Benjamin Lozovsky

​Danzig Legacy New York
Hammerstein Ballroom
Saturday, October 29

Better than: Bobbing for dismembered limbs in a tank of formaldehyde.

On a dreary, slushy Halloween weekend mess, Glenn Danzig, the diabolical mesh-loving doom crooner and heavy metal pioneer, celebrated his career—34 years of ghoulish, Satanic imagery and pounding musical mayhem—at Hammerstein Ballroom. The miserable nature of the night's weather set an appropriate mood for the performance, a bleak landscape for music equally suited for the raging infernos of the rapture or a sunless, post-apocalyptic ice world. And although most fans preferred to don their normal metal uniforms—black band tees and various leather accoutrements—bloody body parts and gaping bullet wounds or serrated knife slashes, delicately constructed with gobs of viscous theatrical makeup, peeked out from the darkness here and there.

Danzig is a New Jersey native with a lifelong obsession surrounding occult and gore and a long history with the holiday, which made Halloween weekend the right time for the Danzig Legacy Tour's New York City stop. Each show on the four-city tour is divided into three sets, with each set focusing on one of the main projects in Danzig's career. Even within the confines of aggressive agita and mystical gloom, Danzig's music has covered a fairly astonishing range and traveled a noticeable arc. The shambolic, campy glory of The Misfits; the transitional death rock of Samhain; the theatrical, murky metal of his longest running and current band Danzig—each project incorporated parts of the previous as it meticulously unfolded and reached maturity.

More >>

Ashley Eada Giahn

​
The Black Lips w/Davila 666, Xray Eyeballs
Webster Hall
Saturday, October 29

Better than: The overpriced coat check.

Here's the thing about Black Lips shows: They're completely out of control as a rule. Playing Webster Hall on Saturday for their "Hell in the Hall" All Hallow's Eve celebration, the Atlanta quartet was ready to party, and the mostly costumed audience was in similar spirits. The band's homemade backdrop—a white sheet covered in spraypainted Satanic symbols that had horror movies projected onto it—and streamers and fog machines brought a DIY aesthetic that helped set the stage and make Webster Hall seem much more down-home than than it usually is.

More >>

Permanent Wave's Halloween Covers Show
Death by Audio
October 27, 2011

Better than: Scrambling to put together my own costume.

Last night, Brooklyn's Permanent Wave collective took over Death by Audio with what they were billing as a "ridiculously fun night of cover sets by some of our favorite lady-fronted bands." This included, in chronological order, Delta Hotel playing That Dog, Claire's Diary playing Le Tigre, Eula playing Blondie, Wojcik playing the Craps, Mindtroll playing Salt-N-Pepa, and Amy Klein and the Blue Star Band playing Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (plus one Bruce-written Patti Smith tune). As far as these Thursday night DIY shows go, that's a pretty formidable lineup, and as it turned out, all the bands delivered, each one having more fun than the last. If there's a way to capture that fun on vinyl, here are two 7-inches I wouldn't mind seeing next to the 'zines and absurdly delicious pumpkin chocolate chip cookies at the merch table next time around:

More >>

​ It's almost Halloween, and if you're like me, you've been spending your free time watching scary movies and thinking up costume ideas. These sorts of movies are usually known for blood, boobs, and bad jokes, but the music that accompanies them is important, too. For instance, high-pitched shrieking noises automatically bring to mind Psycho, and the Jaws score will forever instill fear in the hearts of swimmers. But what about the actual soundtracks—you know, those tie-in compilations that bring together artists old and young, new and vintage, huge and dollar-bin-ready? After the jump, seven frightful flicks that were packaged with good tunes.

More >>

Picturesque Americana or pop-cultural moment waiting to be ripped off? It's your call!

​Halloween is coming! In case you're someone who doesn't have the time or money—or patience—to head out to the costume shop and figure out what alter ego you're going to take on during this weekend of cover-band gigs and green-Jell-o-studded parties, Sound of the City is here for you. The world of the music video is rife with personalities who, while they might not have been doing the lipsyncing, were key to their associated clips, whether for reasons of ambience, plot-driving, or just showing the world what sort of cool people were able to hang out with rock stars during their particular era. After the jump, 12 costumes that have just enough pop-cultural semi-importance for you to justify wearing at least a few "regular clothes" while you're snacking on candy corn and mini Snickers.

More >>

​What more can be said about the indefatigable Kid Millions and the mighty Oneida? Hell, it's not even news that they throw a killer and sloppy Halloween party, Brahloween, since the band's annual throwdown is now in its sixth year and has become an end of October staple. So instead, on the eve of Millions et al. gearing up for another bloody axe throwdown at Secret Project Robot, along with Birds of Avalon, Dirty Faces, and Be/ Non, we asked Kid about the ghosts of Brahloweens' past:

More >>

If you're doing this costume, your synthesizer better work.

​Well, he's also playing a show, with fellow space cadets Apache Beat and Prince Rama, but more importantly, this is the world's first ever chillwave costume contest. Judged by Neon Indian themselves, which probably means that combo vest/synth/Afro-wig Alan Palomo costume is out. (If you are still undecided about what you're going as, we have some suggestions.) Check the flyer, right here:

More >>

​Once the dubmaster for Out Hud and bass provider for !!!, Justin Vandervolgen has been negotiating rock and dance music for well over a decade, forgoing the former for the latter a few years back. This year has been a busy one for Vandervolgen: rocking underground dance parties, dropping an otherworldly mix CD as Try to Find Me, napalming dancefloors with remixes made as TBD (in conjunction with fellow disco miscreant Lee Douglas), and for his favorite holiday of the year, releasing a new dance single for rocking Halloween dance parties: "Nice Costume"/ "Have Some Candies." So we asked Vandervolgen to discuss in greater depth, just what makes him drop the compliment "nice costume" and what he would bring to scare a dancefloor this weekend:

More >>

​Halloween is nearly upon us. You don't have a costume yet, because you're a music nerd. We are here to help. Abandon your half-assed Lady Gaga concept and try these practical suggestions instead.

More >>

​She was a shark. Or a shark victim? Unclear. [@_M_I_A_]