See No Evil 

A funny thing happened the other day. I was sitting in my truck, birdwatching at the slough and thinking about really nothing much other than the overflowing banks, and an obnoxious bag of trash floating several yards out in the deep water. A weird "Eureka!" moment crept up on me like that garbage flotilla I was watching transverse an otherwise lovely landscape. It was fairly unformed and essential, so bear with me, but it had something to do with overflowing banks and bags of garbage belonging to the same breakdown of arbitrary concepts of order. A slough flooding a pasture assumes an authority and correctness of purpose behind those structures, just as a bag of garbage becomes unlawful waste when it lacks containment in its proper place and is instead put into action in the scenery of another place that is still massively altered by humans. You put the bag in the bin, and the problem is solved, largely because you don't see or worry about its ultimate destination, just as we raise the earth on the banks to accommodate the higher waters without much action past that. I'm not trying to be deep here, just the opposite. I'm commenting on a central problem about general human business as usual, which seems intractable the world around, from Arcata to Palestine. Having spent the back end of the last century destroying the concept of central planning and worldwide consensus, the American-led West is now living in the frontier age of rogue state barbarism, where most of our civic development comes in the form of triage against problems that are decades past the crisis stage. I wake up every day full of thanks for the dumb luck that my slice of the landscape, while having a great many shortcomings, is still full of birds rather than drones, bombs and mass death. For now, that is. Enjoy your week.

Thursday

Comedy-rap curio Afroman is back in town tonight at 9 p.m. at Humbrews. Best known for his 2000 track "Because I Got High," Afroman has kept the faith with touring in support of a steady stream of new material. He's even running for president and, according to his website, has a fairly progressive platform, highlighting issues like legalization of marijuana, criminal justice and law enforcement reform, halting foreign war aid and converting some of the money into slavery reparations. Also "more sports celebrations." So, he's a pretty good contender for a write-in as far as I'm concerned ($30, $25 advance).

Friday

Jenny Don't and the Spurs are one of the finest country acts on the West Coast, with a repertoire of covers and originals that walk the line of classy, sassy and old time fun. I've always enjoyed this group, so I was pleased as punch to see a stopover on their tour tonight at the Siren's Song Tavern. Local surf rock trio The Starhoppers will be warming things up, so this is going to be a double treat. I have a start time of 8 p.m., but no confirmation on a door price as of press time, so bring at least $20 and grab a bevvie with the change.

Saturday

David Ambrosio is a New York City bassist at the helm of a group called Civil Disobedience, which is a quintet dedicated to playing the politically charged music of the 1960s from noted jazz label Blue Note Records. These pieces are steeped in the battles and political incursions of its tumultuous birth decade, with the band dipping into the work of composers like Bobby Hutcherson and Joe Chambers. It was an era between bop, cool jazz and fusion, with its pioneers creating sounds as revolutionary as the social change in the streets and newsprint. Tonight you can catch the band and this program at the Arcata Playhouse, as part of the Redwood Jazz Alliance's show offerings. 8 p.m. ($20 general, $15 student and seniors).

Sunday

Speaking of jazz, the Sanctuary is offering a French Toast Jazz Brunch this morning at 10 a.m., which basically boils down to free offerings of the eponymous food, with a $10-$25 cover for the folks in the band, who include trombonist James Zeller and Gabriel Lubowe who is trading in the sticks and skins for a piano today. Don't worry if you're a late riser, the horns blow and syrup flows until 2 p.m.

Monday

Savage Henry Comedy Club's Sunday open mic has been moved over a day to accommodate some live music. Not a problem, right now more than ever we need all-ages venues filling up their event calendars. If you're one of the regular or aspiring mic-ers, roll through at 9 p.m. Free.

Tuesday

As I write this, we have rounded the year anniversary of the death of singer and guitarist Tom Verlaine, whose band Television remains one of the greatest creations of the New York City art decade of the 1970s. If you're dipping your toes in for the first time, there is nothing finer than putting on the band's debut masterpiece Marquee Moon, a record that took the emerging punk energy and used it to build cathedrals of expressionist guitar brilliance, with a compositional nod to the bright horns of jazz innovators a generation removed. Verlaine named himself after the French symbolist poet Paul Verlaine, but his romanticism was infused with confessional street narratives that influenced countless New Wave, No Wave and post-punk acts to follow. Give 'em a listen, because it's an otherwise quiet night.

Wednesday

Multi-instrumentalist Tony Furtado is a perfect fit for the catch-all water basin genre of Americana music, as he plays just about every stringed instrument in the American roots songbook, and he plays them very well. He also possesses a voice capable of carrying the tune for the blue hills and far into the dappled valley below. He's joined by Portland, Oregon, fiddler and string maestro Tony Price for an evening of top-notch tune-smithing at the Arcata Playhouse. It's an early midweek gig, with doors at 6:30 p.m. and the show at 7 p.m. ($25, $22 advance).

Collin Yeo (he/him) has firewood to collect, no time for nonsense, chop chop! He lives in Arcata.