HUMP DAY HAPPENINGS: ALL HALLOW'S EVE EDITION

HUMP DAY HAPPENINGS: ALL HALLOW'S EVE EDITION
Robyn Schindeldecker

"Chicka-BOOM!"

For sexy nurses and librarians, itʼs just another day. For the rest of us, Halloween is our foremost opportunity to search the darkest and most fantastical recesses of our minds to concoct the ultimate alter ego. From costume contests to eerie excursions, this yearʼs Devilʼs Day hoopla runs the gamut from titillating to the truly terrifying.

BareBones 19th Annual Halloween Outdoor Puppet Extravaganza: “Chicka-BOOM!”
What better place to celebrate the autumnal arc of death than along the banks of the life-affirming Mississippi River? Inspired by historical and literary themes and accompanied by the Brass Messengers, this outdoor puppet extravaganza is your one-stop shop for performance art alfresco.
(7pm, Hidden Falls Regional Park, 1305 S Mississippi River Blvd, St. Paul, MN 55116, pay-what-you-can)

The Real Ghost Tours: Halloween Event
Don your phantom-hunting equipment and explore the occult as Curt guides you through Father Hennepin Park and leads an orb and faery class. Crave more of the supernatural? Katy will hold a seance in one of the area’s most haunted locales. Banish any lingering apparitions with light snacks, beverages, music, and costume contests.
(7pm, St. Anthony Main, 125 Main St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414, $40)

First Avenueʼs Halloween Party & Costume Contest
Billed as the best Halloween party in town, the esteemed danceteria pulls out all the stops. Follow the lure of a $1,000-prize costume contest downtown to where host Ian Rans and DJs Soviet Panda, Roy Freedom, and Smitty saturates the mainroom with spooktacular sounds.
(8pm, First Avenue, 701 First Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55403, $5-10)

Halloween Speakeasy
Enter another era with Clubhouse Jägerʼs Prohibition-themed party. Replete with classic cocktails, a jazz and ragtime soundtrack, a stylized photo booth, and costume contest, you’re encouraged to come dressed to the nines in your dapper duds and flapper frocks.
(8pm, Clubhouse Jäger, 923 Washington Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55401, $5-10)

Release The Bats: A Transmission Halloween
The weekly dance night invades Dinkytown's historic theater with the ambient sounds of goth, darkwave, and industrial, as well as a Halloween edition of "Anything Goes." From Ministry to Depeche Mode, from Echo & the Bunnymen to seasonal staple "Thriller," DJ Jake Rudh has you covered.

Transmission's DJ Jake Rudh

(9pm, Varsity Theater, 1308 4th St SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414, free)

Twin Cities Halloween Party List! 2012

Halloween in the Twin Cities is always an amazing time. The clubs get sexy, the live music gets wilder, and the special events keep us busy pretty much every day. Here is a list of our top picks for this Halloween Season.

EVENTS

10/25 - 11/3 
Twin Cities Horror Festival - Southern Theater
Event Link : ThriftyHipster Link

For ten days this fall, seven different groups present an exploration of the genres of horror through a multitude of performance disciplines at the 2012 Twin Cities Horror Festival at the Southern Theater. The festival features local theater, storytelling, dance and music artists presenting their take on the theme of “horror.” The festival will present more than 30 performances over two weekends with a costume dance party and late night horror film showing on Halloween night. Festival shows include Ghost Force: Search for the Truth by Mike Fotis, the psychological horror-comedy Harold by Four Humors Theater, an original horror film score by The Poor Nobodys, the bloody thriller Senseless by RedRawMeat Productions, a one-woman musical The Legend of White Woman Creek by Nick Ryan and Katie Hartman, Bump in the Night by Erin Sheppard featuring dance and storytelling, and the horrifying magic of God Damned Son of a Bitch by Tim Uren.

Saturday, October 27th

Devilishly Delightful Halloween Costume Ball
Amsterdam Bar, $15/20
A sexy Halloween show with the girls of Le Cirque Rogue! Come see them perform the Ballet of the Dolls with live music from the Fates Palette and Cournty McLean and the Dirty Curls. But that's not all! This party is packed with crowd-interacting feats of freakishness by the Switchblade Side Show; carnival-style performers of straightjacket escapes, razor swallowing, whips, and magic. Oh, and tarot reading too! Costume Contest at 12am.



