The Big Womp

Bassnectar, plus Kodo, ALO, and farewell to a poet

(Jan. 27, 2011)  It’s true. The master of womp womp, Bassnectar, is coming to town, to Redwood Acres of all places. For the uninitiated, Bassnectar is the self-described “open-sourced musical project” of San Francisco-based freeform DJ/producer  Lorin Ashton, a masher of multiple musical styles who is, as he puts it in the opening track of Wildstyle, his latest EP, “Hot Right Now.” Hot — and cool — as he pumps out low-end womps that you feel deep in your gut. He’s also a musician with a mission: “Hot Right Now” touches on climate change as it rocks the dancefloor, and he’s a big supporter of The Conscious Alliance, a nonprofit that collects food at festivals and shows and gives it to food banks.

Says Ashton, “We are so blessed, and so deeply fortunate to be alive and awake right now — it’s a basic truth, but it’s very powerful. I think privilege confers responsibility, and Bassnectar is a reflection of that opportunity to give back; the motion of my cells bouncing back at the world.”

The Wednesday, Feb. 2, Eureka show produced by World Famous also features Filastine , described by Bassnectar as “a global nomad who specializes in combining traditional world music styles with what basically amounts to sonic anarchy,” plus SuperDre, a Michigan-born DJ/producer who started as a classically-trained violinist. As we go to press word comes that the show is sold out, so good luck finding a ticket.

For a different, more organic sort of womp womp, check out the “samurai percussionists” of  Kodo when they return to HSU’s Van Duzer Theatre next Tuesday with their massive taiko drums. Based in Kodo Village on Sado Island in Japan, Kodo celebrates its 30th anniversary with a One Earth Tour that draws on the sounds of the land and sea. As they put it in their mission statement, “Originally mankind was part of nature, breathed with nature, lived together with her. Since we settled on Sado Island, nature’s voices — the songs of birds and insects in the fields, the whisper of the trees in the wind, the sound of the waves breaking on the rocks — have seeped inside us, unseen. They have become the starting point for our creativity.” 

The same Wednesday Bassnectar plays in Eureka The Nes Cline Singers are at the Arcata Playhouse, another show that’s likely to sell out. (Read more about that one in the Calendar section). It’s also the same night that reggae legend Mykal Rose, longtime lead singer for Black Uhuru, plays at Humboldt Brews. 

More reggae? The Red Fox has Kingston dancehall phenom Garfield Delano Spence, aka Konshens (as in conscience), on Friday with Bobby Hustle plus locals Rude Lions and Akaboom Sound  spinning the latest. (Note: You can also hear Rude Lion on Thursdays at Cher-Re Heights and most Mondays at the Ocean Grove.)

SoCal jammers Animal Liberation Orchestra, aka ALO, bring their 5th annual Tour d’Amour to Humboldt Brews Friday with locals Blue Street Junction opening. ALO’s music has a mellow yet upbeat feel; keyboardist/frontman Zach Gill is a longtime friend of Jack Johnson and the band shares the same sort of laidback surfer vibe.

Also on Friday, the Mateel revives the Black and Red Ball, with none other than George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic providing the music. ‘Nuff said.