Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Friday, June 3: Arcata - Cyclist Communes, Decapitated Dolls, and a Clothing Burial

Drive through Eureka or Arcata, out over the bridges to Humboldt Bay's swampy strand, head for the center of that little finger of land, and you'll be in Manila, where good natured communalists fix bikes and set up communes. A new Arcata friend told me the story of how he was attacked by a band of renegade youth--they stripped a rack of good will clothes and started pelting him with the items as if their goal was to bury him. What started as a bit of good natured but freaky fun turned into a nightmare as the kids moved in closer to finish the job of burial. My friend had to resort to force, pushing the kids away in order to escape. Interesting anecdote for a truly inspiring place.

Humboldt County was ready for The Dalloways. There was a write-up and a picture in every major newspaper. Humboldt takes visiting bands very seriously. The band was interviewed twice while on the road. What a difference to the larger cities like Seattle, where the band received little press support.

The Placebo is a mucic event housed in a former elementary school turned community center. Ryan and Abe host these well-attended shows for locals. Eurekans and Arcatans packed the little former classroom to check us out. The place stank a bit of moldy cardboard and bathroom. Why? Don't know. But the place was packed with true music fans. They listened and grooved and talked with us afterwards. Jeronimo, an ecclectic visionary Humboldt County local, said that he felt the songs were speaking to him and referencing his life. Hmmm... Sounds like a little White Album magic. The band was filmed and recorded for The Hum City Podcast, which should air online in a few weeks. More as this develops.

The Dalloways were preceded by upstarts Bella Dramatica and followed by dapper techno fiend James III, who set up doll heads with burning candles in them, span preprogrammed music and danced with hired rave dancers in psychedelic nurse and stuffed animal costumes.

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