Sinister Star
Audio By Carbonatix
Ah, Halloween – you magnificent bastard of a holiday. It’s a day for those of us who want to go to work dressed as Count Dracula or a Real Housewife of Transylvania, without the subsequent HR emails about proper workforce attire. But at night, the adult perks don’t really extend to trick-or-treating (neighbors can get uptight about a full-grown Dracula going door to door for candy).
That’s why concerts are a great option to show off your Halloween spirit. And Denver’s got plenty of offerings this year, both leading up to the holiday and, in the case of former Aurora King Soopers cashier Lizzo, on the night itself.
Maris the Great
Friday, October 28, 7 p.m.
The Venue, 1451 Cortez Street
$20 in advance
Denver’s Maris the Great is a gay zombie who murders and dismembers rival bands, some of whom will share the stage with him at what is now his second Halloween show at the Venue. At last year’s gig, Lord Maris summoned “Tina Turner” and “Bon Scott” of AC/DC through a closet door on stage, and both performed with his band, the Faggots of Death, which puts on an excellent live show. Drag Queen Jessica L’Whor emceed the spectacle with some standup comedy that, were it any dirtier, would have required a federal tax stamp. L’Whor will be back this year, and that’s worth the price of admission alone. Denver pop punk outfit D.O.R.K. is getting back together for the occasion, and horror punks America’s Most Haunted and Good Family round out the bill. It’ll be uncomfortable, but you won’t want to look away. A costume contest is in the works, too.
Itchy-O Hallowmass
Friday, October 28, and Saturday, October 29, 7 p.m.
Summit, 1902 Blake Street
$29.50-$50
For its eighth year, itchy-O is playing its Halloween-themed Hallowmass concerts, which are the 57-piece avant-garde group’s last shows of the year. More of an immersive ceremony than your regular concert, expect the unexpected and be prepared for a “journey into healing, through rites of reflection, adoration, and dissolution; building to a percussive blast of purifying bombast.” The concerts will also act as a way to honor former itchy-O member Alicia Cardenas, who was killed last December in a series of shootings. Her tattoo shop, Sol Tribe, is helping to present the show. Los Mocochetes opens the first night, while Dreadnought opens the second.
Meow Wolf
Kent Washington & Friends, Friday, October 28, 1338 First Street, 8 p.m., $20
The Spookiki Ball, Saturday, October 29, 1338 First Street, 8 p.m., $20
Hallowed Howl, Saturday, October 29, Fillmore Auditorium, 1510 North Clarkson Street, Denver, 7 p.m., $35-$89
Meow Wolf is a pretty strange place to begin with, so why not spend part of your Halloween weekend there? The Santa Fe-born immersive installation has three parties to sate your appetite for costumes and dance music. On Friday, October 28, Colorado Springs recording artist Kent Washington III is headlining the debut of INTLHAUS, an international hip-hop and R&B series. Also performing are DNA Picasso, LPEEZ, Myell Westcoast, Ivvy Jones, Indigo Jones, and DJ sets from DJ Ronin, Hexkitten, and KYJU.
And on Saturday, October 29, the House of Flora will host the SpooKiKi Ball, which will celebrate vogue, a dance created by Black and Latinx queer people (and later appropriated by Madonna). The House of Flora is a KiKi house in Portland, Oregon, that has expanded to Denver. KiKi is subculture that spun off the ballroom scene in New York, where houses opened up to provide shelter to LGBTQ kids who’d been tossed out of their homes. Dance competitions in numerous categories are part of the show.
But that’s not all for October 29: Meow Wolf will also take over the Fillmore with funk and deep house. The party, called Hallowed Howl, includes performances by SG Lewis and Folamour.
Halloween Bash
Friday, October 28, 7 p.m.
Herman’s Hideaway, 1578 South Broadway
$10Take in some metal before All Hallows’ Eve with the all-ages Halloween Bash at Herman’s Hideaway. As We Rise plays a melodic strain of metal, with Hannah Romero’s soaring vocals over growls, pounding beats and guitar shreds. Also on the bill is Cheyenne, Wyoming, trio Fell Harvest, which plays doom metal that it describes as a soundtrack for the end of the world. You’ll also see Blood of Lilith, an all-women metal trio from Denver that is nasty, heavy and not messing around. A Vintage Future opens the night, dressed in its usual steampunk gear. A costume contest is planned, so dress accordingly.
