Speaking of the Arcata Playhouse, there’s an anti-imperialism benefit show calledCommon Denominator put on by the folks in the Humboldt Anti-War Committee and Hip Hop Humboldt as a show of solidarity for the people of Palestine and Venezuela. The line-up is diverse, with jazzy pop tunes from Swingo Domingo, heavier and different fare from Something […]
Ruffian
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All Tomorrow’s Parties
Last week saw the Arcata Rising fundraiser for the victims of the fire on Jan. 2 take over Humbrews from Friday to Sunday. I am not a very good chronicler of live music when it comes to the straight-story style of reporting; I tend to paint by impressions rather than numbers, for better or for […]
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Music Tonight: Saturday, Dec. 20
It’s solstice eve, and due to the coming of another more celebrated eve on Wednesday,I’m loading the underboughs of this evening with shows to balance the silent nightsahead. The big shebang is happening over at the Arcata Playhouse, where the JingleJam Holiday Benefit, packed with so many local shining stars, will be happening in two […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Music Tonight: Thursday: Dec. 28
Here begins the long weekend to the New Year. I’ll be frontloading these days, especially the big evening itself, because, as is often the case, there are ghost days in the very start of January. Not tonight though, as you will find Swingo Domingo at the Basement putting on a free set of jazzy swing […]
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Father and Child Reunion
As a fan of editorial cartoons from years long gone, I can assure you that few themes survive the incomprehensible gulf of time’s effect on human culture and meaning other than a small handful of personifications. These caricatures — the fat cat business tycoon, the resolute but downtrodden worker, the clumsy, vicious and stupid warmongering […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Music Tonight: Friday, Dec. 15
Hot on the heels of the Hip Hop Humboldt Holiday hoedown earlier this month comes another group cypher with a lot of the same names on the marquee. This one’s at Humbrews and it comes in two stages, so listen up. 6-9 p.m. is the free all-ages Fatbol cypher. After 9:30 p.m., however, it’s $10 […]
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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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Don’t Make Me Tap the Sign
I’ll cop to it: I view the world materially and holistically. Things are connected. And I don’t just write about music for a living, I also build things. I come from carpenters and I can recognize designs and patterns. So when live music goes away for more than a year because of a disastrously unprepared […]
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Some Things Last A Long Time
Last week two very different musical geniuses passed away. Ric Ocasek was a hook-writer like no other before or since, and was the mind behind The Cars, as well as a talented producer behind the boards. Daniel Johnston was a lo-fi music collage artist who suffered openly and tremendously from various mental health issues for […]