It is now officially the best month of the year! October is here, and with it comes the pretty autumn colors, buckets of candy corn, and watching the drunk “sexy nurses” puking on your neighbor’s front lawn at 2 in the morning on Halloween. Is that just my life?
It also means that there’s another round of excellent shows coming to the 9:30 Club all month long. Here is your October preview and an extra chance to win tickets to the show of your choice from the list below.
Flaming Lips, Fri 10/4 at Merriweather Post Pavilion
On November 29, the Flaming Lips will release their EP Peace Sword, inspired by the science fiction novel Ender’s Game. Originally, the band had signed on to write a song for the film adaptation in theaters November 1, but decided to extend the project to a full-length album.
“Our involvement is only with the music directors of the movie … but yeah … these are conflicts all big projects have to deal with. We try to do cool things with cool people that, obviously benefit us and the cool people we doing stuff with.” Catch them at Merriweather Post Pavilion on October 4, and maybe you’ll get to hear some of the sci-fi madness.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Sat 10/5
Back in July of this year, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah released an EP titled Little Moments and recently announced that a future untitled fourth album is in the works. After last year’s departure of Robbie Guertin and Tyler Sargent, the band is essentially making their 2013 debut as a brand new act.
“We’re going to mix [the new album] with Dave Fridmann, then we go on tour. People recently have been telling me I should try and work on some covers. These guys are really enamored with some of the covers I’ve been doing. I was thinking it would be nice to do a covers record.”
Father John Misty “Solo,” Wed 10/23
J. Tillman, also known as the former drummer for Fleet Foxes, released his debut album Fear Fun under his new moniker Father John Misty in May of 2012. Since then, the road for Father John Misty has been a shaman-filled, drug-induced fever dream criss-crossing over many planes of different existentialist worlds.
Through the end of this month Father John Misty is making his way across the country on his very own magical mystery tour before taking a break to work on some new songs for a future album. You can see him before his break at the 9:30 Club on Wednesday, October 23.
of Montreal, Wed 10/23 or Thurs 10/24 at U Street Music Hall
If there was ever one band created for the sole purpose of playing on or near Halloween, it’s of Montreal. Their live performances are a spectacle to say the least, staging hyper-theatrical sets with elaborate lighting, endless costume changes and synchronized dancing.
Although they won’t be making it to U Street Music Hall on Halloween, they’ll be there on October 23 and 24, which is close enough to put on that strange costume you have lurking in your closet and get weird with of Montreal at the show of your choice on either date.
Frightened Rabbit, Tues 10/29 Late Show
It’s only been a few weeks since the US got their version of the Late March Death March EP. The title track was pulled from the band’s recent full-length Pedestrian Verse, but the track listing is entirely different from the UK edition released months earlier. While the UK version includes a track with Manchester Orchestra called “Architect,” the US edition includes new songs “Radio Silence,” “Candlelit” and “Default Blues.” It also features a live version of “The Oil Slick,” which had also appeared on the UK EP.
Frightened Rabbit is on tour until the end of the month and will be at the 9:30 Club on October 29. You may hear songs from both the US and UK versions, as well as some tunes from the Pedestrian Verse LP.
Be sure to check back in throughout the month for more info about how to win a pair of tickets to each of the shows above. For an extra early entry, tell us below, the best Halloween concert you’ve ever been to and the show(s) of your choice.
