Then, at the Cactus Club on Saturdaynight, the local punk group Father Phoenix will celebrate Halloween with aperformance from their own Who cover band, The Call Me Lightnings. They'replaying as part of an all-covers night that includes Red Knife Lottery, whoseset promises songs by Andrew W.K., Foo Fighters and Operation Ivy, andheadliners Summertime Dudes, a hair-metal cover band featuring members of TheMistreaters, Skull Time and Mother Orchis.
Every Halloween some Milwaukee groups dress up as cheeky coverbands, but the tradition seems to have spread this year.
Club Garibaldi, for instance, will hosttwo nights of themed cover bands this weekend: Devo, The Replacements and GreenDay will be honored on Friday, and the Alice Cooper Band, The Dictators, Weezerand Link Wray will get the same treatment on Saturday. The exact makeup ofthese cover bands is a mystery even to the show's promoter, but expect to seefamiliar faces from The Goodnight Loving and the Dusty Medical Records camp.The Dictators will be played by the touring Texas band Bad Sports.
Not all shows Halloween night are soexplicitly themed, but expect most to feature covers and costumes. Smart moneyis on The Invaders covering at least a few classic ska and reggae tunes whenthey top an Oct. 31 bill at the Miramar Theatre with The Socialites and theElusive Parallelograms. Elsewhere that night Frank's Power Plant is throwing arockabilly partywhich should surprise nobody who's ever been to Frank's PowerPlantthat features Sidecar Steph & the 7-10 Split and The Tinhorns.Riverwest rockabilly fans who don't want to make the drive to Bay View cancheck out The Uptown Savages and the Bama Lamas at Mad Planet instead.Riverwesters are also well served by a Halloween show at Linneman's RiverwestInn featuring two of the city's spunkiest live acts, the Jonathan Burks Bandand The Trusty Knife, as well as the burgeoning prog-funk project The Chain.
The Turner Hall Ballroom and 88Nine RadioMilwaukee can likely lay claim to Saturday night's biggest Halloween party withtheir Made in Milwaukee Halloween Bash, which supplements performances from TheChampionship, Serena Ryder, Kid Millions and Will Phalen and the Stereo Addictswith visual art and a fashion show. Toronto'sindie-folk ensemble Great Lake Swimmers headlines.
