Like a college kid celebrating a birthday, we just don’t have one Halloween night this year, we have four. Starting tonight and running through Monday, the Boston area is flush with solid Halloween party spooktaculars, ranging from the usual cover shows to haunted house happenings to the bi-annual ManRay gathering (which is its own franchise at this point in Boston’s chilly alternative nightlife game). It’s impossible to capture everything that’s going on, but below are Vanyaland’s picks for what to do around town, particularly on a stacked-deck Saturday. There’s enough happening to wear that Eleven or Harley Quinn or Sexy Ken Bone costume several times over, and don’t forget, whatever happens this weekend, it’s only for fun. The real horror arrives November 8, so get in the good times while you can.
October 29: Wraith: ManRay at the Paradise Rock Club
The iconic Cambridge nightclub rises from the dead this Saturday at the Paradise, and it’s the perfect spot to celebrate the holiday with those who believe that everyday is Halloween. ManRay head resident DJ Chris Ewen (“Heroes”, X-Mortis) provides the appropriate soundtrack, and we hope there will be an extra serving of Dead Or Alive in the wake of Pete Burns’ sudden passing. Get all the details on the party here, including info on costume contests, burlesque performances, and whatever host extraordinaire Gene Dante has up his glittery sleeve, but all that simply enhances what’s already at its core. ManRay defined Halloween in the Boston area from 1985 to 2015, and the team here — bartendrix extraordinaire Terri, hostess Xtine, guest DJ Addam Bombb (whose early-2000s EBM mixes were a nightlife staple) and everyone else involved — remain Boston’s most trusted names in underground and alternative revelry. Wear you brightest black and celebrate like you mean it.
967 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston :: 9 p.m. :: 18-plus :: $15 in advance, $20 at the door :: Facebook event page :: Advance tickets
