It's Halloween weekend, which is most likely your favorite time of the year to party if you're under 30. If you're over 30, relax, New Year's Eve isn't too far off. For now, there's just a bunch of shows you should check out this weekend, Halloween-themed and otherwise. Slipknot and Korn take their oddities out to Gexa, Larry G(EE), Quaker City Night Hawks, and Taddy Porter throw a party at the Granada, Bludded Head has a release show at Rubber Gloves and Double Wide is throwing a bunch of parties to celebrate. Don't be frightened; here are your picks.
Slipknot: The Prepare For Hell Tour With Korn and King 810 7 p.m., Friday, October 31, at Gexa Energy Pavilion, 1818 1st Ave., 2144211111 or livenation.com. $15-85 Halloween is a night of traditions - trick or treating, pranks and letting our inner ghoul out for one night. Dallas, Texas has a tradition of its own as one of the premier metal destinations in the U.S.A. On Halloween Eve, Gexa Energy Pavilion welcomes two of the biggest names in modern metal history in the form of KoRn and Slipknot, who are currently touring together on their Prepare For Hell tour. Bakersfield's KoRn needs little introduction. Active since 1993, the band is responsible for making the nu metal genre a global phenomenon. KoRn has a lot to smile about these days both with the release of their most recent album, The Paradigm Shift, and the return of founding member Brian "Head" Welch to the band. Des Moines's Slipknot is smiling about a new album of their own in, .5: The Gray Chapter, an album named after fallen bass player Paul Gray. On the album the band has taken Gray's loss to heart displaying a new-found anger and ferocity that is sure to surface during their performance at Gexa. James Khubiar
Larry G(EE) Quaker City Night Hawks and Taddy Porter, Friday, 7 p.m., October 31, at Granada Theater, 3524 Greenville Ave., 214-824-9933 or granadatheater.com, $15-$50 If you're planning on catching a Halloween show and maybe don't want to go see Slipknot and KoRn scare the absolute shit out of you, this is probably your best bet. Larry G(EE) is one of the most promising funk acts in the city and his live shows are full of energy with a backing band that's as soulful as a true Texas Thanksgiving dinner. Quaker City Night Hawks and Taddy Porter open, both of which are a throwback to the days when tough vocals, a blues influence and thunderous guitars ruled rock 'n' roll. Spend your Halloween in an evening of retro-centric tunes; it should be more than worth it. HDB
Daniel Markham and Friends as the B-52's With Paper Robot as Nirvana and Brent Best as Roky Erickson, 10 p.m., Friday, October 31, at Dan's Silver Leaf, 103 Industrial St, Denton, TX 76201, http://www.danssilverleaf.com, $10 We don't always suggest you head over to your nearest venue to check out cover songs. There's so much great music pulsating through North Texas and coming into town each and every week. However, this is a special occasion: On Halloween, Daniel Markham, Paper Robot and Brent Best will perform as the B-52's, Nirvana and Roky Erickson, respectively. Catching some of Denton's finest perform tracks by legendary musicians should be a hell of an occasion. HDB
Halloween Spooktacular Day 2 w/ Wizards of Gore (Rigor Mortis), Cleric, Tolar, Steel Bearing Hand, at Double Wide, 9 p.m., $5. Goriest Costume Contest at 1 a.m. $500 cash prize Double Wide is throwing a three-day Halloween Spooktacular deal this weekend. On Thursday, Purple Wizard, Party Static and iill plays shows with a costume contest that can earn you a $50 gift card. On Devil's Night, Wizards of Gore (members of Rigor Mortis), Cleric, Tolar and Steel Bearing Hand play sets with a $500 cash prize costume contest. And Saturday, Elvis: The Experience and Hotrod Hillbillies throw down retro rockabilly with another $500 prize winning dead celebrity costume contest. You can pretty much just pitch a tent outside of Double Wide and spend your whole weekend there. Actually, best to take that up with management first. HDB
Son of Stan With Catamaran, -topic, 8 p.m, at Club Dada, 2720, Elm St. Dallas, TX, 214-742-3400, http://www.dadadallas.com, $8-$10 Parade of Flesh put together one of the most diverse bills you've seen or will probably see in a while here. This Halloween Saturday at Dada you can catch '80s pop revivalist Son of Stan as the headliner, Dallas' resident conscious rap talent, -topic, and sunny psychedelic indie rockers Catamaran opening. A costume contest is also on the agenda, so dress like an insanely creative weirdo and catch some tunes good enough for anyone's palette. HDB
Yelawolf with Rittz, Big Henry, and DJ Klever 7 p.m., Saturday, November 1, at Trees, 2709 Elm St., treesdallas.com, $25 I'm afraid I've got some bad news: Yelawolf is not Riff-Raff. So for those of you who get overly tattooed Southern white rappers confused, you're out of luck if you think you're going to get some of the patented Jody Highroller antics. Nope, instead of James Franco's alter-ego you're getting the guy who got a record deal by appearing on Missy Elliott's reality show, then getting dropped and then picked up by Eminem's vanity label. You can say this for the guy: Despite the copious tattoos, the whole "white rapper" thing and having slipped into a horrorcore cadence on occasion, he has managed to avoid getting lumped in with the denizens that surround the Insane Clown Posse's crowd. So what if he's not Riff-Raff? There's a reason he keeps getting signed and putting out records. It's just that that reason sort of escapes me. Jaime-Paul Falcon
Bludded Head With Fungi Girls and Geistheistler, 9 p.m., Saturday, November 1, at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios, 411 E. Sycamore St., Denton, rubberglovesdentontx.com, $5-$7 Bludded Head is having a release party for their latest offering, the Reign In Bludd EP. It's fitting that one of the string of shows they've been doing to commemorate this release takes place in Denton's Rubber Gloves, which is basically the town's very own CBGB. And it's on Halloween to top that. Bludded Head's impending cloud of doom and dread doom metal fits all too well with the holiday and Gloves is the perfect venue for such a no-brainier occasion.
Matisyahu With Radical Something, 8 p.m., Saturday, November 1, at House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., 214-978-2583 or houseofblues.com/dallas, $30-$50 Matisyahu ("gift of God" in Yiddish) is probably the most recognizable name in reggae that isn't Marley. Part of the reason for this is the fact that he's an anomaly. First off, you don't have many Jewish men that love reggae so much that they seek out a career in it. Matisyahu's instantly noticeable beard was once a sign of his Orthodox Jewish faith. He was seen as an inspiration to people of his ilk, who aren't normally visible as celebrities. The beard has since been shaved and it looks like he's inching his way into being less of an anomaly, but he's still one of the largest marquee names in reggae and a true gift to the genre. HDB
Bleachers With Wild Club, 7 p.m., Sunday, November 2, at House of Blues, 2200 N. Lamar St., 214-978-2583 or houseofblues.com/dallas, $25-$35 Jack Antonoff is a busy man. He's the lead guitarist in fun., who catapulted into fame with the release of their latest record Some Nights, which had a No. 1 single in "We Are Young." After fun.'s successful run in 2011 and 2012, Antonoff headed up his own project, Bleachers, where he serves as the lead singer and guitarist. Bleachers isn't too far off from fun.'s sound, though they ditch the hip-hop influence for a full-on assault of pop rock, music that's tailor made for Prius commercials. HDB
