Jenny Lewis at the State Theatre, a Hendrix tribute at the Haunt, and a variety of other "spooktacular" shows are on tap for Halloween week.
California Dreaming
Jenny Lewis will return to Ithaca with her “On The Line” tour to promote her latest album, which features contributions from Beck, Benmont Tench, Don Was, Jim Keltner and Ringo Starr among others. It’s been hailed as “Her most opulent record to date” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “A sure-footed, Americana-tinged set led by a narrator who sounds world-weary and wiser for it” (Los Angeles Magazine). The Watson Twins, who also have played the State before and recorded with Lewis on her 2006 album “Rabbit Fur Coat,” will open the show.
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
Where: State Theatre
Cost: $29.50-$39.50
Ghost Sounds
The Ithaca New Music Collective will host its third annual “Ghostly Gathering”; the program will have an emphasis on “all things creepy and kooky,” and will include a variety of favorite freshly composed Halloween-themed pieces from composers from across the United States and in Ithaca.
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Argos Warehouse
Cost: $20 for adults, $10 for students.
Planet Rockers
The weekly Galactic Monday residency continues, with the host band Galactic Escort Service for the usual set of sonic improvisations.
When: 9:30 p.m. Monday
Where: Casita del Polaris
Cost: $5
One More Time
The 2019 Firelight Camps weekly outdoor series concludes with host Ted Walsh joined by violinist Eric Aceto (Djangoners, Ti-Ti Chickapea) for a night of originals and covers underneath the glampground’s heated lobby tent.
When: 5-8 p.m. Tuesday (please note earlier start time)
Where: Firelight Camps, La Tourelle
Cost: free
Trio Grande
“Ctown Sounds” will feature Peter Haddad, Overflow and Nathaniel Oku joining forces for a night of electronic music in Collegetown.
When: 8:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Osmun Place
Cost: $5 venmo at the door
Ring Them Bells
Cornell Cinema and the Department of Music will celebrate Halloween with a free screening of the chilling 1923 silent film classic “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Newly restored from the remaining film elements, the film stars the horror icon of silent film, Lon Chaney, as Quasimodo, looking as if he had just stepped out from the original illustrations of Victor Hugo’s novel. This special screening takes place at Cornell’s Sage Chapel, with a musical score performed live by Dennis James on the chapel’s organ.
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Sage Chapel, Cornell University
Cost: free and open to all
British Invasion
The Japanese House will make its Ithaca debut. The project of British singer-songwriter Amber Bain, the band recently unveiled its debut full-length album, “Good at Falling,” which one journalist called “the amalgamation of emotional vulnerability and self-awareness, wrapped in a warm indie-pop blanket." Our Girl, a trio from London, England, will open the show.
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
Where: The Haunt
Cost: $16 and up
Violin Variations
Acclaimed violinist Benjamin Baker will give a free concert at Ithaca College, performing works by Brahms, Cage, Copland and Mozart. Since winning first prize at the 2016 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York and third prize at the Michael Hill Competition in New Zealand in 2017, Baker has performed at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany and London’s Wigmore Hall. A native of New Zealand, Baker will be accompanied by pianist Daniel Lebhardt.
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Hockett Family Recital Hall, Whalen Center for Music, Ithaca College
Cost: free and open to all
Dylan Doings
Musicologist Robert L. Cohen will present “Bob Dylan Revisited: What a Song Can Be,” We’ll listen to some songs that we know from Dylan’s own singing or from others’, consider some of the sources of his lyrics and music and some of the impact he’s had on others’ music, and hear how this iconic American troubadour expanded the boundaries of what a song can say, and mean,” said Cohen.
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Temple Beth El, 402 N. Tioga St.
Cost: free and open to all
Three of a Kind
Jazz trio Argos Grove – Ithaca College faculty members Nicholas Walker (bass), Greg Evans (drums), and Andrew Carroll (piano) – continue the celebrated Wednesday happy hour community music tradition initiated by i3° at Bar Argos. The trio’s repertoire ranges from Duke Ellington and Stevie Wonder to the Beatles, Disney, swing, funk and bossa nova.
When: 5-7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Argos Inn
Cost: free; donations welcome
Sound of Sabbath
Band of Doom will bring its Black Sabbath tribute show to Ithaca. The Binghamton-based band, which includes Ithaca-based bassist Freddy Villano (Ten Man Push, ex-Quiet Riot), will play classic Sabbath songs from the band’s illustrious career.
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday
Where: The Haunt
Cost: $8
Good Vibrations
The Crucials continue their weekly Reggae Night residency in downtown Ithaca, with some of Ithaca’s top musicians joining forces for an evening of classic and obscure reggae and dub classics. DJ Jesse Hill will start off the night by spinning on the decks.
When: 9 p.m. Wednesday
Where: The Range
Cost: $5
Trick or Treat
Throw Down Cold – guitarist Toby Becraft, bassist Dave Kimbrough, drummer Brian Clapper – will host a Halloween show chock-full of hard-rock and metal classics. Plus, come dressed for the annual Flynn's Costume Contest!
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Flynn’s Roadhouse Café, Lansing
Cost: free; donations welcome
Bayou Bound
Rose and the Bros return to downtown Ithaca for a special Halloween Zydeco and Cajun dance, with bandleader Rosie Newton joined by Angelo Peters, Greg Evans, Sally Freund, Steve Selin and Paul Martin for a night of songs from the band’s recently released debut album.
When: 7-9 p.m. Thursday
Where: The Range
Cost: Cover charge
Halloween with Hendrix
Vernon Reid's Band of Gypsys Revisited Band comes to Ithaca, with the legendary Living Color guitarist joined by André ‘Dré Glo’ Lassalle, James “Biscuit” Rouse and Jared Michael Nickerson for a night of “revisiting, refreshing and further exploring the fun, funk & roll” of the “Band of Gypsys Live at The Fillmore East” recording, which featured the groundbreaking improvisational flights of Jimi Hendrix, Billy Cox and Buddy Miles.
When: 8 p.m. Thursday
Where: The Haunt
Cost: $20 in advance, $25 at the door
The Great Punkin’
The monthly “Practice at Pete’s” residency continues, with host band Secret Service Men joined by Ithaca favorites Teencat and Cortland alt-rockers Genitor for a special Halloween edition.
When: 9 p.m. Thursday
Where: Pete’s Cayuga Bar
Cost: free, donations welcome
Organ Grinders
The Comb Down returns for a special Halloween show, “Children of the Comb,” with drummer Ashley Ickes, keyboardist Jon Petronzio, guitarist Brian “DJ Gourd” Mlodzinski and company laying down propulsive dance grooves over two sets.
When: 10 p.m. Thursday
Where: Lot 10 Casita del Polaris (Lot 10 is not yet ready to reopen)
Cost: $10
Feelin’ Funky
Funk Night returns for a special Halloween edition, as Dean’s Kids – Hayden Frank, Max Shuhan, Owen Erickson, Archer Cowen, Dan Keller – lay down their versions of funk, soul and R&B classics from the past five decades.
When: 9:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: The Range
Cost: $5
Voice of a Generation
The new documentary “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” continues to screen in downtown Ithaca. The film chronicles the career of the versatile vocalist whose mastery of several styles – country rock, pop, rock, new wave, Mexican, and more – kept her at the forefront of popular music for decades.
When: ends Thursday
Where: Cinemapolis
Cost: $10.50