I’ve been on this beat long enough to know, as my regular readers do, that the early weeks of January are a dead zone for live music in these parts. And as much as things change, they continue to stay the same, so this week is a sparse one. I’ve culled out casino gigs and other regular attractions which you can find on our calendar, and instead focused on four nights that more or less span the week, minus the weekend, which you should probably all take off anyway to collect yourselves for this Brave New Year. Which is off to an auspicious start, with the passing of Jimmy Carter, the first Democratic former President to die since LBJ (!). Although it happened before I was alive, I don’t think much of his presidency and would recommend historian Rick Perlstein’s excellent book Reaganland to anyone who wants to watch in mute horror the series of unforced, anti-labor, pro-capital errors Carter made to ignite the terrible engines of neoliberal economic policy that has been degrading us all ever since. However, I will concede that despite being a lousy president, Carter was certainly the finest ex-president we’ve had in my lifetime, and seemed like a genuinely good dude focused on the impossible act of finding contrition for the myriad sins of the office by investing himself in humanity, rather than, well, himself, as most ex-presidents do (cough Obama cough cough).
If I were being cynical and cruel, I would suggest that Carter’s passing at this time was due to the deal he made with Satan to kickstart the liberal screwing over of labor and the rightward shift of the Democratic Party, a deal the backend of which required him to live through two successful Trump elections. However, I am feeling more charitable and will instead just say RIP. A century is a long time to be alive and hopefully he found balance on the way to the land of silence.
As for the rest of you, and even though — because of the nature of deadlines — I am writing this in the final whisps of 2024, welcome to 2025. Let’s do good things in collective atonement, like the late Georgia peanut farmer would probably like to see us at least try for.
Cheers.
Thursday
Go on, enjoy yourself with a little jazz tonight with some local experts in the field. I’m talking about the Alley Cats, who are playing the Basement tonight and not the Speakeasy, so “Opera” is therefore removed from the front of their name. No cover, and doors open at 7:30 p.m.
Friday
If you recall from my New Year’s Eve roundup from last week, the Arcata Theatre Lounge had a very whomp- and bass-heavy party to bring on 2025. There was a subtle clause there, too, for those who wanted the gig to roll over into the weekend, where $30 got you a package deal for New Year’s and tonight. Well, here’s the other side of that vinyl, because Bass Culture .007 rolls on, with sound bombs from Centauri, Mrshl, Shmule and, well, Norman. It looks better on the poster font. Festivities begin at 10 p.m., and if you didn’t buy the bundle, tickets are $15 for advance, $20 at the door.
Monday
Savage Henry Comedy Club comes through again with another Metal Monday, thus giving me something to write about during this famously quiet week and giving you something to consider attending. Should you choose to go, you will be treated to the distorted sounds of Frog Mallet, Bonginator, Kult of Indifference, Bloodspire and Echoes of Ruination. Doors at 6:30 p.m., $5 cover, all ages, but you need an ID to drink beer.
Wednesday
Ellensburg is one of those towns in Eastern Washington on the road from Tacoma to Spokane, where, to the casual traveler, a whole lot of nothing goes on in the far slope of the Cascade Mountains. However, there are gems from nearly every outpost in this vast land we call home, and one such act is Robber’s Roost, the vehicle through which singer/songwriter Mark Paschen has vented his ragtime and street folk sensibilities. The Roost will be the featured road band tonight at the Outer Space at 7:30 p.m., along with local cowpunks Idle Spurs and the ubiquitous and lovely Lxs Perdidxs (just trade the x’s for o’s if you are curious about the pronunciation). It’s $5-$20 sliding scale, but it’s very unlikely anyone will be turned away from this all-ages, sober venue due to a lack of funds in the twilight of Bidenomics.
Collin Yeo (he/him) would like to wish a belated Happy Birthday to his middle brother, Ian, aka rapper ruffIAN. You are the Hulk to my Bruce Banner, a larger, kinder and gentler person than I have any right to associate with. I love you, buddy, and am ever prouder of you, every year.
This article appears in Through Mark Larson’s Lens 2025.