Road to Nowhere

It will be a very “Psycho Killer” Halloween when the Motet plays the Talking Heads. Just don’t expect anyone to show up in one of David Byrne’s big suits — the dress-up here is purely musical. “The first year it was the Beatles,” recalls Dave Watts, the band’s founder. “And as a sort of joke, we all got dressed up as Yoko Ono. The music was great, but the comedy just fell flat on its face, so we decided to just focus on the music from then on in.”

The Boulder-based outfit has been using Halloween to explore and interpret other musicians’ work for the past eight years — everyone from Herbie Han-cock to Madonna has served as a musical “costume” for the band. This year’s selection of the Talking Heads was an easy one to make. “It was the most requested group for all these years from our fans, for whatever reason,” Watts explains. “I think they do a great job combining a pop sensibility with song-writing and dance grooves. They’re really one of those bands that created their own language.”

Adding to the fun will be a bevy of guests, including members of the String Cheese Incident and Deep Banana Blackout. Catch them all tonight at the Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street in Boulder, or tomorrow or Saturday in Denver, at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom, 2637 Welton Street. Tomorrow’s show will be fol-lowed by a special late-night set of the Motet Trio, featuring the group’s original, electronic-focused creations. Tickets are $20 in advance, $22 day of the show. For more info, visit www.themotet.net.
Thu., Oct. 30, 2008