Tim’s Picks: Halloween’s the Theme
Five of the best ideas heading into your spooky Greater Lafayette weekend.
Thanks for sponsorship support today go to Purdue Convocations. From comedian and playwright Tina Fey, MEAN GIRLS tells the story of a naïve newbie who falls prey to a trio of lionized frenemies. Entertainment Weekly calls the show “a MARVEL: dazzling and hilarious” and New York Magazine cheers, “MEAN GIRLS delivers with immense energy and a wicked sense of humor.” Tonight, Oct. 26, at Elliott Hall of Music - GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!
Thanks, also, to Purdue Musical Organizations and the Purdue Christmas Show. This December, gather the whole family and celebrate 90 years of the Purdue Christmas Show. For nearly a century, this beloved holiday tradition has captivated audiences with its dazzling performances and heartwarming messages of love, hope and unity. Watch the stage come alive in the historic Elliott Hall of Music as PMO’s incredible student talent perform beautiful secular and sacred music alongside a live orchestra. December 1-3. BUY TICKETS HERE.
And now, with five of the best ideas heading into your weekend, here’s …
By Tim Brouk / For Based in Lafayette
Costume Party with Graciously Departed and Cougar Candy and the Lunch Ladies, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, Rat Pak Venue, 102 N. Third St., Lafayette — No Moseys until May, no problem. Two standout downtown Lafayette street festival acts will go indoors this weekend for a tuneful Halloween celebration. Local Grateful Dead tribute band Graciously Departed will headline the night of costumed freaks and geeks. Opening the show will be the curiously named Cougar Candy and the Lunch Ladies, a young funk rock ensemble that showed well this summer. $12. Tickets.
Brews and Boo’s Halloween Party, 7-10:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, Brokerage Brewing Company — West Lafayette brewing company Brokerage is going all-in to get your pre-Halloween weekend off to a strong start. We’re talking — and drinking in — DJs, scavenger hunt and costume contests for best overall, funniest, scariest and couples. I’d win for “most buzzed after two pints.”
Saturday, Rocktober 28 — When you first looked at the 2023 calendar, you might have sighed in disappointment to see that Halloween falls on a Tuesday. But then you remembered you live in Greater Lafayette, knowing that the real holiday for most adults is the Saturday before Halloween (when Oct. 31 falls on Sunday-Wednesday). For decades, this special day has been crammed with events, costumed tomfoolery and live music, and 2023 is no exception. Here is a handful that should get you amped but save at least some of your energy for actual Halloween.
Halloween Party with DJs CC, Elfbar, Ritmos Calientes, Shyrii, Kyle Robert Paquin and Podlesh, 6 p.m., The Spot Tavern, 409 S. Fourth St., Lafayette — Do the danse macabre all night to beats spun by DJs from near and far. $10.
The Velocity District with Sheeza, 7 p.m., Knickerbocker Saloon, 113 N. Fifth St., Lafayette — Expect many guests sitting in during both sets as Halloween and local music will be celebrated. $10 in advance, $15 day of show. Tickets.
“Night of the Living Dead Live!,” 7:30 p.m., Duncan Hall, 619 Ferry St., Lafayette — One of the most influential horror movies gets a comedic makeover thanks to Lafayette’s newest theater troupe, ACORN Players of Lafayette. $15. Tickets.
The Doom Room’s 10th annual Halloween Bash, 8 p.m., North End Pub, 2100 Elmwood Ave., Lafayette — Heavy metal always rules, but it’s especially appreciated around Halloween. The Doom Room has a loaded bill this weekend by bringing in the scary good Fleshbore, Idol Throne, Beyond Deth, Indianapolis’ Tight Like a Tiger and something called Gnedoflup’s Goblin Troupe. $10.
Idol Throne (Photo provided) Halloween Costume Party, 8 p.m., Aces Pub, 3215 S. 18th St., Lafayette — The south side will rock to Second Hand Remedy after a costume contest that pays out $200 to most creative and $200 for sexiest. Time to bust out my sexy robot costume!
