I’m not interested in celebrating another “birthday” for America, particularly at this moment in time, but I think I am in the majority here. Not that a majority matters in a country that pretends to be a democracy while being burdened by wealthy authoritarian minority rule, but that’s not the point. There’s weariness and unease on all sides with the state of the State, and because nearly nobody reads history anymore, the ferocity of everyone’s convictions are generally tethered to thin membranes full of hot air and little else.
Last week saw a more interesting historical marker than the arbitrary celebration of some of the richest colonial leaders finally signing something on July 4, 1776. Between June 25 and 26, the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Little Bighorn passed, a rare fight in American history where the right side won. We should celebrate that. The Pennsylvania Quakers formally petitioned and protested against slavery 88 years before the Second Continental Congress signed their declaration in Philadelphia — why don’t we celebrate that, too? Well, because we don’t read history. We live in what Gore Vidal called “the United States of Amnesia.” His Narratives of Empire series of novels is one of the better sources to educate oneself about this place. He was a traitor to his privileged American political upper class dynastic breeding, but he was also a true librarian of humanity at large. Humanity is the only family lineage that matters absolutely in the pedigree of one’s moral character.
When I think of “the birth of a nation,” I think of a deeply racist 1915 Hollywood epic set before and after the Civil War that inspired a monstrous renaissance of the KKK and was championed by Woodrow Wilson, another president who ran on global isolationism and avoiding war before breaking that promise and diving into transglobal violence. And, like our current racist overlord, he was also a fan of locking up political dissenters and critics. Wilson judged Christian democratic socialist Eugene Debs, one of the best men to ever run for high office in this country, to be a “traitor” who was rightfully jailed for his opposition to American involvement in the mindless abattoir of World War I. By the way, Wilson was our most academically credentialed head of state, a president of Princeton University before leading the country and the only U.S. president with a PhD, so there evaporates the ghost of the meritocracy again. It takes more than just education to save us from the worst demons of our nature.
Anyway, I was born here but I didn’t decide to do that. No one did. Just like no one else can decide the legitimacy and personhood of another human being. The dignity of existence is universal. May anyone who thinks otherwise have their illusions shattered like Gen. Custer did 150 years ago.
Thursday
Rob Diggins and Jolianne Einem are stellar figures whose eclectic output, both as performers and promoters, is a load-bearing part of the Humboldt music scene. So much so that I find myself often behind in reporting on the many shows they play and put on. I aim to fix that somewhat today by suggesting that anyone with good ears and a bit of free time between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. should head over to the Henderson Center Farmers Market to hear their work as a duo in The Flying Oms. I guarantee their diverse repertoire of stringy tunes is as vast, wholesome, and charming as the homemade flyers for this performance that caught my attention.
Friday
Now that summer is underway, it’s a good time to dance to the music of bright colors and hot nights. Templo is a dance party curated by DJs Blancatron and Zero One full of Afro and Latin beats amid a backdrop of Tropicalia. You can catch the fun starting at the Basement starting at 8 p.m., but if you are price conscious then show up before 10 p.m. because the $5 cover turns into $10 after then.
Saturday
Speaking of DJ-curated dance parties and 10 p.m., here’s one tonight at the Shanty that starts at that exact hour and won’t cost you a dime to get in. Come join DJ Nitey and Wooly Bully Bill — who is celebrating his birthday along with the 250th of the nation — for a late night revolution of the vinyl variety, featuring punk, new wave and garage rock anthems for the masses. There are certainly worse ways to celebrate the great sundown era of America. You could be in D.C. with the sundowner in chief, for instance.
Sunday
Afro Dead are an improvisational collective founded in 2022 with a group vision aimed towards marrying the jammy tunes of the Grateful Dead with the beats and grooves of reggae and Afro-pop music. It sounds like something one could enjoy as a fan of any of those styles without stepping on the shoes of any other genre fans on the dance floor. If you’d like to try it out, come through Humbrews tonight around 8 p.m. with $25 in hand for the door. Earlybird tickets are going for $20 for those of you willing to commit before the show date.
Monday
There’s a pretty fantastic loud and wild show over at Moss Oak Commons tonight at 7 p.m. The headliner is the Tokyo group The Wameki, whose dry explosive sound evokes a kind of radio-wave diarrhea mess in the most fabulous way possible. Sickening sounds with great effectiveness. To sweeten the pot, three of our best local crash-dealers are providing extra ballast: Image Pit, Radical A.P.E. and Racket. The venue has a general none-turned-away-for-being-broke policy, so the $5-$20 sliding scale door cost is very negotiable.
Tuesday
Tonight’s Taco Tuesday at Richards’ Goat includes a very special event at 6:30 p.m. The Miniplex is hosting its premier of Steal This Story, Please, the new documentary about Amy Goodman, the dauntless and pioneering tele-journalist most famous for hosting Democracy Now, one of the few news programs in American media worth watching. The Goat’s doors open at 5 p.m. and you can buy tacos and the $10 tickets at the bar before showtime.
Wednesday
Finally this week, a film with one of my favorite scores by one of my favorite film composers Vangelis. I’m talking about Blade Runner (1982), a true cinema masterpiece in any cut, final, theatrical, director’s or otherwise. “Rachel’s Theme” is a favorite tune and the director Ridley Scott should get some recognition here as being on a hot streak, having just come off of directing Alien and The Duelists. I just watched the latter film last week and was blown away by the immersive beauty of his Napoleonic epic. Immersive is a word worth using for this film as well, it is something worth seeing on the big screen at least once, which you can do tonight at the Arcata Theatre Lounge for Sci-Fi night. Regular readers know the drill by now, come in after 6 but before 7 p.m., drop down $6 for tickets or $10 if you want to leave with a poster. Simple as.
Collin Yeo (he/him) is an American by birth but an earthling by nature.
This article appears in 731 Dogs.