It's that time of year again where I dust off my Meg White wig and head towards buckets of fun-sized candy {a year-round weakness of mine}. There are a bunch of ghoulish places to zombie-walk towards this time of year, but the ghoulish fun starts tonight {10/28} at Neumos as the Capitol Hill venue hosts a FREE Black Light Black Out Halloween Dance Party.

Champagne Champagne, Ononos, DJ sean cee, and DJ res will be supplying a soundtrack to the monster mash with pumpkin jello shots on top! Heck, if you're feeling fairly superior about your costume this year, there will even be costume contests with some pretty cool prizes. I personally would don a Four Loco costume if it meant I could win a year of free Nuemos shows.

Are you dressing up this year? If so, please share your brilliance with us as there are some of us that are still brainstorming.

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This year may have been my favorite year ever for the Capitol Hill Block Party. With an up-to-date, enthusiastic focus on exciting developments in local hip-hop and rock, 2010 stands out as a year in which so many hot regional bands amped crowds and few out-of-region big name performers were as required. The presence of sponsors and participants like KEXP and The Stranger staff and other local writers among all the fans made it a San Diego Comic Con for local music culture.

From show to show you could hear people playing music, talking music, sharing music, and loving music. If you were able to make it to the Capitol Hill Block Party this year, what are your favorite bands performing you've seen so far? Here are mine:

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at The Comet

Japanther shows are pure fist-pumping fun. The Brooklyn duo, consisting of Ian Vanek and Matt Reilly, ripped through a spicy set at the Comet, New Year's Day, with Champagne, Champagne, They Live! and Hair Envelope. If you missed it or couldn't snag a ticket because it was very sold out, check out the fuzzed-out photos I snapped while dodging a variety of flying human appendages. Mental!

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It's the weekend before Christmas which means holiday party season has kicked into high gear.  This weekend there are so many shows to choose from {it's like a mistletoe'd SXSW or something} that my eggnog'd head is spinning. Might we suggest:

***Friday, December 18***

BOAT / The Exploding High Fives / Concours d'Elegance at the Sunset Tavern
A holiday party with BOAT? I'll take that! Also on the bill is The Exploding High Fives who have a song "Since You're Not Here for Christmas" on their myspace which is Ben Folds cute and catchy.  This confirms I'll be in Ballard tonight for this show.

The Head & The Heart / Star Lake Drownings / Your Favorite Book at Conor Byrne
As you may know, Your Favorite Book is one of my favorite Seattle performers. Star Lake Drownings killed it at hour Holiday show last year. Also, YFB shows are rare, so I'm hoping to catch a wee bit of this show tonight.

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Fresh off the presses from our inboxes comes this week's launch of GIVE -- 30 downloadable tracks from a variety of Seattle artists, who are donating their songs to benefit Arts Corps and local area foodbanks. The $7.00 (!) compilation, which was produced, curated, and funded by Caffe Vita, will be available online here. Physical compilations can be picked up at all Caffe Vita locations, Easy Street Records, Sonic Boom Records, University Book Store, The Crocodile, EMP, Neumo's, and Sorrento Hotel. The in-hand compilations will include a physical card with a redemption code for the download, and a prettied-up sleeve to make it a ready-to-give present.

Here's the full track listing -- nearly all of which are exclusive to the compilation:

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I've written here before about Black Cab Sessions, the internet video series where top bands are performing a song while being driven around in a taxi. The list of performers they've gotten onboard is impressive, with musicians like Brian Wilson, Death Cab and Grizzly Bear recording a video in the cab.

The videos up until this point have been shot mostly in London, but Black Cab Sessions has now recently came stateside with about 50 recorded in New York and Austin. They just started posting the US Sessions recently and the second one (the first was pop starlet Little Boots) features our favorite party-starters, Champagne Champagne. You can watch the video by clicking here.

Equal parts Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Slum Village, and Tribe Called Quest with a little Outkast on the side for dipping, Champagne Champagne will be getting the crowd warm for its form on the Bumbershoot stage.

Formed in August of 2007, Mark Gajadhar (aka DJ Gajamagic), Pearl Dragon, and Sir Thomas Grey (aka the Commish) come together like a super-cool, giant afroed, beardy Snap,Crackle, and Pop to bring flourishes of funk, emo, and 80's electo/new wave to Seattle hip hop. In a seemingly unending quest to duck the label of "hipster-hop," Champagne Champagne bring much more than a slick sound and a cool image to the mike. "The only goal for our group is to make music that makes us feel good," says DJ Gajamagic. They get results; Champagne Champagne makes feel good music- it's surprisingly diverse, the lyrics are incredibly clever, and even if you are not a hip hop fan, you might just find yourself bobbing your head and shaking your butt ever so slightly. They are infectiously catchy.

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I've written enough about beards and Seattle that a) a friend recently asked me if I feel the urge to shave more often than most people, lest I be seen with a five o' clock shadow and b) a special category on TIG was created called "Beard Alert".

Having said that, there is a bazillion good reasons for recommending this Beard/Off tonight at the Funhouse. That it is one event that is guaranteed to reduce Seattle's beard population is but one of many. This event begins with a 1-on-1 basketball match between Champagne Champagne's Sir Thomas Gray and Mad Rad's Terry Radjaw. The contest is simple and is spelled out on the poster: "Loser shaves; winner gloats".

I don't have a dog in this race as I like both Champagne Champagne and Mad Rad equally (ie, a lot) but it gets even better as following the game there will be performances by some of the best local hip hop acts, including They Live and Fresh Espresso (which features Radjaw's Mad Rad bandmate P. Smoov).

It's $8 and begins at 7pm, 21+. I really hope this takes off and becomes so successful that the next Beard/Off pits Tim Harrington of Les Savy Fav against Iron & Wine's Sam Beam.

Here's the video to They Live's "My Weed" (and one more video that features no performers from this event but one that I couldn't resist including):

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Ideally summertime is all about getting sweaty and silly at free outdoor music shows. And guess who sticks to their ideals? Our provider of independent, new music, KEXP. Their summer concert series at the Mural Amphitheater in Seattle Center is running over the next few weeks to bring you a plethora of pitch-perfect bands for free. This Saturday, the 8th happens to be their annual BBQ from 2-9 pm and you know it’s going to rock your socks off.

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Today's photo of the day is another of the "holy crap that looks like the funnest show ever!" from Rabid Child Images of Champagne Champagne at the Josephine on 1/31/09.

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