It’s interesting how associative memory works. I can think of someone I know or have known, and that thought will pass through like a windy cloud, shapeless and fleeting. However, if I am in a crowd of people (say, for instance, the Arcata Plaza on Kinetic Saturday) and a familiar face pops up, all of […]
Wild Abandon
Posted inArts + Scene
Music Tonight: Saturday, April 15
There are two indie-style shows tonight at two indie-style Arcata venues, both happening at 7 p.m. Over at Blondies by the university, $5 gets you four fine bands, with Tektonic, Wild Abandon, Icarus & Suns and the Drastic Gnarlys all playing the magic juggling act of setting up equipment on the stage by the big […]
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Bowling for Housing
Very few people are immune to the temptations of self-mythologization. This makes sense in America, where we are raised from birth by the flashing dream machines provided by the entertainment, sports and advertising industries. Narrative is injected into our minds like the processed filling in Twinkies at such a rate and volume that we are […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Music Tonight: Saturday, March 25
Here are three gigs all happening at 9 p.m., any of which you can use to celebrate your first weekend of this new spring season. Over at the Logger Bar, Wild Abandon plays its first gig since its fine sold-out album release show at the Arcata Playhouse in the beginning of this year. Expect the […]
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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 […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Music Tonight: Friday, Nov. 25
It’s a Black Friday tradition among certain lefties to sit out this monstrous bacchanal of capital by not spending any money. And while I understand that urge, I also have a belief that where you spend your cash is what matters. I would have been dropping mine ($5), at the door of Synapsis at 7 […]
Posted inArts + Scene
How ‘Bout Them Apples?
A Sip of Summer: Hard Cider Festival actually takes place a few days into fall, but that’s neither here nor there. The point is, it’s a festive afternoon sipping sweet and tart adult beverages in the park while listening to live music, eating great grub, playing games and browsing the wares of local artists and […]
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Bienvenidos
As an ad hoc cultural ambassador to the region and self-professed “music bozo,” I’d like to humbly welcome the assorted students of the area back to the academic grind. I won’t waste your time with a bunch of flutey language and annoying BS; I will instead direct your no doubt divided attentions to this big […]
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Beautiful Music in a Cruel World
Last week was marked by two high-profile deaths. The tragic suicide of troubled songwriter, poet and Silver Jews frontman David Berman, and the there’s-no-fucking-way-that-I-will-ever-believe-that-was-a-suicide demise of professional scumbag and alleged child pimp Jeffrey Epstein. And though both of these events happened in New York City, they are worlds apart: The latter has me watching with […]
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An Eye to the Sky
It’s the Fourth of July on Thursday and I’ll be skipping that day here this week. After all, what could I really suggest for you that would outshine this evening’s celebration of bellicosity and fireworks? Nothing. Which is exactly how I feel about this holiday in the age of Mitch McConnell. No push toward a […]
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Summer Farewells and Metal as Hell
It’s been an interesting local news cycle as far as the local music scene is concerned. The Mateel Community Center can’t seem to catch a break, with back-to-back cancellations of Reggae on the River and the Andre Nickatina show in July. This doesn’t augur well for the state of SoHum or the rest of the […]