Halloween concert guide: hot haunts and spooky shows
Add music to your monster mash at these costume-friendly concerts and parties.
Friday: A Neverending Halloween Homecoming at Spiderhouse. Time to bust out the zombie prom dress, my “American Girl(s).” The party features Johnny Walker and the Heartfakers inhabiting the spirit of Tom Petty and Letty Leal Evans possessed by Prince. There will also be a midnight costumed karaoke dance party. $7-$12. 10 p.m. doors. 2906 Fruth St. spiderhouse.com/ ballroom
Friday-Saturday: Elysium 16-year anniversary weekend. At Red River’s industrial goth nightclub, it always feels like Halloween. The club, which describes itself as “a haven from the everyday,” is named after an ancient Greek afterlife realm reserved for mortals who are relatives of gods and heroes. Don your “Zeus’ cousin” costume and catch dark wave band the Cruxshadows at the actual anniversary party on Friday. Or, show up on Saturday, when the club hosts “Helloween 2: Demon’s Night.” The party, “made for horror fans by Austin’s horror community,” includes a costume contest, “devilish burlesque” and a “dance of the dead” with D J Dren Pasht. $20-$25 Friday; $5-$7 Saturday. 9 p.m. doors. 705 Red River St. elysiumonline.net
Friday: KUTX Live at Mueller with Brownout, Kupira Marimba. Technically, this is not a Halloween party, and the Brownout crew won’t don their full metal jackets till Nov. 2, when they transform into the band’s alter ego Brown Sabbath to raise money for Puerto Rico. It is, however, a great opportunity, to bring your little costumed crusaders out for a little after-dark witching. Face painting runs from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Music starts at 7 p.m. 4550 Mueller Blvd.
Saturday: Foot Patrol at Stay Gold. Halloween is a time to indulge your offbeat urges, and this crew of funky foot fetishists is here to help. Kev Bev Collins also performs. 10 p.m. 1910 E. Cesar Chavez St.
Saturday: HollaQueen Part 2 at Cheer Up Charlie’s. It’s a ghoulish birthday bash for two of Austin’s top drag queens, Lousianna Purchase and Zane Zena. Event features drag show, costume contest, tunes from D J Girlfriend and more. $5. 10 p.m. 900 Red River St.
Sunday: Polkapocalypse with Brave Combo and Friends at Elisabet Ney Museum. The event promises a “crazy mix of Tejano, Czech, German, Ukranian, Polish, Gypsy, and Norteno” from four polka bands. Erik Hokkanen and the Polka Playboys, Conjunto Los Pinkys and Belen y Tocayo join Denton-based Grammy winners Brave Combo. There will also be a costume contest. Free. Noon. 304 E. 44th St.
Sunday: …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead at the Lil Darlin’. After a few quiet years, Austin’s most seasonally appropriate art rock crew heads across the pond next month for a string of U.K. shows. They warm up at this free happy hour show at a South Austin neighborhood dive. 5 p.m. 6507 Circle S Road.
Tuesday: Flying Lotus in 3D at Emo’s. It’s Halloween night. Will it be strange? Oh, certainly, pushing the boundaries of electronic composition is what he does. Will it be spooky? His last album was called “You’re Dead.” Is it a good place to dress up and pretend you’re going on some sort of an interstellar journey to a mystical otherworld? The best. Seven Davis Jr. and Pbdy open. $30-$35. 8 p.m. doors. 2015 E. Riverside Drive. emosaustin.com
Tuesday: Lee “Scratch” Perry at Flamingo. What’s that, you say? You’re looking for a different kind of intergalactic experience? Well, you’re in luck star travelers, the godfather of dub, Lee “Scratch” Perry, who has claimed he lives in a studio spaceship receiving music from his fellow aliens, is in town ready to serve up-close encounters of the one-drop kind.
Tuesday: LCD Soundsystem, Big Freedia at Austin360 Amphitheater. Electro-rockers LCD Soundsystem dramatically broke up and hosted a “final” concert in 2011, then reappeared last year to play an enthralling headline set loaded with lights and sounds, stories and magic at ACL Fest last year. Time to come back from the dead yourselves, zombies of Austin, and Big Freedia is your non-gender-conforming undead style inspiration. $30-$71.75. 8 p.m. 9201 Circuit of the Americas Blvd.
Tuesday: Ghost Town Halloween Parade. KreweDCM celebrates their 11th annual Halloween Parade with another haunted hike through the streets of East Austin. Dead Music Capital Mega Band will provide the murderous marching music for the event that kicks off at 8 p.m. at Pan Am Park. There will be a postprocession celebration at Esquina Tango with more music, dancing and “scareoke.” 8 p.m. 2039 East Fourth St.
Tuesday: Vampyre and friends at Sahara. A night of face-melting noise to drive out the demons. Pleasure Venom and Jerkagram also perform. $5. 8 p.m. doors. 1413 Webberville Road.