We love Halloween; however, we’re also not always the greatest planners. For those who actually have a costume but still aren’t sure where they’ll be getting into trouble tonight, please allow us to make a few suggestions. Surprisingly, the weekend before Halloween was rather a disappointment this year. We’re guessing that with the holiday falling on Thursday, people figured that it was close enough to the weekend to make it a long one. Hopefully, you were able to take off work tomorrow to fully enjoy the festivities. Or at least, you have a cool enough boss who can forgive you smelling like a dive bar while still having some residue of zombie makeup on at work.

 

Well, a good place to be where there will be no judgment this evening is the 4th annual TJ Kong Halloween Costume Ball Rock N Roll Murdershow at Underground Arts with Kong and the Atomic Bomb, Cold Fronts, Johnny Showcase, Purples (ex-Teeth), Manterial Girl and DJ Breakfast (Jonas Oesterle). This will surely be the place for fine up-and-coming local acts, drunken debauchery and human sacrifices - if you’re into that sort of thing like we are. If you’re looking to spend Halloween in a bigger space, the Philly staple for live concert craziness, Man Man, will be closing out their two-night Halloween run at Union Transfer with King Khan & The Shrines, MELT-BANANA and Hell Shovel. Another traditional Philly favorite is Making Time with this year’s party dubbed “Pure Halloween.” You’ll find the usual suspects raging to futuristic sounds.

 

Now, those are the bigger events on our radar. So if you are feeling like doing something kind of off the beaten path, there is Mercury Radio Theater, who will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of their album The Death and Life of the Undead Boy, at Johnny Brenda’s with local burlesque mainstay Miss Rose and her lovelies. And for those who are in a giving mood on this unholy of evenings, you can find likeminded people at The Mitten for the Halloween Cover Show to Benefit the Philadelphia Student Union and at The Boot & Saddle, where our friends Iron will be hosting a benefit show for BuildOn.org, an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education.

 

All these events should have you covered for tonight - just don’t get arrested. Have a happy and somewhat safe Halloween - cheers! - Q.D. Tran

 

Tonight, West Philly ensemble Grandchildren will be opening night one of Man Man’s two-night run at Union Transfer. The two groups have had mutual crushes on each other for a while since Honus Honus name-dropped them back in 2010 as his favorite local band. Later, Man Man made things official by taking Grandchildren out on tour in support of their 2011 album Life Fantastic. Since then, both bands have kept busy releasing new albums. Grandchildren’s latest effort Golden Age, a bourgeoning collection of tight compositions and complex syncopation, came out earlier this year on Earnest Jenning Record Co. The band toured for a while with Yip Deceiver so this is a good chance to see the sextet back on their home turf.  These guys are notoriously badass in the live setting, and have been honing their set on the road, so you won’t be disappointed with this last minute addition. 

 

From “Werewolf (on the hood of yer heartbreak)” to Wolf Blitzer in “End Game,” Man Man has managed to become a respected and beloved band talked about on Pitchfork and Anderson Cooper alike - all without restraining any of their endearing weirdness. Instead, they have matured, continued to experiment, and five albums in seem to be finding their sound more than ever before. You know that Man Man is going to pull out all the stops for this Halloween run, so get that face paint and headdress ready, and don’t be afraid of a little confetti and fake blood. Or maybe real blood? Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St., 8pm, $20, All Ages - Adam G.