Friday: All-Hallows Eve

If you are impatient to give that killer costume a test run, here are some ideas to get the weekend started.

Mojo’s
Costume Dance Party
$3 if you’re in costume, $5 for under-21s
DJs: MoonRunner, Charlie Bill, The Last Kings, the Paperclips

Eastside Tavern
Halloween Party w/ The Passion and 80s Retro DJs

Empire Roller Rink
Halloween skate party
$12, 7-midnight, teens and up
entry includes skate rental (blades are $3 extra) and a glow stick
costume contests, games, food, Halloween light show

Saturday: Halloween

MidMo Bike Ride to Rocheport Halloween Monster Bash
Saturday: 9 a.m.
Roundtrip ride to Rocheport (34 miles).
Starts at Flat Branch Park 101 S. 4th Street
Costume contest, parade and music when you get there.
Registration fees: $30

Trick or Treating in the District
Take kids in costumes downtown for trick or treating – bright orange pumpkin signs will be in participating store and restaurant windows. Starting at 4 p.m.
Halloween at Hearnes
Free admission, 5 p.m. at Hearnes Center at MU campus
Games, activities and candy for everyone

Empire Roller Rink
Saturday: Another Halloween party!
$6.50, 7-9, all ages
entry includes skate rental (blades are extra) and a glow stick
costume contests, games, food, Halloween light show

Chipotle
Saturday: Free burrito if you dress up like one (hint: wear tinfoil).
6-10 p.m.

Ragtag Cinema
Saturday: Zombie walk
free, starts 7 p.m., all ages
Starting at Columbia Access Television on Stephen’s College campus (1405 E. Broadway).
Do your own zombie makeup, use theirs, or pay small fee for their makeup artist to do it for you.
Lurch through downtown. Braaaaaains.
Finish at Ragtag bar at 9:30 for drink specials, contests (cash prizes),  zombie movie,
music by DJ Slab o’ Bacon
$5 for party, 18+

The Blue Note
Saturday: Eli “Young Frankenstein” Halloween Party with Eli Young Band
$12 day of the show
Drink special: $4 bombs
Costumes are encouraged

Eastside Tavern
Halloween Costume Dance Party (DJ Pee Roy)

Mojo’s
HalloWeen and Stone Temple Pirates
Ween and Stone Temple Pilots cover bands
$5, wear a costume

Blue Fugue
John Henry & the Engine – Halloween show
Also playing: One Lone Car, Distance to Empty, Ardie Mansouri
Costume contests, drink specials and apparently, a tour bus for “a few lucky friends to party in.”
$8, wear a costume

Know of something fun going on that we missed? Let everyone know, comment below!

What: The Generationals and The Turn Offs
Where: Mojo’s, 1013 Park Ave, Columbia
When: 10 p.m. on Tues., Sept. 15, 2009

A four-piece loud rock group, The Turn Offs might actually be comparable to the noise of “dinosaurs battling,” as their MySpace boasts. Each song had a pounding sameness to it. The set was especially short because the drummer had fallen sick. The lead vocalist’s turquoise retro shades and red graphic sleeveless top were the best part.

Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner of The Generationals were joined on stage with two females, one on drums and the other on keyboards. The latter was wearing a pink frock and had a giant white flower behind an ear. She played an instrument as delightful as her attire: a handheld keyboard with an attached mouthpiece.

The four musicians took a significant amount of time to get through mic checking. Once all the volumes were properly adjusted, it was a quick set of short, sprightly pop tunes. Every song seemed perfectly rehearsed and planned, which might detract from a certain type of live performance, but in the case of The Generationals it only added to their charm. Hailing from New Orleans, this indie group is something different. Their bouncy sound creates the image of pre-teen school crushes—innocent yet completely infatuating. Their music is also a throwback to the era of soda pop and drive-in movies. Rather than sounding dated, it is entirely fresh. The Generationals have put a new spin on Motown and look like they are having a ball doing it.

They played most of the songs off their newly released summer album, Con Law, closing with a not-so-angry “Angry Charlie.” In between songs, Widmer attempted a shot at some humor by posing the question, “So, how many of you out there are Team Kanye?” Resulting in little response, he laughed it off. Nothing like a happy pop tune to fill the void of a bad joke.