The Siren’s Song is hosting a smokin’ amp rock show tonight. Blackplate needs no introduction in this column, but merely a reminder that they are one of the loudest and best heavy sound dealers around these parts. Lady in Waiting is, according to Sean Casement from the aforementioned band, a local supergroup featuring members of […]
Blackplate
Posted inThe Setlist
El Sueño
We’ve all been in a funny spot lately, and we all know why, so I won’t drag the pen across that point any further. One thing about living through such disastrous and deeply stupid times is that we are all aware of the horrors enough that a wave of the hand says more than words […]
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Music Tonight: Saturday, March 7
Three options tonight, so I’ll get with the facts. Two 7 p.m. gigs in Arcata. Over at the Arcata Playhouse, Harmonic Howl presents Women of Country, a group featuring singers Ruby Ruth George, Elle Penner and Briana Penner for $20. There’s a “Classic Cuntry” (costume contest, so dress accordingly.Meanwhile over at the Moss Oak Commons, […]
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Message in a Bottle
I’m writing to you from the murky depths of last week, ahead of a quick retreat away from wi-fi and glowing things, so apologies if I have missed some massive earth-shattering event in the news cycle. What that could be is anyone’s guess, as we have all learned time and again that things that should […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Music Tonight: Wednesday, Aug. 21
Here are two great shows in Arcata within walking distance of each other. Unfortunately, they both start at 7 p.m., and no one I know walks that fast, so you’ll have to pick one. Over at the Arcata Playhouse you will find Fog Holler, a bluegrass quartet of young, very talented musicians from across the […]
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Music Tonight: Monday, July 24
Speaking of the Siren’s Song Tavern and shows whose start time promises a bit of evening sunshine over the nearby water, 8 p.m. is a good time to return to port to check out a very cool gig to help inaugurate your work week. Portland sextet Abronia plays longform, psychedelically- tinged soundtrack tunes fit for […]
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Music Tonight: Friday, June 16
The Outer Space is hosting a triad of off-kilter “dark was the night, cold was the ground” noisemakers at 7 p.m. Come check out Setlist favs Blackplate as they share the stage with Vulture Feather and Monkey Business, both of whom have been given the thumbs up from this writer. This all-ages event has a […]
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Songs for Summer
As a music-obsessed teen in the late-1990s, I often found myself at odds with prevailing sensibilities, an alienating experience that has actually helped me over the years. How? Well, to paraphrase my cousin Jet, the secret of eternal relevance is a withering distrust of most current popular culture. So while some of my peers were […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Music Tonight: Friday, April 7
Another type of heavy show is going down at the Siren’s Song tonight at 8 p.m., one that features an artier style of screaming noise. Shively’s Blackplate, one of my favorite bands in this wild county, is sharing the stage with two groups that I have only heard online, Cardboard and Monkey Business. However, I […]
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Tastemakers
A lot of important figures in the music world have passed away recently, three that I consider quite notable are saxophone god Wayne Shorter, multi-instrumentalist and hired gun David Lindley, and bassist Steve Mackey, whose work with one of my favorite Brit bands, Pulp, was both melodic and charging. However, the last week has seen […]
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Music Tonight: Monday, Jan. 16
One of my very favorite Humco bands is playing a gig to kick off its tour of the Pacific Northwest at Siren’s Song Tavern tonight at 7 p.m. Blackplate will be joined by Eureka quartet Dirt Magic in making a bit of sonic magic for the public’s pleasure. My buddy Sean from the first band […]
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Where is my Mind
Having taken advantage of the break in the weather to deliver a load of firewood to my dear friend Pat, I am currently basking in the warm sense of accomplishment, or perhaps that’s the after-effect of the sauna I enjoyed with another friend. Either way, I’m feeling pretty fat and sassy at the moment, gorged […]