Last Sunday, I found myself with my arms spread against the wood-paneled base of the chromatic brass battlements of the pipe organ at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka, my left ear pressed against the wood, while the tubes roared out beautiful sounds after the morning mass. I am not necessarily endorsing this behavior — I had a bit of general permission to take videos of the performance from the very kind Rev. Daniel London — but I was probably pushing the boundaries of polite engagement by taking things a bit further. But oh my, what a feeling. An immersion in beauty that left my ears back at the foundations of sensation and sculpted a 3D echo of my desire, love and grief with a wall of vibration from an ecstatic jet stream of angelic song. I would credit the organist, but I didn’t catch her name and felt a little foolish in the wake of the experience for invading her airspace. I’m sorry for that intrusion, maestro.
I am a man of faith in the sense that I can be struck dumb by beauty while recognizing the fundamental stupidity of my character that prevents me from replying to the language of the divine. I do know that if I were given the chance to encounter divinity without the filter of the intellect, that experience could not be recorded in words, but rather in the shadow of my former self left burned into the most solid structure behind me. Or something similarly annihilating.
All my foolishness aside, go check out the devotional expressions of this congregation if you feel the urge; it is quite beautiful.
In the Gospels there are two characters named Lazarus. The most famous one is in the Book of John. This Lazarus’ death and Christ’s observance of the mourning of his family gives us the shortest yet perhaps most poignant line from the Four: John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” Of course, we know this story ends with the resurrection of Lazarus from a rotting corpse. The other Lazarus is in the synoptic Gospel of Luke, and this one relates to a discarded beggar outside of a rich man’s house who can’t reach across the gulf to damnation in the afterlife to save the miserly rich dude after both have died. It’s a lot like Dickens’ A Christmas Carol as told by a more muzzled and chained Jacob Marley. I’m not preaching here, and don’t worry, I’ve been reading a lot of secular shit and I have some cool stuff about an ancient Roman werewolf lined up for an intro in the near future. I’ve just been thinking about a lot of my problems this week, about redemption and damnation, and I was deeply moved in a way I wanted to share with you, dear reader. You can judge for yourself whether I have made any sense at all. Meanwhile, it’s the perfect moment to enjoy this week, one day at a time.
Thursday
Here’s something at Northtown Coffee at 6 p.m. for those of you interested in the word of spoken word poetry. Traveling poet and educator Mister Aubs is going to perform a spoken word set in the context of an open mic for local voices to join in as well. The signup sheet goes out at 5:30 p.m. and the mic lights up a half hour later. Donations are appreciated but not demanded.
Friday
The Shanty is hosting a free metal and punk show tonight at 9 p.m. in the Swan Room. Local MKUltra militia reject Psyop Victim and punk street warriors Imperial Destructo areguaranteed in the ink of the posters, while further additions to the line-up remain in the open air as of press time.
Saturday
Portland surf rock head trippers Trabants are taking over the Wild Hare Tavern tonight at 9 p.m. along with local loud brain-gazers Glacier Dorm.Catch a ride on a wave of sonic glory if you are over 21 years of age and have $10 to fork over at the door.
However, watch your back if you go outside to smoke or socialize, H street can be volatile at night and a friend of mine got sucker punched and creamed by some jail-tatted bozo there around last Halloween after said tattooed creep had been bounced out of the venue but not away from it. I just want everyone to be safe.
Sunday
The Sunday Summer Music Series at the Humboldt Botanical Garden rolls on with some help from inebriati power trio The Beer Scouts, who are probably familiar to regular readers of this column because of their dedication to respawn back to the waters of Humboldt to jam some uncomplicated and fun rock and roll. The show starts at 1 p.m. and the pricing is as follows: $10 for the general public, $7 for seniors and $5 for HBG members.
Monday
Savage Henry Comedy Club is hosting a fundraiser for an awesome DIY punk festival at the end of the month called Against All Odds. More on that gig later, but as far as tonight goes, here are the details. The music starts at 7:30 p.m., door donations will run from $5-$20, the event is all ages but bring a valid I.D. if you are of age and wish to buy alcohol, and the line-up is ripping: Dumpster Puppies, Radical APE, Executive Order and Dune TV. Viva.
Tuesday
I am once more asking you to head over to the Basement tonight at 7 p.m. for a meeting and practice of some of the best wizards of avant jazz and musical alchemy here or anywhere. I’m talking about Nick Talvola, Alex Espe, Russ Thallheimer, Ian Taylor and Shane Fox holding court as Strange Meeting. You can have a peek into greatness as it comes fresh off the reel of collective inspiration and there is no price to be put on that wonder. Which is handy, because I have heard there’s no cover tonight. However, if for some reason I have heard incorrectly, the suggested donation will not breach $5.
Wednesday
The Terminator (1984) fills a space that only the best dystopian sci-fi films can hope to inhabit. It has an atmosphere that both defined and changed the course of an entire cultural decade, its future story is deeply rooted in the problems of the present when it was made, problems that have only amplified and become more valid and dangerous in the many years since its creation. It has an amazing score set against a story that pits the desperate frailty of human intimacy, love and survival against the impossible coldness of technologically assisted extinction. And hot damn, is it ever perfectly acted by everyone involved. I just watched it the other night in a dark state of being, and rather than shy from its horror, I am excited to experience its majesty on the big screen. Which you can do at sci-fi night at the Arcata Theatre Lounge tonight. Same drill as ever before: Show up between the doors at 6 p.m. and the show at 7 p.m., slap down $6 to get in, or $10 to leave with a poster, and enjoy the pre-game raffle if you show up early enough. And remember that it’s always a little too late and still early enough in the world where Skynet is gathering a storm of mushroom clouds on the horizon.
Collin Yeo (he/him) has a Substack at collinyeo.substack.com where he shares small essays about culture and politics and excerpts from horror and weird stories he is working on.
This article appears in BESTO! Best of Humboldt.