45 Grave

There's nothing like an old-school death-rock show to bring the ghouls out of the woodwork. Expect nothing less than a parade of black lipstick and Deadly Nightshade Manic Panic when 45 Grave claws its way up from the underworld and takes the stage of the Bluebird. Led by singer Dinah Cancer -- who has the best nom de punk this side of Flipper's late Will Shatter -- the quintessential goth group came together in 1979 and appeared on the landmark Hell Comes to Your Housecompilation before releasing its 1983 classic, Sleep in Safety. A vicious mix of glam, punk and spook, it spawned the semi-hit single "Partytime," best known from its slot on the soundtrack of Return of the Living Dead. The outfit has trudged on intermittently ever since; its current resurrection includes legendary guitarist Rikk Agnew of the Adolescents, Social Distortion and Christian Death. With great songs and morbid camp to spare, 45 Grave is still to die for.