Cobb Anderson, who you may recognize as having passed through this way as a solo act not so long ago. The music is electro-folk, country and modern blues with a confessional quality to the lyrics, which does nothing to dampen the instrumental bombast of the group's sound. Humbrews is the perfect spot for this kind of pickin' and yowlin', and I encourage any fans of roots music to give the group a listen online and consider a midweek trip to the dancefloor. Doors open at 8 p.m., where admission costs $25. Those already on board can get their tickets in advance for $5 less.

Collin Yeo (he/him) lives in Arcata.