Halloween Costume Party
Memory Lanes, Free
Come celebrate the festivities with live music and bowling! 2nd Annual costume contest and Halloween party with Prissy Clerks, Food Pyramid, Friends by Fire. DJ Garrison Grouse and VJ Mach Fox keep the party moving.

Wednesday, October 31st

Best Halloween Party In Town
First Avenue, $5 adv, $10 door
They really aren't lying. I've been to this party several years in a row. Sure, I TRIED to change it up. Did the club thing at Soundbar and Lounge. Tried the burbs and Myth. I even went to campus Library... But NEVER will you have so much fun than at First Avenue.  This annual event brings out the biggest party and best costumes! DJ's Soviet Panda, Espada, Smitty, Roy Freedom, and many more play in the main room, entry, and Record Room. 
The contest it's self is for $1000, so make sure you get there early to get in the entry pool.  Hosted by drinking with Ian.

Psychotic Halloween Costume Party
Phycho Suzi's, $30-35 All inclusive, 7-10pm
Don't want to worry about buying drinks all night? Then come down to Psycho Suzi's Shangri-La Cocktail Lounge where your ticket gets you unlimited drinks and a little bit of nosh as well. Live music, slasher films, photo booth, and a whole lot of shenanigans...

Halloween Speakeasy - 8pm
Clubhouse Jaeger, $8-10, $5 after 10pm
Back the flash and glam of the 1920's! DJ Dirty McKenzie is teaming up with Blacklist Vintage to bring an awesome costume contest and prohibition-era drink specials and appetizer buffet. Photo booth too! After 10pm Dirty, Bryann Gerrard, and SL8R

Also this holiday season...

Phantasmagoria - Saturday November 3
Rock the Cause, $30
Dress up like your favorite rock star and come Rock the Cause! This party is held at 2601 Sunset Blvd next to Lake of the Isles... This is a REAL cool place; 35 themed rooms, nosh from Muddy Paws and Bikery Du Nord, and free drinks from Schells and Saint Croix Vineyards.  Live music with Viva Kinevil.

Dead Writer's Society - Tuesday October 30th
Kieran's Irish Pub, $5 (donation)
Dress up like your favorite writer or just come by and enjoy the ambiance. An event featuring Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Anne Sexton, Virginia Wolf... they'll all be there. Open mic reading at 6:15pm then a Quija seance with local authors Scott Wrobel, Matt Rasmussen, Nona Carlson and hosted by radio Paranormal's Dave Schrader. Costume prizes and parlor games.

Surly Darkness Day

I remember a time when lines formed around the block for the first release of "Darkness"... A limited release beer that has gone for (on ebay, no lie) $1500 for 2-750ml bottles of the stuff!

This Surly staple day has since become famous, and now is another reason to party. It's an all-out buy Surly stuff day.  

Want to try the Darkness? This may very well be your only opportunity to try it! Limited release means if you don't get a wristband for the day, you probably won't have it (though we have see it a few times at Grumpy's NE)... Anyway, the release has turned in to quit the party! An full day to celebrate Halloween and the DARKNESS, a beer created by rocker-turned-head-brewer Todd Haug. 

Info:

• Saturday, 10/27/2012: 11am-6pm at the Surly Brewery
• Food Trucks: Stanleys, Nate Dogs, Chef Shack, Barrio, Smack Shack, and more
• Music: God Came from Space, We are Legion, Wolvhammer, Powermad (Todd's band)

IT'S 'WICHCRAFT

IT'S 'WICHCRAFT

Robyn Schindeldecker

“If it isn’t nestled between two slices of bread, is it still considered a sandwich?” The disagreement over what constitutes a proper sandwich is a debate for another time and place (never and nowhere, preferably). Whether you call it a sub, hoagie, panini, melt, gyro, or wrap, what really matters is the satisfaction you feel after taking the last bite and before noticing the mayonnaise stains covering your Zubaz. 

Here are five Twin Cities purveyors of the ultimate portable meal. 

