I’m told The Hitch show at the Shanty is sold out, so unless you know something I don’t, you’ll likely be looking for something exciting to get down to tonight. Have no fear, Makenu is here. Or rather, there at the Basement, where at 9 p.m. you can enjoy Humboldt’s finest cumbia band for a […]
Makenu
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Music Tonight: Saturday, Sept. 27
Because things get quiet in the early part of next week, I’m double-stacking tonight’s fun as a sayonara to September. First up at the Logger Bar, there’s a Drag Lotería at 8 p.m., featuring hosts Val de Flores and Komboujia and with music by Hispanic! at the Disco. The price for participation is $10. Meanwhile, […]
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Music Tonight: July 4, 2025
Lots of ways to celebrate tonight, but I’m going to suggest something far-out, as in geographically. Dig this: In Shelter Cove, about as south west as you can go in Humco without a boat, is a fun joint called Mario’s Marino Bar, where at 8 p.m. DJ Alan Espinosa will be serving up sonic teasers […]
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Music Tonight: Friday, March 28
Speaking of cumbia music and Latin grooves, if you really want to dance your ass down to a nub with some of the finest beat chugging sound blasters in the country, swing over to Humbrews at 9 p.m. for a hefty dose of Makenu, who have set the marker many times over for the county […]
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The Merry Minuet
Today’s column is named after a Sheldon Harnick song, as performed by The Kingston Trio. It’s a satirical piece about unrest and violence in the world being solved by the modest proposal of unleashing the atomic bomb on the whole of humanity because “What nature doesn’t do to us, will be done by our fellow […]
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Music Tonight: Monday, May 6
Can’t complain about a cumbia night on a Monday, especially in May, when Humboldt starts to unfurl its evening petals in deference to the nicer weather. The Miniplex is the place to be, and this ticket is HOT. Too-good-to-be-real local masters Makenu are bringing their deliriously joyful party sound to the stage, along with punk/cumbia […]
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Music Tonight: Monday. Feb. 26
Bolero! from San Francisco is a group dedicated to remembering the psychedelic rock sounds and Latin vibes that briefly made that city a beacon of youth culture in the 1960s and 1970s. A memory stone from an age before four decades of Reaganomics and venture capital turned that once-beautiful peninsula into a shittier version of […]
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Music Tonight: Saturday, Dec. 16
Two shows tonight because things thin out a bit later on in the column, so I’m packing more options on the weekend. However, these are a toss up, happening at roughly the same time in two different cities, so you gotta pick one. At 6:30 p.m. at the Arcata Theatre Lounge, it’s Humboldt Surfrider’s fifth […]
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New Moon Fever
I don’t attribute much of human behavior to the far-out celestial bodies in our solar system. Credit that to a rebellious streak I’m employing against my now-deceased parents who met in the 1970s in a transcendental “community” that was somewhat active in that archetyping. I don’t worry about which planet is in retrograde. I do, […]
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Music Today: Saturday, July 29
The Mattole Grange in Petrolia is hosting the 30-plus annual Roll on the Mattole festival starting at high noon today. This fundraiser for the Honeydew Volunteer Fire Department is full of local talent, including Makenu, Alex Kent, Horse Mountain Band, Checkered Past, SoHum Girls and Elderberry Rust String Band. Entrance is free for kids 12 […]
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Roll Call!
It’s time for Roll on the Mattole, Saturday, July 29, from noon to midnight at Mattole Grange ($30, $25 seniors/students, free for kids 12 and under w/adult). The annual benefit for the Honeydew Volunteer Fire Department is a hot affair with dancing, drinks, food and craft vendors, a wildland firefighter challenge and a full day […]