Love it when Halloween falls on a weekend, as is the case this year. What that means for music fans is lots of costume contests and tribute nights, and bands and fans will likely be even more intoxicated than usual--so be careful out there. Recently someone told me his drinking-and-driving strategy, which is to look for someone who appears even drunker than he is and tail them. I totally do not endorse that, and only share it so you can know what to look out for: sometimes drunken drivers come in pairs.
As always, first let's recap what we've already mentioned. Tonight, The Pogues may or may not enjoy a pint or two at the House of Blues; Sleep Whale/Mom's Joel North will perform as Ourselves at a CD re-release party with Sunnybrook, Melting Season and Abacus at J&J's Pizza in Denton; The O's, RTB2 and Spooky Folk perform at the Cavern; Blood On The Moors, [DOYLE] (a [DARYL] tribute) and Brent Springsteen (Here, In Arms' Brent Engel as The Boss) rock The Double-Wide; and Paul Slavens scores The Hunchback of Notre Dame at the Palace Theater in Grapevine.
As for Saturday, it's the day you've been looking forward to all year--be sure to check the excellent Halloween Guide (which includes quite a few music-related events) that calendar editors Noah W. Bailey and Merritt Martin put together. And it's a big day for House of Blues: They Might Be Giants perform an afternoon children's show there; John Lewis and others play at the venue's Cambridge Room later that night, while Robert Randolph and the Family Band as well as the amazing Black Joe Lewis hit up the main stage. Cobra Starship and some other mallpunk bands play at Nokia. Alex Flores, our new Poster of the Week scribe, gave props to the poster
for Nightmare on Sixth Street with Oso Closo, the Skin & Bones Drum
Cult and magician Ash Adams. Ghostland Observatory swoops into the Palladium, and Kurt Vile will violate The Lounge on Elm Street. Also, there's this sweet new chillcore (aka GorillaVsBearcore) band that nobody's ever written about called Neon Indian playing at The Granada--be sure to RSVP by e-mail.
But there is so much more fun to be had this weekend. Read on...
Butthole Surfers, Peaches, MEN
Friday, October 30, at The Granada Theater
The surfers played with the classic '80s lineup almost exactly a year ago, and it was an awesome spectacle. Gibby Haynes claimed to be sober--though he still gave a pretty hearty recommendation for DMT--in this feature from October 2008. Though the band may not have been fucked up, and though they left the lighter fluid at home, the live show was still extremely intense. Peaches and Men (a Le Tigre offshoot) round out a spectacular bill.
Final Friday with Chucky Sly, Shabazz 3, 7Even Thirty, Skipp Coon, Young Jim and more
Friday, October 30, at Liquid Lounge
Your favorite local rapper's favorite local rapper should have copies of his Nic Hernandez-endorsed CD at this. Also noteworthy is a rare appearance by Shabazz 3, an equally legendary old-school Dallas hip-hop trio. This is a wonderfully eclectic lineup of neo-soul and indie hip-hop.
Digital Leather, Thomas Function, Yussuf Jerusalem, Leg Sweeper
Friday, October 30, at The Lounge on Elm Street
Parade of Flesh's John Iskander booked this show as well as tomorrow night's Kurt Vile show at The Lounge, and reports that the club is still BYOB for both weekend shows. So be sure to plan ample time for a beer run before you arrive. If you're not sure what you want to listen to tonight, try a little bit of just about everything here, as the lineup ranges from Leg Sweeper's high-tempo punk to Yussuf Jerusalem's garage-rock, folk and metal dilettantism to Thomas Function's fuzzy, powerpoppy soul to the new-wave synth-punk of Digital Leather.
King Bucks
Friday, October 30, at Lee Harvey's
Saturday, October 31, at the Belmont Hotel
The King Bucks let Pete Freedman know that they just all bought matching suits, so these two shows are your first chance to see the DOMA-winning country band (whose self-titled debut CD is a Merritt Martin fave) in uniform.
Ghoultown, Flametrick Subs, Shadow Reichenstein, Razorblade Dolls
Saturday, October 31, at Trees
I happened to hear Ghoultown on KNON a few nights ago, and it sounds like their theatrical live show and Spaghetti Western-and-rockabilly-spiked metal will make for a fun Halloween celebration. Oh, and remember Elvira, the Mistress of the Night? She asked them, of all bands, to write her new theme song. Halloween is like Christmas for goths, and this lineup might be the greatest gift of all.
John David Kent And The Dumb Angels
Saturday, October 31, at Bandera
Former Radish drummer and current Blackland Records owner John David Kent has been wowing fans of red-dirt Texana long before his bandmate Ben Kweller went country, and Bandera is a perfect venue for his brand of Stones-meets-Tupelo country rock.
Horrorble Party with Bitches Blunts & Ballin', Matthew And The Arrogant Sea, Lil' Foot, Yeahdef
Saturday, October 31, at Hailey's in Denton
This is another really odd lineup. You're probably already familiar with MATAS's psychedelic folk and DJ Yeahdef's party playlist prowess. Bitches Blunts & Ballin' (B3) is a trio of white guys doing a send-up of gangsta rap materialism and idiocy.
Play-N-Skillz Halloween Bash with Slim Thug and Inertia
Saturday, October 31, at the House of Blues Foundation Room
Speaking of gangsta rap materialism and idiocy, Play-N-Skillz strung out their Grammy party at Plush back in February for hours with a red-carpet entrance, and it was about the most ridiculously self-indulgent and boring thing I have ever witnessed--though the rest of the show was a lot of fun. If you're into that kind of thing, there will be a "black carpet" for celebrities from 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. If not, you're probably safe rolling by at around midnight. Should be great. Slim Thug was one of the highlights of the cameo-packed live portion of the Grammy party, so it should be cool to see what he does with what will presumably be a longer set time. The Brothers Salinas just released their new mixtape Recession Proof, which features Bun B, Lil Wayne, Nelly and, for extra street cred, Hillary Duff. Inertia, in case you forgot, is a Dallas rapper recently signed to G4, Play-N-Skillz' new SRC/Universal imprint.
House Harkonnen
Sunday, November 1, at Liquid Lounge
This is a Vol. 6 CD release show for the Arlington band, whose brand of greasy, grimy hard rock should make a great way to wrap up the Halloween weekend.
Of course, there is much more. Please share your recommendations in the comment section...
