In the spirit of Halloween, this week’s DevilPass is a bit more spirited, a bit more participatory and a lot more FUN. In a week filled with Important Things, sing-along folk-punk, Edgar Allen Poe, zany J-punk, and haunted history tours, smiles and scares are the top priority.
- Friday, Oct. 26
- 7:30 p.m. & 9:45 p.m. shows
- StandUp Live: 50 W. Jefferson St.
- Getting there: Walk — Central Ave. and Washington St.
- Price: $35 in advance at standuplive.com
Recommended if You Like: non-sequiturs, Steven Wright, intellectual comedy
Actor, best-selling author, comedian. Yep, that’s Demetri Martin I’m talking about. This son of a Greek Orthodox priest has carved a unique niche for himself. After a brief appearance on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, Martin rode his moment in the sun on to an extremely successful one-man-show at the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival. From there, Martin had successful turns on both The Daily Show and Late Night with Conan O’Brien, before striking gold with his own comedy, culminating in 2006’s “These Are Jokes.” Since that big break, Martin has taken shots at acting (“Taking Woodstock”) and writing (“This is A Book”), though he has never left behind his love for comedy. In Phoenix for the second time in a year, Martin is taking on the city’s premier comedy venue, StandUp Live. Tickets are still available for now, but don’t count on them to be much longer.
- Friday-Sunday, Wednesday, Oct. 26-28, 31
- 8:00 p.m. (Friday, Saturday and Wednesday) and 2:00 p.m. (Sunday)
- Soul Invictus: 1022 NW Grand Ave.
- Getting there: Bike — Grand between Tenth and Eleventh avenues
- Price: $20 in advance at poefest.org
Recommended if You Like: horror poetry, Edgar Allen Poe, edu-tainment
As any middle-schooler knows, Poe is the cream of most people’s poetry crop. For the non-poetry-inclined, there is no better gateway drug than the macabre work of Edgar Allen Poe. Each October for the past three years, Arizona Curriculum Theater has brought to life the short stories and poems of who many consider the greatest American horror writer of all time. Throughout the month, the group takes the stage in the small blackbox stage of Soul Invictus. Each night of the production features a varying set of works. This weekend, keep your eyes peeled for performances of “Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Raven,” “The Black Cat” and “Annabel Lee,” culminating in a four-part showcase on Halloween night. Get up close and personal with some of the grisliest recorded crimes of the 19th century.
- Sunday, Oct. 28
- 7:30 p.m. Doors, 8:00 p.m. Show
- The Trunk Space: 1506 NW Grand Ave.
- Getting there: Bike — 15th and Grand avenues
- Price: $14 in advance at statesidepresents.com or Stinkweeds, or at the door
Recommended if You Like: Oreskaband, pop-punk, Kaiju Big Battel
Each donning a distinct monochromatic outfit, wielding guitars and primed to put the fun back in punk rock, Peelander-Z doesn’t mess around. Playing simple three-chord jams at breakneck speeds, accompanied by silly, chantable lyrics, this Japanese-via-New York band takes the greatest elements of their homeland’s modern culture and blends them with the reckless abandon of American punk. The group’s elaborate stage show has at times included placards with the band’s lyrics, giant inflatable bowling pins, pro-wrestling equipment and other zany accoutrements, all adding to their comic-book style. And if ever there was a time to catch the band live, it’s now: Peelander Red, the band’s bassist, is retiring from the group at the end of this tour. If that wasn’t incentive enough, in Phoenix only, the band will be joined by both Electric Eel Shock and long-time Trunk Space-favorite, Jason Anderson of Wolf Colonel.
Phoenix Tours: America’s Most Infamous Murderess and Haunted Phoenix
- Sunday, Oct. 28
- 2:00-3:30 p.m. (Winnie Ruth Judd); 4:00-5:30 p.m. (Haunted Phoenix)
- Both tours begin at the Clarendon Hotel: 401 W. Clarendon
- Getting there: Rail — Central Ave. and Indian School Rd. light rail stop
- Price: $45 in advance for both tours or $25 each at http://wrj28.eventbrite.com/ and http://hauntdphx28.eventbrite.com/
Recommended if You Like: Phoenix history, spooky tales, classic buildings
Phoenix’s own Marshall Shore is at it again, bigger and better than ever before, celebrating Halloween in true HIP-storian fashion: with tours and wonky history. Continuing his annual tradition of Winnie Ruth Judd tours, Shore is expanding his offerings this year with an all-new tour of haunted Phoenix. The Judd tour follows the path of the legendary Phoenix murderess, known the world-over for allegedly murdering the other two members of a powerful, glamorous love triangle. For the Haunted Phoenix tour, Shore promises stops at the site of “Arizona Republic” reporter Don Bolles’ infamous car bombing, the Orpheum Hotel, Pioneer and Military Memorial Park, Hotel San Carlos and a much-anticipated look at the interior of the shell of Historic First Baptist Church. Both tours begin and end at the mid-century Clarendon Hotel, which will be running horrifying drink specials all evening, accompanied by the banter of Shore following the tours’ conclusion.
Destroy Nate Allen, The Haymarket Squares and a secret guest
- Monday, Oct. 29
- 7:30 p.m. Doors, 8:00 p.m. Show
- The Trunk Space: 1506 NW Grand Ave.
- Getting there: Bike — 15th and Grand avenues
- Price: $7 at the door
Recommended if You Like: Ghost Mice, audience participation, political punk
Self-proclaimed “posi-core” group Destroy Nate Allen isn’t traditional by any definition. Over the past five years, the husband-and-wife duo has played over 700 shows inside houses, bars, art spaces and everywhere in-between. Screaming songs of faith in God, social justice and good times, Destroy Nate Allen demands that you think and smile, earning them high praises from such diverse fans as the members of local folk-punkers Andrew Jackson Jihad and the organizers of the late Cornerstone Christian music festival. And at the same time as all of this, both Nate and his wife Tessa were completing separate college degrees, and Tessa was doing her seasonal tax work, showing that you can have a stable life and live the punk-rock dream. Opening for Destroy Nate Allen is local “punkgrass” purveyor The Haymarket Squares, whose countrified anarcho-punk anthems have earned them attention across the country. And filling out the bill is a super-secret guest performer being hyped heavily by the venue. Over the years, the venue has hosted such big names as David Liebe Hart, The Music Tapes, Kimya Dawson and dozens others, so the secret guest is anyone’s guess.
Events compiled by Connor Descheemaker
