And suddenly, it's Halloween.
Suddenly, the season of swelled line-ups of local bands going all method-actor with their music, disguised in hair styles and sunglasses, fish-nets and five-o-clock shadows altogether iconic, nostalgic and passé...trick-or-treating with their guitars dolled up as famous (and quasi-famous) bands from albums of yore. Halloween Cover Shows! How many can you get to this year?
Around these parts, we get extra freaky this time of year. About seven years ago, local outfits realized how nerdily-exhilarating it was to dress-up as legends and unabashedly rock-out...
And suddenly, we look at the line-ups of some of the bands... Replacements, Pink Floyd, Smashing Pumpkins, KISS... and realize that we've come to some notable anniversaries for these revered rock bands' quintessential works...
PJ's Lager House features 20 bands (split between two stages) on Friday and Saturday (Doors 8pm both nights - 1254 Michigan Ave - pjslagerhouse.com)
You can see/hear Guided By Voices (as played by members of a new local band called Radioburns). Get nostalgic for Vampire On Titus' 20th anniversary
Also on the bill for PJs this weekend... The Smashing Pumpkins (as played by yet another brand new band called The Bears Are Out). And, yes, Siamese Dream is now 20 years old...
Another notable for PJ's weekend-long Halloween celebration will be The Replacements (as played by members of Twine Time and Terrible Twos). This band just reunited for a tour in real life. They also celebrated the 30th anniversary of what many consider to be their best (most coherent/cohesive) work - Let It Be....
Next year's the 10th anniversary for Arcade Fire's Funeral... Any takers?
Embrace nostalgia. Embrace Halloween. Embrace the Cover Bands!
In the meantime - the Crofoot's annual Creepy Cheapy show is next week. And you can read more on another revered holiday event - with Brett Callwood's report: Halloween in Detroit: Theatre Bizarre-- John Dunivant’s festival matures in its indoor digs
