Is there any holiday more rock & roll than Halloween? Artists like the New York Dolls, Ziggy-Era Bowie, Madonna, and even newer acts like Clinic and the Flaming Lips enjoy playing dress up on stage — and often off it as well. Naturally, with All Hallow’s Eve upon us, one great way to avoid being home when the little candy mongers come a’knockin’ is to head out to a show. And with the costume designer’s favorite holiday falling on a Sunday this year, several clubs are taking the opportunity to celebrate in style throughout the weekend. So if you’re in the mood to match costume apparel with the acts on stage, here’s a few shows for you…
Skinny Puppy @ Tremont
If you want theatrics with your music, you can hardly do better than an industrial rock band. And why not? The grayscale, cinder block-bludgeoning provided by the music fairly screams for some comic relief. What’s that? You say it’s not supposed to be comic relief? It’s “a look?” Shit. Annnnyway, you can do far worse than the 22-year traveling circus known as Skinny Puppy, a name that fairly screams Anne Rice novels and misguided angst. Featuring the aural assault-and-battery of cEvin Keys (that’s not a misprint) combined with the poetic ramblings of a man they call “Ogre,” this is music that proves every day is All Hallow’s Eve, provided you’re one of the people that thought that Kraftwerk and Throbbing Gristle would have been so much better if you could, you know, dance to it. Sadly, the most interesting elements of the band’s music — the film clips, the random splashes of tape and noise — have pretty much gone out the window, in favor of a more streamlined sound that reminds one of Nine Inch Nails jamming with that Cheb Mami guy (which, come to think of, might sound pretty cool after all). Let those white-man dreadlocks fly, everybody!
(Skinny Puppy plays the Tremont Music Hall on Sunday. Doors open at 6pm. Tickets are $20, available at www.ticketmaster.com.)
ANTiSEEN @ Amos’ Southend
As anyone who has ever seen the Boys From Brutalsville will attest, the “SEEN can bring the “Ween with the best of them. You want scary? Try a man diving into a barbed-wire wall. A man who likes to get his blood flowing (literally) with the help of a broken Budweiser bottle. A man who has been known to dive onto a folding table. A folding table covered with thumbtacks. A folding table covered with thumbtacks which has been set on fire. Led by inimitable frontman Jeff Clayton — the “certifiable” mentioned above — ANTiSEEN have been a Charlotte Halloween tradition for years now, and for good reason: the band realizes people need a release from their day-to-day grind, and that there’s a shitload of people out there who really like professional wrestling. This is billed as a “Head Bustin’ Halloween” — believe it.
(ANTiSEEN plays Amos’ SouthEnd on Friday, along with Drat, The Boils, The Painkillers, and special guest emcee Thee Cosmic Commander of Wrestling. For ticket information, call 704-377-6874.)
Nighthawk @ The Steeple
Saturday’s show is the fourth in a five-day Halloween celebration for the Steeple people, and with Sunday a school night, expect this one to really bring out the ghoulies. Nighthawk is a local all-star group of sorts, featuring members of Tyre Fyre, Babyshaker, Snagglepuss, Les Dirt Clods, and the Scrubbies, among others. Guest singers are the norm for Nighthawk shows, too, with John Fuller (Universal Joint) and the Nacho Pussy gals (among others) taking turns with the mike on this night. Since it’s Halloween, expect tributes to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” “Monster Mash,” and a host of other frightening covers. There’s a costume contest with cash prizes, an after-show DJ, and rumor has it there’ll even be a dry ice machine, which, or course, is very cool by any standard.
(Nighthawk plays the Steeple Saturday. Tickets are $10, and space is limited. For more information, call 704-333-5545.)
Violent Femmes @ Dixie’s Tavern
Authors of teen-angst hits like “Blister in the Sun,” “Gone Daddy Gone,” “Kiss Off,” and “Nightmares,” the Violent Femmes claim the distinction of retaining the same audience — age-wise — throughout their two decade-plus career. Singer Gordon Gano penned many of his early songs in high school, and they manage to capture the awkwardness, frustration and bitterness of adolescent life with remarkable accuracy — which explains their continuing popularity with the kids. Add that to a stand-up bass/snare-and-cymbal-driven folk-punk sound and it’s not surprising that Gano & Co. carved out a niche for themselves. The Femmes headline Dixie’s annual Grave-Diggers Ball, which includes a Best Costume contest and $1,000 in prizes.
(The Violent Femmes play Dixie’s Tavern Saturday, along with 40oz and Magazyne, two cover bands; tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. For more information, call 704-374-1700.)
Sea Ray @ The Evening Muse
For a slightly more demure Halloween celebration with a political bent, join the Brooklyn-based sextet Sea Ray for a night of cinematic rock with both a shoegazer and Brit-pop feel. Their debut, Stars at Noon, has been hailed by many as an eclectic antidote to all the garage rock pouring out of NYC. Sea Ray — cellist Anne Brewster, drummer Colin Brooks, bassist I-Huei Go, keyboardist Jeff Sheinkopf, guitarist Greg Zinman and vocalist/guitarist Jordan Warner — have also developed an involved stage show, with feature film clips and video projections. This night is billed as an opportunity to both “Cast Out Those Scary White House Demons!” and “Exorcise — Your Right to Vote!”, and prizes will be awarded for the best costumes and T-shirt slogans. After all, if there’s anything scarier than our current administration, we don’t want to know about it.
(Sea Ray will play the Evening Muse Sunday beginning at 8pm; Mike Mitschele of the Mersey Sound, John Morris of Tyre Fyre, and gogo Pilot are also on the bill. Tickets are $8 and the festivities begin at 8pm.)
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 1, 2004.
