17 events happening this weekend that you probably didn't know about

Friday, 10/21
Halloween cover show
@ PJ’s Lager House
An institution for at least seven years now, the PJ’s Halloween cover show is largely regarded as the most original and the most real of all of the Halloween cover showcases. It’s cheap, it’s highly fun, and you know the drill: Bands come together just for tonight, performing onstage as the original acts under their names. These aren’t professional tribute bands. They’re your favorite local musicians doing what they did when they were alone at home in their bedroom at the age of 12: pretending to be Joan Jett or D. Boon. Tonight’s lineup mixes the coolster, the schmaltz, the real, and the ridiculous. We’ve got Big Star, Roy Orbison, Lemonheads, the Urinals, Spinal Tap, and “Andrew Dice Clay vs. Rodney Dangerfield.” What a fabulous time! Doors at 8 p.m.; 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; pjslagerhouse.com; $4.

Friday, 10/21
Mega 80’s Halloween Spooktacular
@ The Magic Bag
Mega 80’s Halloween Spooktacular is back again, so grab out your leg warmers and get your Flock of Seagulls hair-do ready to go, because this is the only ’80s party that matters. Mega 80’s will play all of your favorite hair-metal hits, and classic teen slasher flicks will play in the background (hence the “spooky,” part). It’s going to be a blast (from the past), so get ready to bask in the nostalgia and, of course, the fake mullets. Doors open at 8 p.m.; 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; themagicbag.com; Tickets are $15.

Friday, 10/21
Nick Offerman
@ The Michigan Theater
The Man. The Mustache. The Legend. Nick Offerman’s stopping by the Michigan Theater on a 13-city tour to promote his latest how-to book, Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop. The book, which follows in the light-hearted tradition of his previous works Paddle Your Own Canoe and Gumption, will be a must-read for those missing Swanson-ian sensibility since the finale of Parks and Recreation. Audience members will get to partake in a discussion with the bearded woodworker, learn about craftsmanship, and get a copy of Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop signed. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.; 603 E. Liberty St., Ann Arbor; michigantheater.org; Tickets are $39.50 and $49.50.