The first time someone offered me a shandy — and explained the ingredients — I thought it sounded disgusting. I ordered one anyway, because what’s the point of walking into a pub in London if you aren’t at least a little curious about what the locals are drinking? The combination, described to me as beer […]
The Logger Bar
Posted inMusic
Entertained to Death
Technology giveth, and technology taketh away. I’ve been pondering this thought for a while now. I won’t claim to be a fully out-of-the-closet Luddite, but compared to many — my children especially — I am far more wary of the trade off between what we get from technology and what we give to technology. Specifically, […]
Posted inMusic
About Bob
My freshman year in high school, I’d hitch rides to school with my friend Cameron and his mother. Cameron and I would groggily listen to cassettes his older brother gave him: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan. We listened to Dylan from The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan up to Blood On the Tracks and anything […]
Posted inMusic
Tropicalismo
It’s never easy nail down a music genre. As with many things ineffable, the more you describe them, the more elusive they seem. Much like quantum physics, the more microscopic your view, the more you see, ad infinitum. This paradoxical quandary hit me while trying to pin what it was about Sugar Candy Mountain that […]
Posted inMusic
Looking for America
Among the few American songwriters who have profoundly impacted the American Songbook as I hazily define it, most would agree Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan are somewhere toward the top of the list. I wouldn’t be alone in putting Paul Simon way up there, too. With his early songwriting career rooted in folk music and […]
Posted inMusic
Parties, Pre-Parties and Celebrations
Thursday Get your string thing on tonight — sounds dirtier than I planned it — down at The Jam in Arcata where local string bands Thursday Night Bluegrass and The Gatehouse Well take the stage around 9 p.m. for a $5 show. Be prepared to cut a rug. At the famous Logger Bar in Blue […]
Posted inMusic
The Substitute
One of the many things in life that make me feel overwhelming guilt is the fact that I don’t make it out to many shows these days. (I won’t spend the time here blaming our children for robbing me of almost every free moment of life and making my body shut down at 8:30 p.m. […]
Posted inPerfect Trips
Perfect Fall Trips
You can’t please everybody. Unless you can. Adventurers, artists, epicureans — whether you’re traveling solo or with the whole family, the North Coast has something for every palate and pace. The Outdoorsy Type The Trinity River can be dangerous for visitors unused to its powerful current, not to mention the poison oak and occasional steep […]
Posted inStories
Summer Music Festival Guide
The 24th Annual Arcata Bay Oyster Festival. Bivalves are front and center, but the local music lineup touches all the bases including Bayou Swamis, Striped Pig Stringband, the Jim Lahman Band, Motherlode (working the fest circuit this summer) and Best Kept Secret with the ad hoc All Star Rockoystra, whose members are being kept secret. Saturday, June […]
Posted inArts + Scene
From the Hum: Saturday Night (and Day) Action
Here’s a fun show: Lizzy and the Moonbeams bring their version of speakeasy blues – with a touch of swing – into the Logger Bar. How perfect does that sound? Exactly. Music starts 9 p.m., show is free. Maybe you need something that starts a little earlier? A gig you can take the children to? […]
Posted inLetters + Opinion
Five Things To Know Before Playing Cornhole
1. Why cornhole? Because socializing mixed with friendly competition lets some sunshine into the otherwise dark recesses of your brain — it’s science! And because tossing a sack in a hole is harder than you think, you need a challenge, and this is way less scary than skydiving. Also because you muck about on Facebook […]