Weekend pumpkin-carving patterns: Oct. 30-Nov. 1
Ben Folds: For the gourd-smasher in all of us?
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How you carve out your weekend from the dense mass of Halloween shows and parties on offer directly correlates to how you'd go about carving your own personal jack-o'-lantern. That's assuming The A.V. Club would actually entrust any of you people with a long knife and a large vegetable amid the mayhem, but here goes.
Somehwat-crude celebrity face: This holiday's a chance to revel in your suppressed urges to impersonate others, and local bands are laying it on thick with a bunch of tribute sets: See here for a guide to who's aping whom, from Joy Division to Foo Fighters to Pink Floyd to The Allman Brothers Band.
Surreal gap-toothed grin: No doubt, Ludacris' Friday show at the Alliant Energy Center will provide Madison a much-needed Southern-rap jolt, but it probably won't provide an escape from that Halloween feeling that something bizarre is afoot. If you don't think Ludacris can embrace the trippy and downright strange in his gritty party jams, just check out his video for "One More Drink."
Rudimentary Bat-signal: This can double as a beacon of crimefighting or an invitation to evil, when you think about it: The Bat Whispers, screening Saturday at Cinematheque, inspired the Batman character, but in a not-so-benevolent way.
Tasteful "f"-hole patterns and/or highly specific geographical references: Carving sound holes into your pumpkin lends some gracious curvature to its squat figure. If you're that enamored of classical stringed instruments, try Osso's show at The Project Lodge (featuring Madison native Marla Hansen on viola), at which the string quartet will re-interpret the music of Sufjan Stevens. They'll also be screening Stevens' show film The BQE, a tribute to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
Impatiently smashed in the street: If you step in something squishy this Halloween, you'll wish it was just mere pumpkin-glop. If that happens during Saturday's Freakfest, though, you'll still be preoccupied with the fact that you're penned in on State Street with headliners Third Eye Blind playing in the background. Reckless spirits can gather in a less pointless way with Ben Folds at Overture Hall Friday night: Folds might bust a few lengths of piano wire, but at least it'll be in the service of clever songs. Before and around Freakfest, though, there's a host of other great Halloween costume parties on offer.
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