I Want Candy
Have an excessive amount of neon and a passion for Joy Division? Get your buns to the Spare Room’s Halloween soiree—a neon costume party set to New Wave tunes—hosted by retro record-spinners DJ Gregarious and DJ Cooky Parker. Guaranteed to include tricks and treats. (Sat Oct 26, 9 pm, The Spare Room, $10) ALEX ZIELINSKI
Halloween at the Kennedy School
Ironically, the Kennedy School isn’t particularly well-known for it’s kid-friendly events. Which is part of the charm, of course! Getting tipsy having grown-up fun in a renovated school is why you’re there! But on Halloween, grown-ups and their young ones get to feel like a kid again, with live music from Coastline in the gym, trick-or-treating in the halls starting at 4:30 pm, and a special performance of Frankenstein by the Willamette Radio Workshop performers. (Thurs Oct 31, 4 pm, McMenamins Kennedy School, free, all ages)
Killer Pumpkin Fest
A one-day mini-beerfest focused on the wonderfulness of taking pumpkins and turning them into beers, with Rogue providing a whole bunch of actual pumpkins to bowl, decorate, carve, and/or smash, with the kitchen providing a special pumpkin menu to pair with the abundance of pumpkin ales to sample. Also featuring costume contests for kids, grown-ups, and even your dogs. Proceeds benefit Camp Ukandu. (Sat Oct 26, 11 am, Rogue Eastside Pub & Pilot Brewery, $5, all ages)
No Fun Halloween Rock n Roll Covers Show
No Fun gets in on the Halloween cover band action, with the Decliners paying tribute to an array of legendary Pacific NW bands, Death Party bringing the sounds of the Gun Club, Noise Annoys doing their finest Buzzcocks, and the Lobotomen rounding out the proceedings with the songs of the Ramones. (Fri Oct 25, 9 pm, No Fun, $5)
Night Heron, Kileo, After Play
A trio of up-and-coming local acts grace the Bunk Bar stage with some soulful indie rock and synthy slow jams. (Fri Oct 25, 8:30 pm, Bunk Bar, $8)
Freeform’s Haunted Prom
The beloved volunteer-run and listener-supported radio station throws a Halloween Prom at the Kenton Club, with live cover sets from Someday Girls (Blondie), Feet Happening (Beat Happening), Love is a Trashcan (The Raveonettes), along with spooky interludes from an array of Freeforms DJ’s. (Fri Oct 25, 8 pm, The World Famous Kenton Club, $7)
Out/Loud
A special Halloween installment of Kelly’s bi-monthly Out/Loud showcase spotlighting local bands with queer members, with live music from Orkis, Viir, Kitty Crimes, and Tolly, along with special drag sets from Zadae and Ruby Delish. (Fri Oct 25, 9 pm, Kelly’s Olympian, $7-10)
Saeeda Wright
Join vocalist Saeeda Wright for a night filled with soul, jazz, and gospel sounds. (Sat Oct 26, 9 pm, Bluehour, free)
Shaylee, DIY Sluts, Easy There Tiger, Twin Chicken
No Fun hosts an album release show for The Life & Misadventures of Shaylee & Tarantula, the second album from Portland power-pop and punk rock artist Shaylee. DIY Sluts, Easy There Tiger, and Twin Chicken round out the proceedings. (Sat Oct 26, 9 pm, No Fun, $5)
Beacon Quarterly Magazine: No. 10 Four Eyes
Beacon Quarterly Magazine celebrates the release of their 10th issue, Four Eyes, with a Haloween-themed party exploring the role of eyes in horror films. Enjoy live music from Amenta Abioto and snacks and cocktails from Clyde Common. Dressing in costume is encouraged. (Sat Oct 26, 5 pm, Ace Hotel, free w/ rsvp)
Halloween Bingo
The Siren hosts a Halloween party that hearkens back to the days of hairspray and polyester, cigarettes and coffee, daubers full of bingo ink and hyper-competitive old people matching numbers and letters. Jed Arkley and Erin Jean O’Regan host this throwback afternoon complete with prizes and mimosas. Come in costume! Well, you don’t have to, but it’d be cooler if you did! (Sun Oct 27, 11 am, Siren Theater, $5)
Disassturbator, Fat Kitten, Scrips, Chin Chin
