Don’t scare easily, you say? How terrifying is this — Halloween falls on a Friday night. That means every pub, bar, nightclub, thirst parlor, watering hole, tavern, saloon, juke joint, and any other legal libation station will be throwing a Halloween party. Most of them include costume contests with prizes ranging from promotional T-shirts to the almighty American dollar. A few drinking establishments decided to celebrate the hallowed holiday on Saturday night, so look closely at the pub crawl for Halloween Part II.
The Underground City Tavern (The Illinois Times “Best Live Venue” for 2003) celebrates one year in the bar business this week with several great live acts that really exemplify the range of roots music passing through the club. Halloween will be dripping in Chicago-style alt-country flavor, as Old No. 8 and the Outlaw Family Band scares the dickens out of unsuspecting downstaters. Saturday, Frank Morey, a singer-songwriter from Lowell, Mass., who has staked out a spot somewhere between Townes Van Zandt and Tom Waits, scares up a few tunes from America’s underbelly. The Del McCoury Band takes the honored position of “Official Anniversary Party Band” on Sunday. The River Ramblers open the show at 8 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom. After Del and the Boys finish, Green Mountain Grass completes the party in the UCT proper. Monday, the celebration continues with a return performance by the esteemed Commander Cody. George (what his mother called him) drinks shots of tequila and pounds the piano while singing and leading his band through a veritable cornucopia of all-American rock-n-roll. Tuesday, a very famous singer-songwriter most of us have never heard of comes to the UCT. Steve Poltz, who co-wrote “You Were Meant for Me” for Jewel (and starred in the video), has played with greats like Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Jewel, and Lucinda Williams. He waltzes on to the UCT stage, after playing some of the best listening rooms in the U.S. of A. in the last week. Whew, Happy Anniversary, baby!
You mid-week live music lovers and musicians looking to play around need to check out a couple new open mics. Danny, Sevin, & Geoff moved their operations to the Forty Niner Bye-Bye on Tuesdays from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., with a set-up for full bands to join in the open stage frolic. Hot Property, one of Capital City’s finest and funnest (really) rock groups, hold court at Four Seasons on Wednesday from 8 to 11 p.m., for members of the musical community to share in the wealth of song.
Have a perilous and terrifying — better make that a safe and happy — Halloween
adventure and a week of wonderful music watching.
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2003.
