Here's the rundown from last night at The Waiting Room:

John Klemmensen (along with his band, The Party) took the evening to exorcise his personal demons. Backed by a large-ish band that included all the usual instruments plus a two-man horn section and keyboards, Klemmensen, with his trusty acoustic guitar, divulged a set full of his private confessions, snapshots of a man lost and struggling along a crossroads that is wholly his own. The indie rock songs weren't so much somber as downcast, with a tendency to build to a theatrical climax. Klemmensen has a voice tailor-made for soul and funk, though last night the style was similar to what he does in Landing on the Moon -- arty self-referential acoustic rock. Covers included songs by Iggy and Maria done up in Klemmensen style. Good crowd response.

The contrast with Dance Me Pregnant was, well, bracing. DMP is sort of a supergroup of indie punk featuring some familiar faces from other local bands including John Vredenburg and Jeff Ankenbauer from The Shanks, Cory Broman (Art in Manila) and Chris Machmuller (Ladyfinger). The end product was cleaner than The Shanks (no surprise there) but heavier than The Dinks. All eyes were on Ankenbauer, who stood center stage, wrapped the microphone cord around his head and screamed. It's as turbulent as you'd expect. Unfortunately, their set was cut short when Vredenburg broke a bass string. The opening bands' bass players apparently had already left the building to grab some dinner, and of course there is no bass in 1090 Club. Without a replacement (or a replacement string) Dance Me Pregnant called it a night, a true case of coitus interruptus.

I only hung around for the first few songs by 1090 Club. A four-piece -- drums, guitar, keyboards, violin -- their style was sometimes pretty, sometimes slightly dissonant low-key indie rock heavy on drama. Not bad, though by the time they played, half of the 30 people on hand had left for the evening.

* * *

There are about one million things going on this rare Friday night Halloween. I'm not a Halloween kind of guy, which means I don't dress up in costume, which means there's a high likelihood that I'll be staying home tonight instead of going out to mingle with the drunken masses. As I say every year, when did Halloween become New Year's Eve become St. Patrick's Day? The bars have got to love it, as do the cops. It's only a matter of time until Easter and Columbus Day also become just another reason to tie one on. (Thank you, East-da Bunny.)

So anyway, here are the highlights as I see them:

Tonight at Slowdown Jr., it's Rig 1 a.k.a Team Rigge headlining a show featuring Little Brazil, Dim Light, and Fortnight. My pseudo survey of last night's crowd indicates that this is where most of the music folks will be hanging out. $7, 9 p.m.

Over at The Waiting Room, The Song Remains the Same headlines a show that also features Satchel Grande and The Lizard King -- a Doors tribute band. This being Halloween -- when people just want to unwind/get drunk -- expect a large, rowdy crowd. $7, 9 p.m.

The Barley St. has a big line-up with Thunder Power, Sleep Said the Monster, Brad Hoshaw and the Seven Deadlies, Malpais and Kid Theodore. If all these bands show up at the same time, there won't be any room for anyone else. $4, 9 p.m.

Cover band Secret Weapon will be tearing it up over at The 49'r. $5, 9 p.m.

While The Saddle Creek Bar is featuring a night of metal with a bunch of bands I don't know, along with a costume contest. No idea on the cover.

The good times just keep on rolling Saturday night -- expect to see people eking out every last bit of "hilarity" from their costumes. There's a rare show over at The Brothers featuring The Coffin Killers and The Dinks. Cover is $5, with all money going to help pay the bills of a young woman in need of a lung transplant. It'll be a good time for a good cause.

Meanwhile, over at O'Leaver's, Coyote Bones is playing with It's True. Rumor has it this could be the last-ever Coyote Bones show. $5, 9 p.m.

Finally, on Sunday, it's The King Khan & BBQ Show, this time at The Waiting Room with Women and Box Elders. $10, 9 p.m., while down at Slowdown Jr. it's Margo & the Nuclear So and So's with Wild Sweet Orange and Skypiper. $8, 9 p.m.

Happy Hallow…

--Got comments? Post 'em here.--