There’s just something about Halloween that makes it the best holiday for live music. Bands and audiences alike can’t seem to get enough of the unique energy that happens when everyone is in costume and cutting loose. This year offers a ton of interesting Halloween-themed live music, so I thought I’d round up some of the highlights.
This year, Oct. 31 falls on a Thursday, which means we get a couple of big events that night and just a ton of stuff the weekend before. Let’s start with the night itself. Black Eyes and Neckties are a horror-rock band who were one of the biggest acts in town for a while in the mid-’00s. After a long hiatus, they have done a few reunion shows over the last few years. This time, they are getting together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their first album, “Stiletto.” That’s at the Shakedown on Halloween with The Cathoholix and Venenosum.
I don’t necessarily associate the Grateful Dead with Halloween, but they do have a pretty creepy name. Local tribute band The Sleepy Alligators have played off of that for the last few years with a Halloween event at Boundary Bay Brewery called The Dead Will Rise. It’s a pretty popular event, so think about getting tickets in advance.
A lot of musicians and venues seem to have converged on Saturday, Oct. 26 as the semi-official Halloween live music center of gravity. Boundary Bay will be hosting the long-running annual Misfits tribute known as Horror Business that night. Make.Shift presents the return of the Spooky Covers Show, with nine impromptu bands playing tribute to their favorite spooky punk, metal and alt rock acts throughout the evening.
If you don’t need the music to be spooky and you’re just looking for an excuse to dress up, Bar Two Eleven has an ’80s tribute night with the Neon Shadows on Oct. 26 that should be packed with brightly colored costumes.
Getting out of Bellingham a bit, Oct. 26 also features The Takers doing a hard rock Halloween at the Main Street in Ferndale, while Buxton’s hosts Analog Brass for an event put on by the Anacortes Music Project.
Pretty much all week long you’re going to see Halloween-themed events. The regular Tuesday night “Lindy at the Leo” swing dance at the Hotel Leo has a live band playing Tuesday, Oct. 29 with some top local jazz players, and I’m guessing you’ll see some exceptionally good costumes at that one.
A show at the Blue Room is also on Tuesday, featuring student bands from the Bellinghome School of Music. I wrote a few months ago about Energy Pyramid and the uniquely artistic performances they’ve been putting on. They have two shows this week: Oct. 26 at Schweinhaus and a Day of the Dead event at Aslan Depot on Nov. 1, both great showcases for their instrumental rock with elaborately costumed dancers.
Finally, in a sort of Halloween Eve show, The Shakedown has an excellent goth-inspired triple bill on Wednesday, Oct. 30 with Gallowmaker, Ghost Fetish and Vance Latta.
When you look at all these options, whatever your style, whatever your scene, there’s no reason not to include some live music in your holiday plans.
News
The second edition of the Bellingham Exit festival has come and gone, and I for one had a great time checking out everything it had to offer. It does make me a little sad that the art installations in the venues don’t get to stick around, because they were extra impressive this year. I’ll have more to say on the whole festival but for now, I wanted to highlight just a few shows that caught me by surprise.
When I wandered into Bellflower’s set at Ritual on Friday night, I was fully planning on just checking out a few songs and then moving on to something else. Their beautiful folk-rock drew me in and wouldn’t let me leave: perfect harmonies, lead guitar solos that really go places, and a strong batch of original songs. I’m very much looking forward to hearing more from them.
I was also unfamiliar with Alice Longyu Gao and the little bit I checked out online didn’t really prepare me for the head-spinning diversity of her live show. She went from DJing pounding electronic beats to playing a delicate waltz on the harp to singing TikTok-approved pop ditties to something that I can only describe as a techno polka.
In other music news, there’s a new open mic starting up at Bella Ciao, the tavern-style pizza place at the north end of Railroad Avenue on the first and third Mondays. Sign up is at 5 p.m. and music starts at 7 p.m. with host David Donohue.
Congrats to Cat Valley for being chosen for inclusion on a very exciting new compilation. “We Came to Eat” was cooked up by some music lovers from Boise and features femme-led rock bands from all over Washington, Oregon and Idaho. That will be out on vinyl at the end of the month.
Jesse Stanton's music column, The Beat Goes On, appears weekly. Reach him at jsbhammusic@gmail.com; @JSBhamMusic. Check with individual venues to make sure events are still taking place as scheduled. Live music events in Whatcom County: http://www.cascadiadaily.com/category/living/arts-and-entertainment/music/music-calendar
