Photos from "Convention Hell" at Convention Hall, 10/31/15

Screaming Females as X

What Were You for Halloween?

Asbury Park's Dark City Entertainment and Promotions ramped up their Halloween covers show this year, moving it from the friendly confines of Wonder Bar to the cavernous Convention Hall and adding Screaming Females to the formerly all-local bill. With the stands in the space hidden behind blood red curtains, inverted crosses hanging from the ceiling, and coffins adorning the stage, Convention Hall had the feel of a purpose-built SRO venue decked out for Halloween. Costumed partiers filed in past the Dark City / Arcade Radio step and repeat banner for red carpet-style pictures, and they just kept coming as Convention Hall eventually packed out pretty nicely.

Ether Sunday / Yawn Mower opened as Nirvana, bringing Angie Sugrim out for one song and then ending their set with the destruction of their instruments during "Sliver." Dentist played it, probably, the least straight of any band doing a zombified Green Day. Billie Joe Armstrong was split into his masculine (Justin) and feminine (Emily) halves, and Dentist put their own twist on several Dookie classics. Des and The Swagmatics delivered an ambitious, super hero-themed and pretty amazing set as Stevie Wonder. They brought out horns, backup singers, dancers, and Sandy Mack. Jeff Plate, Pete Steinkopf, and members of The Parlor Mob had the crowd singing along to the blockbuster hits of Hall and Oates as Hall (Plate) and Oates and Oates and Oates and Oates.

Screaming Females went on just after 11:30 as X. They didn't break character for a second, Marissa Paternoster doing her best disaffected and blasé Exene and King Mike singing all of the John Doe parts. The late set went to Lost In Society as The Clash. Frontman Zach Moyle put his usual wild energy into a sing along set to close things out.

While Convention Hall is no Avery Fisher Hall in terms of acoustics, the night left me wanting to see more events in the space. Screaming Females doing Screaming Females could be nice. Throw one or two of our favorite locals on there doing their own songs, and you've got yourself a show.

Congratulations to Dark City Entertainment and everyone involved in pulling off Convention Hell for a great evening in an iconic space. See you before next year, I hope. Click through the links below for photos from all of the sets.

Screaming Females

Lost In Society

Jeff Plate / Pete Steinkopf / Parlor Mob

Des & The Swagmatics

Dentist

Ether Sunday / Yawn Mower

Screaming Females Headlining Dark City Entertainment's Halloween Show at Convention Hall

Screaming Females at Starland in July.

Convention Hell

I'd heard rumors about this, and I'll admit that I was a little skeptical. How could Dark City Entertainment's totally local (and totally fun and totally sold out) Halloween covers show get so much bigger after just one year? Well, you've got to hand it to Christine Feola. She announced something really big for this year's show.

New Brunswick's Screaming Females will headline this year's event, which takes place at Asbury Park's Convention Hall on Halloween Night, Saturday, October 31st. Dubbed "Convention Hell," the show will feature Screaming Females performing both their own originals and covers of songs by X, a Hall and Oates set from members of The Bouncing Souls and The Parlor Mob, Lost In Society doing The Clash, members of Ether Sunday and Yawn Mower performing as Nirvana, Dentist covering Green Day, and Des and The Swagmatics giving their take on Stevie Wonder.

The Battery Electric performing as The Misfits at last year's Dark City Halloween show.

That adds up to lots of our friends and favorites coming together for what sounds like a super fun Saturday night Halloween party.

Tickets for the 21 and over event go on sale this Friday, 9/11, at noon via Ticketmaster; but you'll also be able to grab tickets at Wonder Bar during Happy Mondays while they last.

And, and, and...  ...You can catch Screaming Females for FREE in New Brunswick's Boyd Park when they headline the Don Giovanni Showcase with Downtown Boys, Electric Trip, Izzy True, Wild Rice, Glazer, and Delucy this Saturday at noon.

Happy New Year!

The Little Dickman / CoolDad Music Holiday Benefit capped off a great 2014.

Thanks for an Amazing 2014

Just a little note to say thanks again and to wish you a peaceful and productive 2015. I might complain a lot. That's just a personality flaw of mine. Looking back, though, 2014 was a flat-out amazing year for me and for CoolDad Music.

Head on over to the CoolDad Music Instagram where I'll continue to post some #BestOf2014 memories throughout the evening.

And don't forget, our great friends in The Battery Electric are over at Asbury Lanes tonight opening for The Detroit Cobras. Lots of our other buds are playing the Dark City Entertainment 90s show at Wonder Bar.

I'll be home with the family enjoying a nice meal and playing some 2014 vinyl. Those of you who are Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans may remember that, in the Buffyverse, demons and monsters stayed in and didn't do any monster-y stuff on Halloween. That's me on New Year's Eve every year, and I love it.

Be safe. Hug and kiss your friends and family. Keep stopping by here to see what's up and to say hi.

Onward and upward in 2015!

I'll see you at a show.

Peace.