Saturday, October 31, 2009
Halloween Concert and Costume Contest for Kids @ LAC
Everyone gets a prize! Following the costume parade, kids and families are encouraged to go downtown for the trick or treating at 5 p.m.
Downtown Lawrence Trick-or-Treat
Downtown merchants greet children with sweet treats, Halloween trinkets, and locally grown candy corn (psyche!).
Still need a sweet Halloween costume? Look no further ... we've got just the thing!
E.M.U. Theatre presents “Horrorshow IIID” @ LAC
It survived the zombie massacre of ‘07. It took audiences beyond the edges of sanity in 2008. So what’s left for EMU Theatre to bestow upon hungry hoards of horror fans this Halloween?
It seems that the EMU writers are fighting over the best way to scare audiences with their 3rd annual Halloween show, “Horrorshow IIID." The peeved playwrights will showcase four different Halloween-themed shows, ranging from a kooky comedy to an arabesque and blood-filled look into the depravity of the human condition.
The Brown Man Group Comedy Tour @ the KU Union
The Brown Man Group — Hasan Minhaj, Asif Ali and Prashanth Venkat — performs live for a Comedy Central filmming. The event is hosted by Tony Vinh, a KU Alum and Comedy Club Regular. Music by DJ Karsick.
These ethnic comedians have been featured all over the US and overseas. They have credits from HBO and NBC and have opened for Russell Peters, Katt Williams, Jo Koy, and more.
Halloween Costume Ball with EOTO @ Granada
Cicada Rhythm's Annual Costume Ball will be set to the sounds of EOTO — aka Jason Hann and Michael Travis, the percussionist and drummer from Zilla and The String Cheese Incident. The duo composes improvised breakbeat, trip-hop, house, and drum n' bass jams. Hann plays the drum kit, percussion and sampler, while Travis is in charge of the bass, guitar, keyboards and live mixing. Since no songs are ever repeated and nothing is rehearsed, the group doesn't release records, instead preferring to dwell in the Zen-like moment between taking the stage and getting lost in a (musical) K-Hole.
EOTO
Yonder Mountain String Band @ Liberty Hall
The bluegrass/jam quartet of Adam Aijala (guitar), Jeff Austin (mandolin), Dave Johnston (banjo) and Ben Kaufmann (bass) play marathon three-hour sets, blending one song into the next and improvising on stage so that no two shows are alike.
Cash'd Out (Johnny Cash Tribute) @ The Bottleneck
Cash'd Out was born in late 2004 when Douglas Benson met Kevin Manuel through an ad. The main purpose for starting the band was to create an authentic tribute to the Man in Black: Johnny Cash. After acquiring stand-up bass player Sean Glithero, the band began learning every Cash song possible. They've been hitting the road hard ever since...
The Crumpletons Halloween Masquerade @ the LAC
Halloween fun at the Lawrence Arts Center isn't just for the kiddies. Adults can dance, drink, and show off their costumes while local favorites The Crumpletons perform 60s music and assorted psychedelic melodies. This benefit for the LAC Drama Program is $10 per person and a cash bar will be available. Judging of costumes will take place promptly at 11 PM and prizes which will vary from pieces of art to Downtown Lawrence treats to a few White Elephants.
Masquerade Ball with the Prairie Dogs
The Prairie Dogs, with a little help from KU Ballroom, will be hosting the 6th annual Masquerade Ball on Halloween night at the Camelot Ballroom. There will be contests for the best costume, food and drink, and, of course, spooktacular music. You are most welcome to wear a costume or whatever suits your fancy. There will be a beginners' lesson 8:30-9:00 p.m. The cost is $5 students/$7 adults.
Black Christmas / The Spook Lights / This Is My Condition / Hooves and Beak @ Jackpot
Taking inspiration from spooky soundtrack masters like Ennio Morricone and Angelo Badalamenti as well as prog-rockers like Yes and King Crimson, Lawrence's Black Christmas builds layer upon layer of instrumental tension with spacey guitar effects, ethereal keys, and pounding drums.
Lawrence's original glamour ghouls The Spook Lights return from the darkest reaches of space for another night of freakishly fashionable excess. New songs! New merch! New lineup! Same sleazy fun you've come to expect, plus a few bonus surprises.
In the beginning, This Is My Condition was freaky to be sure. Originator Craig Comstock simultaneously banged on a drum set and a detuned guitar and screamed into a mic that looked like it was invented by Thomas Edison. But things got even freakier when free-jazz saxophonist Dan Kozak entered the picture and the duo hit the studio to record an improvised album called "This Mission."
Haulin’ Oats / The Nineties Sound / Adventureband @ Replay
Costumes are encouraged at this sizzling cover-band extravaganza. Haulin' Oats is members of The Bubble Boys playing Hall and Oates hits; The Nineties Sound serves up straight '90s hits; Adventureband is members of The Dead Girls playing songs from the film "Adventureland."
Sellout @ The Jazzhaus
Lawrence's most party-rockin' band Sellout is playing somewhere just about every weekend. So it's no surprise that they're the cream of the crop when it comes to stupid-fun Halloween jams. Disco, '80s pop, hip-hop, grunge, classic rock...Sellout knows just about every guilty pleasure cover song you'd want to hear.
Check out our podcast interview with the band.
And new in movies...
Michael Jackson's This Is It
"This Is It" looks beyond the reconstructed face and spindly body of the late King of Pop and basks in his meteoric light. Culled from more than 100 hours of footage documenting Jackson's preparing for what was to be his farewell concert stand, the film is a privileged peek at the creative process of pop music's Peter Pan.