Disassturbator heads up the latest installment of K-HOLE at the Kenton Club with their rowdy, noisy, and exuberantly psychedelic blend of post-punk and metal. Fat Kitten, Scrips, and Chin Chin and round out the Sunday-night bill. (Sun Oct 27, 9 pm, The World Famous Kenton Club, free)
Halloween Hootenanny
The Delta Cafe hosts an all-ages costume party and contest, with pumpkin decorating and face painting starting at 4 pm, followed by live Jazz from the Patrick Foit Quartet at 8 pm, along with all the southern food and cocktails you’d expect from the Delta. (Sun Oct 27, 4 pm, Delta Cafe, free, all ages)
East & West: A Special Evening of Song
A unique opportunity to enjoy the opera for free thanks to this sampler Portland Opera is presenting, with members and guest artists performing selections fromAn American Dream , a contemporary opera about WWII-era Japanese Americans mistreated by our government. (Tues Oct 29, 7 pm, Whitsell Auditorium, free, all ages)
Barna Howard, Justin Peter Kinkel-Schuster, Spencer Thomas
There was a time when country balladeers like Barna Howard were a dime a dozen. The scope of Howard’s Midwestern missives extends well beyond its regional boundaries, finding a home wherever the acoustics resonate best. But in 2018, his real-deal sentimentalism is a treat, and a throwback to the storytelling of songwriters like John Prine and Townes Van Zandt. Howard’s steadied tunes drip with nostalgia, especially on his sophomore album Quite a Feelin’, released in 2015 via Mama Bird Recording Co. The easy-does-it range of poignant songs like “Indiana Rose” and “Rooster Still Crows” pairs timelessly with more rugged barn-scorchers like “Pull Us Back or Wind Us Up.” In either gear, Howard’s boy-next-door charms and unwavering relatability make him one of the best songwriters in Portland and beyond. (Tues Oct 29, 9 pm, The Liquor Store, $10)
No Aloha, Bad Phantom, Yellow Room, Wild Shape
Singer/songwriter Brette Irish and her rising local indie-pop outfit No Aloha come to Bunk Bar for a big night of bold music with Bad Phantom, Yellow Room, and Wild Shape filling out the bill. (Wed Oct 30, 9 pm, Bunk Bar, $10)
Funk N’ Roses
In-demand bassist Brett McConnell (Shafty, the Asher Fulero Band, Fresh Track) heads up his annual funky tribute to Guns N’ Roses with help from a full rhythm section, a three-piece horn section, and vocalist Aniana channeling a mean Axl Rose. (Wed Oct 30, 10 pm, Goodfoot, $8)
Videodrone: All Hallows Eve Eve Ball & Costume Party
Century celebrates Halloween eve with a night of dark goth and horror music, live video mixing, tarot reading, and a costume contest, featuring visuals by Sean Sisson, DJ sets from Body Inc., spooky music from Kimberly Henninger and Shawn Parke, tarot readings by Miss McCoy, and more. (Wed Oct 30, 10 pm, Century, $5)
Halloween Punk Rock Massacre!
A quartet of rowdy bands get together to provide all the tricks and treats your punk-loving ears can take, with sets from Lobotomen, The Chippunks, Danzig Fever, and Hauer Things. (Thurs Oct 31, 8 pm, The World Famous Kenton Club, $5)
A Hip-Hop Halloween
The Underground Unheard crew takes over the Big Legrowlski for a Halloween night sure to deliver if you were hoping to bring home a pillowcase full of raw raps and big beats, with performances from Bobby FKN White, Seven daPantha, Mr. Yuck, DJ Whistleblower, and DJ Spinitch. (Thurs Oct 31, 8 pm, The Big Legrowlski, free)
Davis Graveyard
One of the greatest joys of Halloween is seeing property owners who really GET INTO IT. Behold Milwaukie’s Davis Graveyard, in which the owners have constructed an extremely detailed cemetery in their front yard, including all manner of ghosts, spooks, specters, monsters, howling, moaning, and things that jump up at you unexpectedly, making you scream and potentially die in embarrassment. It’s the best. (Thurs Oct 31, Davis Graveyard, free, all ages) WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
There’s even more to do in our Cheap, Free, & Fun calendar, and don’t forget to check out our Things To Do calendar for even more things to do!