Halloween is upon us once again and, while some of us don’t need a special occasion to get dressed outrageously and act with the appropriate foolishness that our clothing dictates, it is nice to have such behavior universally sanctioned, if only for one night. Thankfully, there seems to be an endless selection of events and distractions in the area this Halloween weekend to cater to our collective desires to let our freak flags fly high and unfettered.
Halloween Rocks!
Halloween is going to be especially loud as some colorful music groups converge upon area venues to rock the house this weekend.
U.K. throwback glitter rockers The Darkness brings the bombast to Devil’s Night 8 p.m. Oct. 30 at TLA, 334 South St.; 215-922-1011. On the other side of the rock spectrum, Philadelphia punk rockers The Dead Milkmen headline a pre-Halloween show 8 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215-922-6888. If you want to get your Sergeant Pepper on, catch Ringo Star & His All-Star Band 8 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Tower Theater, 69th and Ludlow streets; 610-353-0313.
The music ramps up the freak factor on Halloween night with Dracula’s Ball, featuring the gothic-electro sounds of Combichrist and the dark new-wave group Birthday Massacre, 8 p.m. Oct. 31 at the Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215-922-6888. Up in Allentown, things get heavy and spooky with the metallic sounds of Motionless in White and The Devil Wears Prada, 8 p.m. Oct. 31 at Crocodile Rock Café, 520 W. Hamilton St.; 610-351-0363. Down in Wilmington, Baltimore-based experimental trip-hop duo Ego Likeness holds court at 8 p.m. Oct. 31 at Asylum 13, 1706 Philadelphia Pike; 302-746-2213.
Halloween Parties!
More than a few Gayborhood haunts are turning up for Halloween in grand fashion with over-the-top drag, burlesque and costume parties for partiers.
A-listers will be vamping it up at Peter Sterling Halloween Ball 2015, celebrating its fifth year of top-shelf Halloween party thrills 9 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Field House, 1150 Filbert St.; 215-629-1520.
Josh Schonewolf’s Burlesque Halloween Ball, hosted by Honeytree Evil Eye, features performances by MacKenzie Moltov, Mika Romantic, Miss Maxxie Ford, Aurora Whorealis, Mr. Kikkoman and Victoria Page 9 p.m. Oct. 30 at Pennsylvania Six, 114 S. 12th St.; 267-639-5606.
Queer-run BASH Events hosts Circus Freak, a Halloween blowout and benefit for the William Way LGBT Community Center, featuring performances by The Goddess Isis, Masokiss, Sara & Company and The Notorious OMG. Hors d’oeuvres by Chef Alyssa and music by DJ Kash sweeten the deal, 9 p.m. Oct. 31 at Tabu, 200 S. 12th St.; 215-964-9675.
If superheroes or taking over the world is more your thing, put on your cape and tights and head over to SawTown’s Halloween Celebration with the theme of superheroes and supervillains. Prizes will be given out for the best costumes, and DJ Justin will provide the music for the evening, 9 p.m. at SawTown Tavern, 4717 Princeton Ave.; 215-332-1699.
If you want to spend Halloween surrounded by athletes, Philadelphia Falcons Soccer Club is hosting a Halloween Costume Party 9 p.m. Oct. 31 at Stir Lounge, 1705 Chancellor St.; 215-732-2700.
Philly’s longest-running and heavily queer-populated Halloween bash, Henri David Presents Halloween The Ball, returns 9 p.m. Oct. 31 at Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel, 201 N. 17th St. Get ready for some outrageous costumes. Tickets are $25 for those in costume and $60 for party poopers; tickets are available at the door or in advance at Halloween, 1329 Pine St.
No One Can Hear You Scream!
If you want to spend Halloween away from the hustle and bustle of the big scary city, you can head into the woods and still get dressed up for the occasion. Rainbow Mountain Resort is hosting a Halloween Drag Show, hosted by Scarlet Lettah, 8 p.m. Oct. 30 and a Halloween Costume Party, with cash prizes for best costumes and karaoke, 8 p.m. Oct. 31 at 210 Mount Nebo Road, East Stroudsburg; 570-223-8484.
If you are shore-bound for Halloween and you want to see some real blood and violence, and a bunch of nearly naked, supposedly heterosexual guys, sweaty and grappling for your entertainment, The Cage Fury Fighting Championships are going down 6 p.m. Oct. 31 at The Borgata Casino and Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City; 609-317-1000.
Have fun and save us some candy!