LOCAL MUSIC LOVE: Halloween & Rock ‘n’ Roll
(Jeff Milo, Oct. 15, 2015)
Rock ‘n’ roll and Halloween go together better than chocolate and peanut butter. Like blood and guts, carnage and mayhem, chills and thrills… You get the picture.
Rock ‘n’ roll and Halloween were made for each other. While one, (Halloween,) is a sacred, ceremonial night of magic and the macabre whereupon the dead can walk the earth again, the other is often revered for its no rules, no boundaries, no coming home till dawn reckless abandon… and where they meet in the middle is a common ground of curious nostalgia for the supernatural…
In a way, we’ve heralded our rock ‘n’ roll icons with the same kind of giddy admiration emanating in the enshrinement of our favorite horror movie monsters, because Dracula is a smooth operator, like a soul crooner, while Frankenstein is as brutal as any heavy metal song, the werewolf’s gnash and shred is akin to punk while the zombie…frail, decaying, yet nevertheless propulsive and undeterred…is the best metaphor for rock ‘n’ roll I can think of…
My point: Halloween is inherently an exciting time, when we can let our wildest inner selves out for one night – why not spend that night turning yourself into your favorite rock ‘n’ roll band?
Thus, around the metro Detroit music scene, Halloween is met with great ardor and enthusiasm. Halloween “Cover Band” shows have been around for decades, but after 2007, they really started taking off… To the point where the final three weekends of October can often find at least 1 or more venues packing a lineup of spirited musicians not only interpreting the original song’s of their chosen band, but often dressing up in their signature styled wardrobes, be it as low key as Nirvana-flannel, or as over the top as KISS make-up!
When it comes down to it, there are two can’t-miss Halloween parties for the music scene… But we’ll mention three
PJ’s Lager House Halloween Covers Show
Tomorrow and Saturday
1254 Michigan Ave, Detroit / Doors 9pm
The Lager House is a more “intimate” sized room, so get ready to get cozy with your fellow creepsters. The local talent performing in costume includes members of John Krautner Band, Caveman Woodman & Bam Bam Moss, Night of the Night Bees, the Sugarcoats, Twine Time, After Dark Amusement Park, Casual Sweetheart, Double Winter and more… You can see these local talents transformed, visually and audibly, into bands like The Rolling Stones, Captain Beefheart, Mudhoney, The Donnas, George Harrison (…with this writer hoping they drawing heavily from All Things Must Past), and Bauhaus (…with, one hopes, a sensational rendition of this latter group’s holiday classic “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.”) More info: http://www.pjslagerhouse.com/
The Crofoot’s Creepy Cheapy VIII
Next Friday (Oct 23)
1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac / Doors 7pm
This concert is a blowout by-design, in fact, it was a key re-generator of the trend for spectacle-style Halloween parties around here. For $10 (or just $5 in advance,) you get to see 20… twun-tee…local bands performing costume covers, including My Pal Val and Audra Kubat as The Breeders, Jet Black Blonde as Foreigner, School of Rock doing Black Sabbath, Nina & The Buffalo Riders performing Joe Cocker… (particularly looking forward to that one); also can’t miss sets will be George Morris and Ronnie Tibbs taking on Simon & Garfunkel (…will they do “America?” “Bridge Over Troubled Waters?” Can’t wait). You can find tickets at: creepycheapy.com
Cloak & Whisper at PJ’s Lager House, featuring High Arrow
Next Friday (Oct 23)
1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit / Doors 9pm
High Arrow is an exceptional psych-rock/trip-pop duo who will always have Michigan in their heart, even if they’re currently based in Arizona… They cut their teeth (and their first two records,) right here in Detroit and will forever have their signature blend of trippy-garage shreds and entrancingly spooky pop. The duo plan on returning to perform in Detroit as often as they can – starting with this Halloween-esque masquerade ball in rock concert-form, inspired not only by Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut,” they’re also aspiring to inject a bit more of a vaudevillian variety into their show. Charley Crystal will perform an exquisite dance routine, while The Counter Elites will be a two man demolition crew of 2-minute punk tantrums. Cosmic Light Shapes, meanwhile, is a Detroit-based trio blending prog, pychedelia and bubble-gum pop. High Arrow will headline this homecoming party and costumes, or at least a mask…are highly encouraged. More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/714078212061478/
Covenfest at Small’s: a Halloween Show and Fundraiser for Enough SAID
Friday October 30th (Devil’s Night)
10339 Conant St., Hamtramck / Doors 8pm
Halloween rock concerts can be a hoot, but they can also be an excellent time to advocate for a great cause. Covenfest upports an important cause, raising funds for Enough SAID and the Michigan’s Women Foundation. There will be a silent auction inside and ages 16+ are welcome (costumes encouraged, of course). The School of Rock (Rochester) will also be doing their Black Sabbath set at this show, along with one night only improvised bands from several local musicians, aligning to cover classic rock and punk groups like Led Zeppelin, Misfits, Danzig, ZZ Top, and Bikini Kill. All proceeds (and the auction) benefits the Enough SAID project , which is a collaboration between the Michigan Women’s Foundation, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and the Detroit Crime Commission, raising funds to test more rape kits, prosecute the resulting cases and secure a safer community for all.
Click here for more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/383492308513970/