Acme Deli, 1552 St. Clair Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105

Located in the heart of the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood, Acme Deli supplies St. Paulites with the quintessential lunchtime staple. Simply mosey on up to the counter, snag an order sheet, and construct your own sandwich by choosing from ten varieties of bread, eleven different meats, eight kinds of cheese, thirteen toppings, and four condiment options. It’s a tasty Choose Your Own Adventure for a palatable $5.05. 

Be’wiched Deli, 800 North Washington Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55401

Reminiscent of cross-sections depicting geological phenomena, Be’wiched’s colossal piles of fixings aren’t so much sandwiches as they are lessons in gustatory endurance. The magic that this North Loop favorite is capable of creating is epitomized by its pastrami on rye. While a double will cost you $13.50, the heap of house-cured smoky meat, pickled cabbage, and coarse-grain mustard will inspire awe from your dining companions. 

Caffrey’s Deli & Subs, 3008 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55408

Jasmine Deli's bánh mì.

Valued as much for its convenient central location and long hours as it is for its fare, this Lyn-Lake establishment has satisfied many late-night cravings. As the temperature decreases and your predilection for staying indoors correspondingly increases, take advantage of Caffrey’s vast delivery range and acquire a Blue Cow or Havin’ a Ball without setting foot in the snow.

Jasmine Deli, Nicollet Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55404

If a menu item’s worth could be measured by its appearance on vibrantly-colored t-shirts, then Jasmine Deli’s bánh mì would be considered a resounding success. For a modest $4, let a crusty baguette act as an edible vehicle for delivering a delightful shock of grilled beef, pickled carrots, sprigs of cilantro, and cucumber to your system. It’s a formula that merits multiple visits to this Eat Street fixture.

Manny’s Tortas, Midtown Global Market, 920 East Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN 55407 and Mercado Central, 1515 East Lake Street, Minneapolis, MN 55407

Manny's Tortas' pork loin torta.

While crossword puzzles would have you believe otherwise (clue: a four-letter word for crunchy sandwich; answer: taco), the torta is Mexico’s true contribution to the sandwich taxonomy. On this front, Manny’s superbly executes a succulent pork loin version with supporting roles from lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado, onions, jalapeños, beans, and chipotle pepper mayo, which are then pressed together inside a thick white roll.

4ONTHEFLOOR: A QUADRUPLE AURAL THREAT

4ONTHEFLOOR: A QUADRUPLE AURAL THREAT

Robyn Schindeldecker

With nary a look behind them (Howler, what? Jordan Gatesmith, who?), 4onthefloor will storm into First Avenue this Friday for what promises to be a “massive night,” according to lead singer Gabriel Douglas. The quartetof heavy-hitting bass drummers will release the single “Howl For Me” (okay, so maybe they didn’t forget about Howler entirely) on a split 7” vinyl. It won’t take long before the infectiously forward-propelling rhythm will have you pouring back bourbon in 4/4 time.

4onthefloor

Comprising the other half of the split 7” is the single “Ocean Green” from local up-and-comers Heartbeats. What began as a studio-recording project between friends soon morphed into this year’s Driving in the Night, a concept album featuring an amalgamation of dense layers of production and dark lyrical imagery about metropolis life.

Retribution Gospel Choir

Duluth’s Retribution Gospel Choir is not your ordinary choir. Behind frontman Alan Sparhawk’s thunderous guitar riffs and drummer Eric Pollard and bassist Steve Garrington’s muscle car rhythm section, RGC adroitly traverses gritty rock ‘n’ roll and surges straight into power pop and arena rock territory. Fresh off the release of the Revolution EP earlier this year, the trio will fill the Mainroom with its trademark roaring anthems and titanic dynamic range.

Rounding out the lineup is Filligar, who will race into town in their affectionately dubbed tour van, Dee Dee. Joining the ranks of brother rock bands, Johnny, Pete, and Teddy Mathias, along with childhood friend Casey Gibson will flaunt their retro-infused contemporary sound. With eight albums to their name and influences as disparate as the Rolling Stones and Radiohead, this Chicagoan quartet promises to show just why they are billed as one of today's most highly lauded young rock bands.

Where? First Avenue, 701 1st Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55403

When? Friday, October 12, 7:00PM doors, 9:00PM showtime

18+, $10