Captured! by Robots
Friday, October 28, 7 p.m.
hi-dive, 7 South Broadway
$12
Captured! by Robots comprises just one human musician, JBOT, and a bunch of robots he’s built and perfected over the years. The band plays a very heavy brand of grindcore, and it’s a lot of fun to see live. CBR is currently on its Funeral for the Human Race Tour, because if we learned anything from I, Robot, these machines aren’t fond of the fleshy types. Axeslasher and Valiomierda open.
Motown Halloween Dance Party
Saturday, October 29, 7 p.m.
Roots Music Project warehouse, 4747 Pearl Street, Boulder
$20
Put a little soul in your Halloween weekend at the Roots Music Project, Boulder’s nonprofit music incubation program that helps working musicians hone their crafts and promote their art. The concert showcases Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (A Motown Stax Revue), a seven-piece band that performs the sounds of Motown and Stax Records, both legendary record labels in soul music. Take in songs such as Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” and Barry Gordy’s “Do You Love Me?” The show is all-ages, and attendees are encouraged to dress up, dance and sing along. A cash bar will be on site.
Wild Beautiful Orchestra
Halloween Festival
Saturday, October 29 3 p.m.
Lowry Town Center, 200 Quebec Street
Free
Halloween Show
Sunday, October 30, 4 p.m.
Enigma Bazaar, 4923 West 38th Street
$15
The Wild Beautiful Orchestra is playing two shows on Halloween weekend. The first, a Halloween Festival at Lowry Town Hall, is geared toward families, with trick-or-treating and music from The Nightmare Before Christmas, Hocus Pocus and Stranger Things, among other spooky songs. Sunday’s event, at Enigma Bazaar, is more adult-oriented, but kids are welcome with a parent.
Halloween Cover Show
Saturday, October 29, 7 p.m.
hi-dive, 7 South Broadway
$12
It’s Halloween, so even the bands are dressing up. Come see musicians tackle the music of MotÁ¶rhead, Green Day, the Ramones and Oasis. A costume contest, a Halloween prom and a ’90s dance party all converge for a night to remember.
Vision Video
Monday, October 31, 9 p.m.
HQ, 60 South Broadway
$18
Halloween is somewhat considered a goth holiday, so why not spend yours with a goth band? Hailing from Athens, Georgia, Vision Video plays a brand of post-punk heavily indebted to the Cure, but with notes of the Smiths, Joy Division and other new-wave bands that filled the airwaves in the early ’80s. It’s dance music for people who are too depressed to dance – there are millions of us, after all. The show also includes local death goth/death-rock/protest/post-punk operator Red Wing Black Bird, who is notable for playing a show at Philip K. Dick’s grave in Fort Morgan. His ten-song record Too Klaus for Comfort tied the current state of the world to Dick’s vision of a dystopian world. Also on the bill is WitchHands, a Colorado Springs goth and death-rock band with D-beat rhythms, melodic synths, grinding guitars and lyrics that range from sad poetry to nihilistic rage. Rounding out the lineup is Denver’s Radio Scarlet; the members don’t consider themselves goth or punk, but somewhere awkwardly in the middle, which is a pretty punk move.
Lizzo
Monday, October 31, 8 p.m.
Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle
$69 and up
Come celebrate Halloween with one of the biggest stars in the world right now. Rapper, singer and flutist Lizzo released Special, her fourth studio record this year. It’s a homecoming of sorts, as she told her stunned audience at the Fillmore last year that she once worked as a King Soopers cashier while living in Aurora for a year. Most recently, Lizzo gained plenty of admiration (and ire from people like Jenna Ellis) when the Library of Congress invited her to play James Madison’s rare crystal flute.
Nightmare on 13th Street
Monday, October 31, 8 p.m.
Your Mom’s House, 608 East 13th Street
$15
For the EDM fans: Abyssal Cartel is hosting an evening of dubstep and bass music over at Your Mom’s House. Featured performers include Zygon, DEEP STATE, Massive Trackz, Leelo Dubz, FVJIWARA and Duble N. The winner of the night’s costume contest will receive a fancy water-holding backpack called a Hydropack because, well, it’s Colorado.