Eugene Weekly : Music : 10.30.08

No Tricks, Just Musical Treats
Halloween events around town
by Vanessa Salvia

Looking for some treats this All Hallows Eve? Look no further than the lineups of hot licks area clubs have planned. If one night of playing dress up isn’t enough for you, some venues even have Halloweenie events scheduled for All Saints’ Day. 

The band that Eugene Weekly readers voted the second-best rock band in town, Reeble Jar, plays a late-night “after party” show (following the Citizen Cope concert) at the McDonald Theatre (11 pm 10/31, $10/$12, all ages). The organic jazz sextet known as Eleven Eyes opens the show. Wear your costume … you won’t be the only one!

Across town at Sam Bond’s is The Ovulators’ Halloween Hedwig Special (9:30 pm 10/31, $5, 21+). The glittery girls from planet Zygote will perform the songs from John Cameron Mitchell’s rock musical Hedwig and The Angry Inch, which they previously performed to great acclaim for Actors Cabaret in 2004 and Lord Leebrick in 2006. But the twist this time is the guest vocalists — Sassy O of Alpha Dahlia, Ed Cole of The Underlings, Marietta Bonaventure from Mood Area 52, Kyra Kelly and Zak Johnson of The Dead Americans, Reed Gilchrist (formerly of The Pass Out Kings) and Dan Jones. But wait! There’s more! Backing up the glam-rock foursome will be Raenie Kane, formerly of The Shudders, on drums, and Pia Robbins of The Comforters on keyboards. With The Soothesayers bringing the night to a close, that sounds pretty effin’ fun.

 
Devin the Dude. Photo: Todd Cooper

Spend the Eve at the WOW with The Sugar Beets Family Circus featuring guest friends of this perennially popular Eugene band (DJ at 6:30 pm, Sugar Beets at 7:30 pm 10/31, $8/$10, all ages). Paul Biondi will play flute, and nine or 10 saxophones at once. Just kidding! But only slightly, as Biondi really does have the killer lung power to play two or three saxophones at the same time. The kids from Imagine That theater camp (which keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Scotty Perey helps with) will be there, as will others, but the band’s not sayin’ any more than that, preferring to keep some of the surprises to themselves. Dress up, guys; it’s a costume party, and there’s more to follow. Hip hop artist Devin the Dude will perform after the Beets clear the stage (11:30 pm 10/31, $14/$16, all ages). He’s celebrating his new album Landing Gear

A WOW Hall tradition for more years than anyone can remember is the Witches’ Ball. OK, it’s actually the 13th annual ball, which features drumming, singing, dancing and chanting to honor deceased ancestors on Día de los Muertos. This family-friendly event features children’s activities, costume contests and the traditional spiral dance (7 pm 11/1,  $10, 13 and under free, all ages). The organization that presents the Witches’ Ball each year, Cauldron of Changes, seeks to support those who identify as pagan, Wiccan or otherwise Earth-worshipping. They recognize the day as one sacred to the Aztecs, and an Aztec-style ancestor shrine is available on which to place an offering or personal item belonging to the honored dead. 

Festivities at Cozmic Pizza span two nights. Halloween proper is the venue’s 10-year anniversary and a benefit for the Makindu Children’s Program, which runs a center in rural eastern Kenya (7:30 pm 10/31, $10 minimum donation, all ages). Kudana and Samba Ja will help Cozmic celebrate 10 years of performances and out-of-this-world pizza.

The next night, Cozmic hosts Brazilian funk rockers Bat Makumba for a Carnaval Halloween dance party (8 pm 11/1, $10, all ages). The evening is also a CD release party for Bat Makumba’s second album, Boteco

Want a truly Eugene Halloween experience? That’s what SuperTrout promises with their show at Mac’s (9:30 pm 10/31, $5, 21+). SuperTrout travels to every gig in the 1959 GM Motor Coach touring bus used by Elvis Presley. The bus “has no speedometer, no fuel gauge, no tachometer, custom blue metallic paint on the outside with an interior of purple velvet,” says bandleader  and bus owner John Swan. That’s an experience enough, right? But SuperTrout also delivers a “psycho-acoustic” laser light show and music performed by some of the best-known musicians in Oregon, including Rich Sellars, Tim Donahue, Glenn Leonard and Paul Biondi.

As always, there’s more going on in town on Halloween than we can fit into one column, so check the calendar and nightlife listings for more festive options!