Sometime in the first three months of 2020, nearly every musician in Humboldt County played their last live gig. It’s difficult to pin down the exact date of the general venue closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic but St. Patrick’s Day is a good hinge, a pivot point where venue owners and employees had to […]
White Manna
Posted inMusic
No Country for Old Young Men
I’ll admit I am a bit of a jerk. I try not to be but my heart is heavy. The first election I was old enough to vote in was Bush vs. Gore and since then it’s basically been a backslide through unending war, recessions, bailouts for the financial industry and lately a gross turn […]
Posted inMusic
Ape Days A Week
I admit I wanted to like this album from the moment I saw the disgusting cover art by John Vochatzer. A bright anatomical nightmare figure tiptoes across a literally visceral landscape with brains, guts and banners of confetti all a go-go. I will also cop to a lesser but perhaps incriminating charge: Until a couple […]
Posted inMusic
Don’t Let it Burn
I planned on writing something about the environment in this intro to fit the theme of this week’s issue but, like many of you, I spent Monday watching the immolation of Notre Dame Cathedral. So I am listening to a recording of madrigals by the 16th century Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and thinking […]
Posted inMusic
April Showers
Hey there, Humboldt! The question this week, as always, is: why stay home? Yes, I know your home is cozy and delightful (and the weather outside might be frightful! Just kidding — you’re in Humboldt! A little rain doesn’t bother you), but come on — the reasons to experience live music offerings are plentiful. Opportunity […]
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Hard to Describe
Describing a band’s sound without turning to cliché or meaningless phrases can be a challenge. Press releases ring with adjectives and promises that would also work for wine or new shades of nail polish. For example, from this week’s highlights: “full of grace and style,” “idiosyncratic,” “an incomparable fusion,” “cutting edge” and “fuse together to […]
Posted inMusic
Shake, Rattle & Roll
Did you already forget about Sunday night’s earthquake? If you don’t have your emergency supplies prepped and packed, stop reading and take care of that, pronto. Ready? Good. Now let’s talk about the supplies you’ll need to get through the next week. First, plenty of water. You’ll appreciate the hydration. (Don’t raid the earthquake kit!) […]