“Considering Matthew Shepard” with Lafayette Master Chorale and Purdue University Choir, 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 29, St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 535 Mitch Daniels Blvd., West Lafayette — Potentially one of the most powerful Greater Lafayette arts events of the year will be performed this weekend. Marking the 25th anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s murder, Lafayette Master Chorale will collaborate with Purdue University Choir to present “Considering Matthew Shepard,” a three-part oratorio composed by Craig Hella Johnson. Johnson sets to music a wide range of poetic and soulful texts as he shares a tale both gripping and sorrowful, leading us from horror and grief to a “higher understanding of the human condition, enabling us to endure,” the composer stated. Under the baton of Lafayette Master Chorale artistic director Michael Bennett, 115 singers will join in harmony with a live orchestra for what Bennett describes as a “unique musical event (that) will provide the (Purdue) campus and community a sense of inclusion and respect. Moreover, we hope that the music and poetry will leave the audience feeling inspired and hopeful for a world where there is no hate, but rather peace and concord. Music is often the greatest healer, and we intend this remembrance to serve as an opportunity for the audience to be lifted up in the spirit of love and friendship.” On Oct. 6, 1998, 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was kidnapped, robbed, beaten and left tied to a fencepost outside Laramie, Wyoming. He died six days later, the victim of a hate crime. The sorrow of the tragedy was powerful but the memory, urge for change and now the music inspired from the devastating event has proved more powerful decades later. $22 in advance, $25 at the door, $10 for students over 18, free for students under 18. Tickets.
Lusso with Mucklo, 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31, People’s Brewing Company, 2006 N. Ninth St., Lafayette — Happy hour (in terms of the traditional soon-after-work time at a bar, not drink specials because of Indiana state laws) turns to haunting hours as People’s will present a rocking and groovy party to celebrate Halloween on actual Halloween. Costumes, prizes, dance-off and the vinyl joys of DJ Circle T, who will play “Monster Mash” at least several times (I’m kidding, hopefully), will set the table for two terrifyingly terrific sets from local psyche-rock act Mucklo and the mostly Indianapolis post punk/power pop quartet Lusso. Comprised of all homegrown Greater Lafayette dudes, Lusso had a killer headlining set at The Spot Tavern on Friday and will haunt their hometown again with a late ‘70s/’80s vibe but with phenomenal guitar jamming and infectious bass grooves, er, brooooves. $10. Tickets.
Tim Brouk is a longtime arts and entertainment reporter. He writes here (almost) weekly, tracking things to do for Based in Lafayette.
BONUS TRACKS
If all that isn’t scary enough, check the Tour of Terror, a Wabash Valley Trust for Historic Preservation production featuring stories of some of downtown Lafayette’s true crime/haunted past, leaving every half-hour from Civic Theatre of Lafayette, 320 N. Fifth St., starting at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 27-28. Tickets: $25 at the door.
Purdue Convos has a busy week on campus. Tonight/Thursday: Mean Girls, Elliott Hall of Music. Get in loser, we’re going to Elliott. It’s the Broadway version of the movie. You can’t sit with us … unless you get a ticket. Saturday: Humans 2.0 by Australian circus company Circa, Loeb Playhouse. Ongoing through Oct. 30: StairWELL, an interactive art installation Purdue Convocations and musicians Chromic Duo, is open 24 hours a day on the Third Street Chill Zone, near the intersection of Third Street and Martin Jischke Drive on campus. The interactive sculpture installation is designed to combine art, technology and clinical psychology, where viewers are able to interact with the pieces through a smartphone or other mobile device. It’s free. Tickets for the others? Available at convocations.org/tickets.
Humans 2.0 by Circa. (Photo: Purdue Convocations)
Thanks, again, for support today from Purdue Convocations, presenting MEAN GIRLS, Oct. 26 at Elliott Hall of Music – Get your tickets here.
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING BASED IN LAFAYETTE, AN INDEPENDENT, LOCAL REPORTING PROJECT. FREE AND FULL-RIDE SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS ARE READY FOR YOU HERE.
Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.