Hahaha well, dang. What is there to say, really? Is anyone else getting tired of these high water marks for various once-in-a-lifetime disasters we’ve been enjoying over the last decade? Not that I usually hold back too much, but I have the sense I can really let it fly these days because, well, who knows how much longer I’ll have this platform? It’s tough to imagine many touring acts sticking to the road with the kind of gas prices we’re all paying for the privilege of committing war crimes on behalf of a bunch of racist, psychopathic perverts who are united by their real estate in the Rolodex of a certain deceased New York financier.
I unfortunately remember the weird desolation of COVID and absorbed quite a few of its lessons, much like I did with Hurricane Katrina 21 years ago. Unlike nearly all our local administrators, who had six years to come up with some bulwarks and economic firewalls for the current unfolding horror and are so behind the count they’re playing catch-up in an unlit ballpark. Negotiating how much surveillance and logistical infrastructure to build during an unprecedented fascist takeover is the kind of doomed, stupid and useless bullshit that doomed, stupid and useless pencil pushers engage in during the first act of a blockbuster featuring Will Smith or Sigourney Weaver swearing at, beating up and/or killing a bunch of deadly aliens. This would be a funny notion if the reality weren’t closer to local bureaucratic collaborators debating how much to extend the area’s roads and runways to accommodate invading troop transports and the Luftwaffe.
To the extent that my opinion matters to anyone — which is thankfully about nil — I can’t support any bum who has been in any position of political, administrative or legal authority in this county over the past decade. Hell, let’s extend it to the state and then on to the country at large. Consider this my endorsement list for the midterms, and we’ll leave it at that. Like I said, very few people give a shit about my opinions anyway, and certainly no one with the ability to leverage them into policy. I just hope I was correct when I suggested in this space quite some time ago that anyone in power during these years of crisis has to keep the gas cheap and the dipping sauces flowing or there will be hell to pay with the American public. Our collective rage against inconvenience and the terrible vision of our true loneliness and poverty — reflected in the black mirror of the TV screen when we can no longer afford our preferred distractions — might be what saves us in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, here’s a list of some vibrant entertainment that is only alive this week, but will feed you long afterward with the afterglow of human social engagement and the memories that good stuff brings.
Thursday
In an unusual turn of events for a Thursday night, there are two crucial shows going on tonight, which can only mean one thing: The long summer idyll is over.
The Miniplex is hosting Portland psychedelic country rockers Rose City Band for an early 7 p.m. show to accommodate the venue’s popular karaoke afterward ($20).
Meanwhile, at 8 p.m. at the Siren’s Song Tavern, Bozeman, Montana’s garage rockers The Love Darts are teaming up with local heroes Clean Girl and the Dirty Dishes with a $5-$10 sliding scale door price.
Friday
The Shanty is the place for all things hard rock, punk and metal drenched in salty, upper 707 flavor. War Möth, Northern Blight and Generational Trauma are the instigator/alley-gators in the Eurekan asphalt swamp of Old Town by the bay tonight for a 9 p.m. show that is free at the door.
Saturday
Eraser is a band from Philadelphia whose sound slaps with a live wire urgency that rippled through and animated more than a few fantastic lurching grotesques from the past, such as DNA and Deerhoof. They’re playing at the Miniplex tonight at 9 p.m. Speaking of lurching from the past, local bladerunners Control Voltage, aka CV, are playing their first live show in quite some time to provide support. This is a must-see for all fans of good and groovy paroxysmal electrocution rock ($15, $12 for advance tickets).
Sunday
Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka is offering the sounds of its mighty Kegg organ to the public once again, with a performance at 4 p.m. by virtuosic organist Dave Schofield. The event is free, but there is a suggested donation of $20, which I can attest is a fair price to pay for proximity to the power of this divine contraption being piloted by a real ace.
Monday
Savage Henry Comedy Club is hosting a loud one tonight at 7:30 p.m. Triangle Fire from Athens, Georgia, joins Grass Valley’s Arüspex and our very own Brain Dead Rejects — who just keep getting better — for an all-ages punk and crust extravaganza presented by the Burnstitch Artist Collective. Tickets are $15 at the door, $10 in advance, so plan accordingly.
Tuesday
The Puter House is a private residence and occasional venue at 2434 E St. in Eureka at the corner of Buhne and E streets. Tonight at 7:30 p.m., the owners are hosting a gig by Bandits on the Run, a trio of busking indie musicians from Brooklyn who all sing and play a grab bag and steamer trunk variety of instruments and gadgets for your listening pleasure. Doors open at 7 p.m., and tickets will run you $30 each, cash or Venmo accepted.
Wednesday
Two midweek shows in Arcata to report on then I’m done until the next deadline. First up at 7 p.m. at the Outer Space, you will find Los Angeles shoegaze and pop act Young Lovers sharing the all-ages stage with indie locals Pennies for Pluto and Luna Sophia. Tickets are a negotiable, sliding scale $10-$20 at the door.
Meanwhile, an hour later and a few blocks closer to the marsh, the Miniplex presents Saddle Creek Records artist Dean Johnson, whose old-school country and early rock tenor sweeps across the plains of Americana to settle into the harbor lights of his Seattle home ($20, $15 for advance tickets).
Collin Yeo (he/him) uses and endorses noise and silence.
This article appears in Local Lit.