Creepy Cheapy Halloween Party Returns to The Crofoot

The Crofoot’s annual Halloween Party - Creepy Cheapy Halloween Treat IV - is one of the most talked about Halloween parties in the area, and this year’s presale tickets sold more than any other local show the venue has ever hosted. If you were one of many waiting in line for over an hour Friday night, this fact wouldn’t come as a shock. Hundreds were packed into the two-story building, which held five stages. Local bands played covers and donned costumes of infamous bands: Wilson as AC/DC, Jesse and the Gnome as Radio Head, and more. There were times when you would have to wait ten minutes just to make it down to the second level in between sets, where you’d learn more about the anatomy of the person next to you than you’d ever care to know. And don’t even bother trying to find that friend you lost earlier, they’ve been swallowed into the mix. Annoying? Maybe. But if there is one thing you could say about the Crofoot Friday night, it was anything but boring. Crowd favorites included Oblisk as Joy Division. Singer Asim Akhtar was all elbows and legs – sporting some Ian Curtis-worthy vocals and dance moves during the cover of “Transmission.” The singing, screaming crowds of people watching Man Halen cover Van Halen were almost louder than the music that echoed through the dozens of amps ahead. The Marvins as Stone Temple pilots had plenty of women gushing over vocalist and guitarist Peter LeClaire - who worked the crowd while channeling his inner Scott Weiland (although he bared a strong resemblance to Hyde from That 70’s Show). Arguably stealing the show was Child Bite as Nine Inch Nails. It doesn’t even matter that you can’t understand anything keyboardist, guitarist and vocalist Shawn Knight is screaming about half the time, the fact of the matter is, he’s entertaining to watch – and he never disappoints from one wild stage tactic to the next – a plan I’m sure never goes through his head while he wilding out. One minute he’s wrapping himself up in Halloween decorations, banging his fists on his floor, the next he’s nose-diving into the crowd without a second’s worth of warning. Child Bite even had the girls in your typical half-naked nurse and bunny costumes banging their heads and pumping their fists – joining the mosh pit that stirred up the crowd and had the security guards on their feet for the rest of the night. Before you could blink, members from the crowd began to crash the stage, knocking into Knight who didn’t look the slightest bit perplexed – until the security guards began thrusting people off stage – including a man in a giant robot costume. It’s worth mentioning that while all this was going on, guitarist Brandon Sczomak hurled a giant amp over his head that came crashing into the stage, and bassist Sean Clancy spun in circles on the floor shredding his guitar. Rock n’ roll.

Add a Halloween costume contest that offered free shows at The Crowfoot as prizes, and a bunch of people with stomachaches from a candy-eating contest, and you got one heck of a Halloween Party.